Non-Turtle Time Exploring Nusa Islands and 1 Final Night in Kuta

My first non-turtle activity on Nusa Penida was a snorkeling trip.  After some horrible waves that growing up on Lake Huron didn’t not prepare me for our first stop on the snorkel trip was Manta Ray Bay, where we saw multiple Manta Ray’s. These aren’t the kind of Rays that killed beloved icon Steve Irwin, but they are massive and as they swim at you, your heart does skip a beat. We stopped at 4 different bays and saw all different types of fish and coral. My favorite fish I saw was this rainbow pastel fish, which was about 1 foot long. I loved exploring all the coral reefs and floating to just observe the different creatures. We even saw a blue starfish, which our guide brought up for us to see closer.
Video credit to Maria's GoPro & Chloe for capturing! 

The next touring, we did was on our Saturday off we got a taxi to take us around the island for the day. I was lucky enough to not have to plan anything and just sit back and enjoy the stops. Our first stop was Diamond Beach. We didn’t go down to the beach but just saw the beauty from above. People did get very close to the edge which left me in fear I was going to see a tourist plunge to their death.

​The next stop I am not sure the name but I like to call it stair-ladders from hell. This was a temple and holy water pool off the side of a cliff looking out onto the ocean. There were over 705 stairs that at certain parts were more ladder than stair. The holy water pool was very cool looking out into the ocean and getting some ocean splashes. The way up was one of the most unpleasant cardio activities I’ve had in a very very long time. I’ve never felt more like I was on the biggest loser, but there was no prize money in the end. Halfway through I thought maybe I was going to have to pay someone millions of Rupiahs to carry me out, but I made it out!

​Our next stop was the Tembeling Beach and Forest. Here you hike through the forest to the beach, where there is a natural pool from rain water and nice ocean views. Given my legs were still shaking from the last hike I opted to pay a man ~$5 to drive me down and back on his scooter. I really enjoyed the ride down with a wonderful breeze and the jungle views. Unfortunately, for me there were MORE stairs, I had to do on my own which was an additional exhausting 10 minute hike down. The pool was a nice relaxing break from all the stairs.

​Next up was Kelingking Beach. This beach is the famous Instagram beach. It is a 45-minute hike down to the beach, which I’ve heard people die doing so due time and safety we opted to just take in the views and see the sunset here.

​Our final stop was Break Neck Beach and Angles Billabong. Unfortunately, it gets dark very fast so most of viewing here was in the dark. It was a unique experience to see it at night without all the tourists. It felt a lot more peaceful and it was very nice star gazing.     

I’m glad I got to see all the big hits of Nusa Penida but it felt a bit like we were there to get photos for Instagram with the other tourists and then move to the next stop - never truly just getting to sit and enjoy the experience.

Sunday, after my day of touring I just wanted a relaxing me day so a few friends and I went over to Nusa Lembongan – which is just a quick 10 minute boat ride away. Given the last ferry back to Nusa Penida was at 4PM and I wanted to stay till sunset, I opted to get a cheap hotel room for the night. To kick off my relax day I had a massage at this very nice spa then I met my friends at Mushroom Beach for lunch. Nusa Penida makes you work hard for beautiful beaches whereas Nusa Lembongan just gives you incredible beaches without any effort.  

Around 3:30 PM my friends headed to their ferry and I headed to my hotel to check-in. After a quick check-in I went to another beach to watch the sunset. At this beach they farm seaweed which was fascinating to watch.  Then for dinner I had a real treat – gluten free pasta at this incredible Italian restaurant. This European man who has lived in Bali for over 10 years during covid decided to open an Italian restaurant as his grandmother was from Italy and it did not disappoint. The table next to mine was these two Australians who were extremely rude to the staff when their pasta wasn’t cooked to their liking and truly went off on this poor waiter telling her that she had never been to Italy and stick to cooking rice and leave pasta up to white people. It was horrendous to witness.

​After dinner my hotel owner picked me up on her scooter and drove me back to the hotel. Given Nusa Lembongan is less crowded and streets are narrower most people just drives scooters, which I found to be very enjoyable.
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The next morning, I decided to walk everywhere with my first stop being a fruit bowl place for breakfast. Next, I went to Dream Beach and truly what a dream. The waves looked pretty intense so I opted to float in this pool and watch the ocean from above as I read my book. I think if I came back to Bali, I would spend at least a week in these Dream Huts on Dream beach.

My final stop in Bali was Kuta, which is close to the airport but on the beach. Unfortunately, Kuta is the Fort Meyers Beach of Bali – except replace rude Americans with rude Australians. Bali is only about a 4-hour flight from Australia; thus, it is a very popular spot for Australian vacationers. The fun part of Kuta was everyone try to learn to surf on Kuta beach, which was hilarious and highly entertaining to watch. My favorites part of Kuta was watching/listening to this drunk lady in the pool come up to this nice couple enjoying the hot tub and tell them within 30 seconds of meeting them that she as two sheep – one black and one white, a blind daughter and 4 kids total which 3 all have the same birthday for one week out of the year (feels like an SAT problem to figure out how that is possible with no twins). 

I had escaped the "Bali Belly" the full two weeks, but my final dinner gave it to me and with that I am off to Thailand!