One Day Nusa Penida Island West & East

Our tour guide was terrible! I can't even remember his name. From the minute we met him he practically ignored us - walked 20 steps ahead of us the whole time. Hardly spoke at all. Drove like a maniac. Wanted to rush us from one spot to the next. At Diamond Beach we decided to make the hike down the mountain to the magnificent beach much to his disgust he tried to talk us out of it saying it was too scary. He didn't help us at all he stayed at the top. All the other tourist guides went down the track with them and took amazing photos for them and helped them up down and back up the steep descent. He told us nothing about the Island itself - no history - no places of interest NOTHING! We could not wait for the trip to end and get back to the harbour we felt like we had been on a rollercoaster. On the other hand our driver that picked us up from our hotel - dropped us at the ferry - returned us to our hotel WAS AMAZING!!!! 5 STARS FOR HIM!!!! But for the tour guide on the island 0 STARS!

This experience was well worth it. I recommend paying extra for the hotel transfer to Sanur rather than finding your own driver. Your driver does everything for you, and it can get quite chaotic at the port. They get your pass for the boat and make sure you are on the right one! After a pleasant 40 mins you arrive at Nusa Penida where another driver will meet you with your name on a sign. Too easy! Katut was brilliant. He took us to East and West and even went out of his way to find us a beach that we could swim at. Diamond beach is a huge decent down a cliff but well worth it. Queues for this can expand the height of the cliff so go early. You have to see these places to believe the colour of the water.

Our driver/tour guide (Waya Ana) was wonderful, took us to some great spots and helped us navigate some steep steps! Because of the size of the island and locations visited, it felt like a lot of time spent in the car. Diamond beach was the highlight of the trip although a difficult climb down and then steep climb back up. Ferry back to Bali quite chaotic and felt quite disorganised.

We got a little bit disappointed in this tour as it was not what we expected at all ! First thing our ‘tour guide’ was basically just a driver strolling us from one place to the other without saying a world. As soon as we got to a new place to visit he would just put pressure on us to leave the place for the next one. More than a tour has been a proper rush. Second thing the lunch was not included in our deal so we asked him to kindly drop us off in a nice restaurant, maybe with a nice view to enjoy some local sea food, well he took us to this massive canteen restaurant, where half of the menu was not even available, telling us it was the only option. Finished our lunch the driver took us to the next destination, kelingking beach to find out the place was full of nice seafood restaurants with ocean view that we would have surely appreciated more. After 10 minutes at kelingking beach (probably best attraction of the island) he started yelling we had to go so we didn’t even have the chance to follow the scenic route path down the stairway. This guy literally ruined the day, I put 3 stars just because the island is amazing but better to choose a different tour.

The entire experience was very smooth. I was contacted by WhatsApp few days in advance to inquire about hotel pickup and drop off. Pickup was in Ubud and drop off in Nusa Dua without any issues. We had our luggage with and they kept it in the car/office while we were touring the island so if you have your bags with you that’s not a problem either. I’m taking away one star as I was under the impression you tour the island by boat but really what happens is you are boarding a general public fast boat to the Nusa Penida(takes 30-50 minutes one way) and then you are picked up by the hired driver who drives you around the island. It sort of makes it for private experience so I can’t complain but logistics are important to many so I thought I’d mention it. The Viator ticket said “company x” but the fast boat was operated by entirely different company and I’m not sure which company the driver represented until after he asked me to provide good feedback for him. All in all he was an excellent driver, the car had good AC, he was waiting in line in the scorching hot weather to get us in the queue for the photos while we waited under the shade. He even arranged a Happy Birthday song and cake at the restaurant we had lunch for my friend who had her birthday that day. We saw 4 different spots, Diamond beach being the most adventurous as you had to climb down, use rope and be relatively fit to complete the descend and go back up. My recommendation is to wear sneakers for that descend as it will save you from slipping and make the entire experience much easier. Later you can take them off for the photo shoot 😆 As you descend about half way down they have a swing that actually swings out above the cliff. You are strapped in so it’s safe and the 10 min I spent on that swing made it even more so unforgettable experience. It is an extra charge of 200k IDR but the photos and experience itself is worth it. I’d totally do this tour again and this time with my drone as people had them and were flying them without any issues. Indonesia is an amazing country!

My guide, Ben was the best. He was accommodating, kind, and spoke really good English. He also knew the best local spots for the best pics. Ask for him! And don't miss the trip if ever in Bali. Absolutely with your time.

This trip fitted in all the stuff we wanted to see, which was great - and we would definitely recommend. The downside - our driver drove like a lunatic, barely spoke any english - and nobody warned us that climbing up and down kelingking beach was not only extremely difficult (must be in good shape and even then it is tough), it's also very very dangerous, you could easily slip and fall to your death here. You also have to walk out into smelling dirty water to get on to the boat

Where to start.....having to climb over slippery rocks then into the sea to board the (packed) ferry over to the island. The supposedly English speaking driver who, although a very nice person, was barely understandable. The fact that the roads are so bad that it takes hours to get between attractions so you end up spending most of the day in the car getting thrown around. The fact that at most attractions (treehouse, beaches etc.) You have to walk down enormously long/steep stairways then inevitably back up again, which doesn't make for a very relaxing day. Then to end the day in the packed ferry again, having to jump into the sea again to get off the boat. Would be 1 star if the driver wasn't such a nice chap. I don't recommend this tour at all.

Our driver was very efficient on the roads and made sure we got the best possible photos at every location. Wonderful experience!