It’s no joke that the Nusa Penida beaches are what made the island famous. The small (yet still deceivingly large) island off of Bali’s southeast coast rose to fame in the last 10 years due to breathtaking photos of the best Nusa Penida beaches. Now, the world has been quickly convinced that visiting Nusa Penida is a must on any trip to Bali.
Nusa Penida is an island of wonder – like a Disneyland for adventurers, if you will. The island has incredible scuba dive sites, stunning beaches you can swim and snorkel from, and the most incredible and dramatic rocky cliffs in the area.
These cliffy beaches in Nusa Penida are not easy to climb down to. But, with a rugged terrain waiting to be explored comes the necessity of a bit of difficulty to reap the island’s rewards – which come in a very sandy and blue package!
This is why I have included the most famous and well-known Nusa Penida beaches, the most easily-accessible beaches, and lastly some more of the hidden gem best Nusa Penida beaches where the tour busses cannot reach. I will detail which are next to the road, and which will require a bit of a cliffy trek to reach. Now, you can decide which of them are most suited to YOU!
Visiting Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is definitely one of the ‘must-see’ places to go while visiting Bali. To visit these beaches, you must take the ferry from Bali to Nusa Penida, which is quite a quick trip.
You can spend a few nights in Nusa Penida while exploring the different locations, or you can also visit some of the top sights in Nusa Penida as a day trip. However you choose to visit Nusa Penida will be worthwhile to experience its rugged beauty.
More information on traveling in Bali and Nusa Penida:
Best Nusa Penida Beaches for Hiking, Adventure, and Views
These are famous and well-known Nusa Penida beaches that take a bit of adventuring to get to, or have amazing views. These are the best beaches on the island to take beautiful photos, look over stunning views, or take an intense hike down to reach the sand.
Kelingking Beach
Kelingking might be the most famous beach in Nusa Penida; it’s the one they say is shaped like a t-rex! Most people come to this beach on tour busses to take a photo from the top, but the true adventurers are game for the difficult hike down the beach itself. It’s one of the top beaches to visit on a 3-week beach vacation in Indonesia.
Although I lost my phone on this hike (to this day I have no idea where it went – so sad – RIP), I couldn’t recommend more to hike down to the beach. The hike involves ropes, sheer stairs, and steps carved into the face of a cliff… but it’s an incredible adventure with the reward of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Read my guide to visiting Kelingking beach here!
If you can muscle about 30 minutes of hiking down a cliff, Kelingking beach is simply perfect. The sand is soft and white, and you can choose to lay in the sun or in the shade of a large cave on the left of the stairs, or some leafy trees on the right.
I wouldn’t recommend swimming as the waves are massive and create crazy A-frames and currents from bouncing off of the surrounding cliffs… but you can still play in the waves on the shore and bask in the beauty of what I would call the best beach in Nusa Penida.
Diamond Beach Nusa Penida
Diamond Beach is one of those must-see and most-instagrammable Nusa Penida Beaches. Located on the southeastern coast of the island around some of the most dramatic cliffs, it’s a bit farther to get to from the ports, but if you’re adventurous, you should check it out. It’s honestly up there on my favorite beaches of my life (close behind Kelingking of course).
To get to Diamond Beach, you must climb down some steep stairs that have been literally carved into the cliff (and are also famous for photos). You have to use rope at times, and the stairs can get VERY steep. But when your first foot touches the soft pillowy white sand at the bottom, it will all be worthwhile.
The beach is at the base of very steep cliffs, with a smaller diamond-shaped rock island in the middle of the beach and a huge one at the end. It’s a bit tough to swim in because there are sharp/hard reefs and waves, but you can easily have a dip or find a nice little sandy pool near a rocky outcropping. The famous “Nusa Penida Treehouse” Rumah Pohon looks out over Diamond Beach, too.
Broken Beach
Broken Beach is one of the most popular Nusa Penida Beaches for tourists. However, it’s more of a viewpoint than a beach as it’s actually impossible to get DOWN to the beach itself (there’s a huge cliff). But the view of it is stunning, and you can walk in a circle around it!
The appeal of Broken Beach is that it has a massive rock arch that allows waves from the ocean into a huge circular beach surrounded by cliffs. Formed over millions of years, the circular cliff formation around the beach collapsed (hence the name Broken Beach) now revealing a stunning view great for photos.
There are some great little Warungs nearby (we loved ‘Wayan Coffee’) and you can also walk to Angel’s Billabong easily from Broken Beach.
Atuh Beach Nusa Penida
Atuh Beach is literally right next door to Diamond Beach – you can even use the same parking lot (although Atuh is reachable from the cliff on the opposite side as well, which has a nice little bush walk). This beach is like Diamond Beach’s less popular little sister – on its own, it is STUNNING, but it gets overshadowed because Diamond Beach is, well, one of the world’s best.
Atuh is formed by a little bay giving way to fields of palm trees in a canyon between cliffs. The sand is white, there are some little warungs and stands on the beach, and there’s a beautiful rock arch you can view if you walk out a little. It’s also a bit tough to swim due to the reefs but you can still have a dip.
Gamat Bay
Gamat Bay is a stunning secluded bay not too far from popular Crystal Bay. To get there you can turn off early from the road to Crystal Bay, or take a boat there! Most Manta Ray diving tours will stop here for snorkeling on the way back to the harbor due to the incredible coral and beautiful views.
If you’re lucky you might find a few people and fisherman on the beach, but it will feel as remote as can be!
Nusa Penida Beaches for Relaxing
Crystal Bay
Crystal Bay is a beautiful bay characterized by little warungs and stands on the beach, crystal clear water, and a small island/rock off the shore with an arch in it. This beach is well-known for snorkeling, and you can rent them right from the beach.
This beach is quote close to the main port, and for that reason it’s generally known to be awash with tour busses and tourists. It was actually very empty when I was there, however, and I thought it was stunning!
Crystal Bay is perfect to set up and relax on all day, but if you want a bit more adventure, check out my section on Pandan and Paying Beaches which you can reach by hiking up over the hill next to Crystal Bay.
Prapat Beach to Kutampi Beach
I include both of these Nusa Penida Beaches in one headline because essentially the entire northern coast of the island is one long sandy beautiful beach that is very accessible from the road that runs right along it. This area is perfect for relaxing because you can drive up, park, and be laying on the beach within seconds.
There is some great snorkeling and coral reefs just off the coast from both of these beaches, and also some popular scuba dive sites just past the snorkeling area (check out the dive site ‘SD’ for great reefs). Most of the dive shops, cute cafes, restaurants, and bungalows are also in this area.
Prapat Beach is closer to Toyapakeh harbor, and is easy to get to if you are staying near the harbor or possibly waiting for your speedboat back to Bali.
Kutampi Beach is just past Buyuk Harbor, which is a spot popular among the locals just a bit farther down from Prapat. Check out Penida Colada Cafe if you can!
Best Hidden Gem Nusa Penida Beaches
Suwehan Beach
Suwehan Beach is just down the road from Diamond Beach… as the crow flies. To get to Suwehan you must drive some extremely difficult roads (either on the ‘main road’ or a terrible shortcut road) and then hike down to the sand. This is why, although Suwehan is relatively known in Nusa Penida, I recommend it as a hidden gem. It is quite difficult to get to, and there’s no way that tour busses could get here (I think).
Suwehan is a fantastic beach for anyone who thinks Diamond Beach is too touristy and wants a bit more seclusion. There’s similar soft pillowy sand, beautiful water, and steep cliffs that will deter most tourists.
Suwehan also has some treehouses that you can book if you aren’t keen for the crowds or hike to get to nearby famous Rumah Pohon Treehouses.
Pandan Beach + Puyung Beach
If you go to Crystal Bay but are looking for a bit more of an adventure and to get away from the crowds, walk to the end of the beach (left from parking) and locate some stairs. Head up, up, up, and along, and down again, and you will find not one but TWO more secluded and much-more-private beaches.
The first one is called Pandan Beach, and the second (if you walk up and over the cliff again) is called Payung Beach. These are some of the best Nusa Penida beaches to feel more secluded and relax in a more private area. They are also GREAT for snorkeling! Just prepare with some water and shoes to hike over a (small) cliff.
Tembeling Beach (and Forest)
Tembeling Beach is stunning, yet difficult to get to. If you are a proficient scooter driver and don’t mind a hike at the end of a steep drive, this is one of the best Nusa Penida Beaches for you!
Tembeling is known for the beautiful natural rock pools that form from a river near the beach (which now have a bit of unnatural help to form pools, but are beautiful just the same). This area is the only part of Nusa Penida that we witnessed that had a stunning jungle forest with vines and tons of vegetation lining the canyon down to the sand.
Tembeling has a small yet beautiful beach at the bottom that has the most light in the afternoon. There are some small swings to sit in, beautiful shells all across the beach, and rock pools to explore as well.
That’s it for the best Nusa Penida Beaches – from the most famous to hidden gems! Let me know what your favorite was in the comments below.
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