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In part 1 of this blog, I had listed the amazing things that we did in Ubud in the first half of the week of my Bali trip. This part lists our Kuta itinerary for the second part of our trip.
Day 6: Nusa Penida
Day 6 started with a complementary Banana/egg tomato Jaffle, fruits and coffee/tea breakfast.
We took a Bluebird cab to Sanur harbor. From Sanur there are many ferries available for Nusa Penida. There are other ways to reach Nusa Penida, but getting a ferry from Sanur looked the best. There will be a lot of vendors trying to sell you tickets. Take your time and bargain your way for the cheaper one. They will try to hurry you up by saying that the ferry will be leaving soon. Remember to take your time and inquire about the different ticket prices available.
Once we reached Nusa Penida, we got a cab that agreed to show us 4 places for 600K IDR (3000 Rs or $40). Many people hire motor bikes to go around the island, but I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s a remote island with no proper roads. Also we saw at least two tourists, who were injured while riding a motor bike. And yes, at many spots, the roads are just too steep for an experienced rider. Remember Nusa Penida can be real hot too.
Stop 1: Klingking beach
As the dinosaur like name says, you can see a dinosaur shaped beach from the top. The view is amazing, because the beach down below is really pristine. You can climb down to the beach, but it will take about an hour or so. We didn’t want to take this ardous journey in the horrible heat, so we decided we enjoy the view from above. There was a spot, where one could click awesome pictures, but there was a huge line for that.
Recommended visit rating : 5/5
Stop 2: Angel’s Billabong
They call it the nature’s swimming pool. A small part is separated from the ocean and people can swim in it. Swimming is not recommended, as few people have died here. It makes for an amazing view though.
Recommended visit rating : 5/5
Stop 3: Broken Beach
Next to Angel’s Billabong is the broken beach. And by next, I mean, you do not even have to get in the car again! One look at the broken piece of beach and you will understand why it is named so.
Recommended visit rating : 5/5
Stop 4: Crystal Bay beach
Our last spot in Nusa Penida was the Crystal Bay beach. You can take part in snorkeling and other water activities taking place here. For me, I was happy playing in the good old sea! The waves can be real rough, so be careful.
Recommended visit rating : 5/5
I wish I could have spent more time in Nusa Penida. It’s beauty at its best!
Day 7:
Stop 1: Surfing with Odyssey surf school
What is Bali without a surfing experience? Right? So, I signed up with Odyssey surf school for a morning lesson. The lesson costed 35 $ (Rs 2600) and lasted about 2 hours. The trainer was really nice, and I enjoyed every minute of the same. I was a bit sacred initially as I am not a good swimmer but you can still join their lessons, because they conduct the lessons only in waist deep water on Kuta beach. No need take you camera. They will click your pictures and shoot your videos, and after your lessons you can buy them if you like them.
Recommended Visit Rating: 5/5
Stop 2: Pandawa beach
This was like any other beach, but I guess this is the place where the locals go while we tourists hog the other beaches! Can give it a miss though, because it is just like any other beach.
Recommended visit rating : 3/5
Stop 3: Saluban Beach
We hired a cab for around 450K IDR (Rs. 2250 or $30) for half day of touring. Our first stop was Saluban beach. Professional surfers use it for surfing. It’s a bit different than the other beaches as you can see below. But we didn’t have much to do here, other than watch people surf.
Recommended visit rating : 3/5
Stop 4 : Uluwatu temple
This is another famous landmark in Bali – a majestic temple by the sea. For a fee, one can watch the famous ‘Kecak’ fire dance. People throng here in the evening to watch the sunset. So here’s a picture of the sunset at Uluwatu.
Recommended visit rating: 4/5
Stop 5 : Sky Garden Bali
We returned back to Bali and decided to enjoy its night life. We went to the famous Sky Garden pub. A nice pub but yes there’s a lot to do in Kuta during the nights.
Recommended visit rating : 4/5
Do take out some time to stroll in front of the Kuta beach, which has awesome restaurants and malls. Have a dinner at one of these restaurants, as you watch people walk by. It’s nice.
Day 8:
We had a flight in the afternoon, so we left in the morning. We had a hard time trying to find a cab, that would take us to the airport on meter. Most will insist on taking you for a pre decided fee. We finally found a metered cab and thus our journey to this beautiful place came to an end.
Things to know before your visit:
- You will find lots of Blue Bird taxis in Kuta. Better to hire them, because you will have to pay by meter.
- Bali currency can be a lot to handle. When I had to convert bali currency into indian rupees, I had a simple rule. I disregarded the thousand at the end and multiplied the rest by 5 e.g 300K would be 1500 INR.
- English is not widely spoken. This can create problems sometimes.
- Look out for options and be ready to bargain. Do not settle for the first thing you see.
- When we purchased packaged drinking water in Ubud or Kuta, it costed us about 10K IDR (Rs. 50 or 60 US cents) for a 500 ml bottle. A little outside the city we purchased a 1 liter bottle for 3K (Rs. 15 or 20 US cents)
- If going for a short term visit, better to get the currency exchanged from you home country. I used my credit card and was charged heavily.
- Every place including the temples that you visit, will usually charge about 50 K IDR (250 Rs or 3 dollars) or less.
- Temples mandate you to wear a sarong, which is nothing but a piece of clothing to tie around your legs. Usually temples will provide them free of cost, but they may ask for a donation.
- Toilets are available everywhere which usually charge about 2K – 5K IDR (Rs 10 – 25, 13 – 30 US cents)
What we spent :
With the above itinerary we spent about Rs. 50 K per person, which comes to about $675. Half of this was spent on our flight tickets, and the rest half on cab fare, entry tickets, lodging, food , water and shopping. Lodging worked out pretty cheap. If we had been more than 2, we would have saved a lot on cab fare. For lodgings, Airbnb provides plenty of cheap options. And yes the food is awesome! And you will find a lot of veg options.
In Bali you will find lots of tourists everywhere. It’s very easy to find lodgings, cabs, bikes on rent etc. Bali is an awesome place to visit. Hope this guide helps you plan your itinerary. Feel free to reach out to me in case you have any questions.
If you are interested in knowing what I did on my first week here, visit the part 1 of this blog.
