At the end of our 10-days in Indonesia, we spent the last couple days on Nusa Penida, an island a short ferry ride away from mainland Bali. Nusa Penida is still much in development, but quickly growing in popularity, much due to it’s famous T-Rex lookalike, Kelingking Beach and Viewpoint. Find out everything you need to know about Kelingking, including how to get there, admission costs, and more!
How to get to Kelingking Viewpoint & Beach
Kelingking Beach is located on Nusa Penida island. From the main port of Sanur on Bali, you can catch a fast boat to Nusa Penida. Ticket pricing varies from 300,000-400,000 rp for one return ticket. The direct, fast boat takes about an hour, one-way, and was a good experience! Free water, and the staff are amazing at loading your luggage.
Kelingking is usually a main stop if you’re on Nusa Penida for a day tour. If you’re not on an organized tour and are traveling by scooter, it’s about a 1 hour drive to Kelingking Viewpoint and Beach from the port. (You can ask around and rent a scooter at the port.)
Please note that much of the roads on Nusa Penida are still not developed, and it is a VERY ROUGH ride on a scooter. Prepare for enormous potholes and lots of gravel ‘roads.’ Also prepare for a sore bum.
How much does Kelingking cost?
Entrance to Kelingking cost 5000 rp ($0.35 cents) per person. Parking our moped was free. A short walk from the parking lot brings you down a hill, past a bunch of warungs (inexpensive mom and pop restaurants), to the famous viewpoint.
We ate at one of these warungs afterwards. Almost all offered mie goreng (fried noodles) and nasi goreng (fried rice), for 15,000-25,000 rp. It’s nice to see that the prices aren’t sky high at this popular tourist spot!
Getting down to Kelingking Beach
The majority of tourists that visit Kelingking stay at the top of the viewpoint. Some climb a little ways down the steps to get a better picture angle. This place is drone friendly, and sometimes there are monkeys, so keep an eye out for your belongings.
Allow for lots of time if you want to walk down even a small portion of the steps, as it’s quite the traffic jam. The steps are steep, and there are sticks tied together as makeshift railings. These aren’t the most sturdy, so people are very slow and hesitant while climbing. Not complaining – it’s smart to be safe! Just don’t expect to be in and out at this location.
We climbed a bit up and down the steps, and in terms of difficulty we didn’t find it too hard. It’s a tough and tiring climb if you don’t regularly work out though. If you’re visiting on an organized tour with limited time, you most likely won’t have enough time to climb down to the beach. It’s okay, we didn’t! I would love to come back one day and visit the beach though.
Where to Stay on Nusa Penida
If you’re heading to Bali, I would definitely recommend visiting Nusa Penida. A day trip is fun, but spend a few days overnight if you can! The pace of the island is slower than mainland Bali, with a lot of hidden gems and beautiful, empty beaches. We stayed at Semabu Hills, one of the most luxurious hotel on the island! It has an amazing infinity pool, great room service, spacious, free shuttle to/from port…we loved it!
If you’re looking for a lot less crowds and don’t mind getting a little loss on their gravel roads, you’ll love Nusa Penida 🙂