KELINGKING BEACH in NUSA PENIDA: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW and MORE
Join us on a visit to Kelingking Beach. In this comprehensive guide, you'll find everything you need to know when planning your trip to Nusa Penida, including transportation, precise location, and the top things to do at Kelingking Beach.
Kelingking Beach in Nusa Penida is the highlight of the island. Even though Kelingking Beach is no longer a hidden gem, it's still an unmissable location to visit on your trip to Nusa Penida and Bali.
How to Get to Kelingking Beach
Kelingking beach is located in the village of Bunga Mekar, on the southwestern coast of Nusa Penida Island. The easiest way to get to Kelingking Beach is to hop on a speedboat from Sanur Harbor (Bali) to Nusa Penida Island. The ride will take only around 40 minutes.
There are plenty of companies that provide speedboat transfers from Sanur Beach to Nusa Penida Island and back: Maruti Express, Angel’s Billabong Fast Cruise, Mola-Mola Express, etc. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, as long as the time suits you. The speedboat ticket is 175,000 IDR per person (one way). You can buy tickets at the pier or you can buy them online. It’s up to you. By the way, if you buy a round-trip ticket, the price will be a bit cheaper.
You could rent a motorbike while on Nusa Penida and go on a solo adventure (but be aware that roads on Nusa Penida are much worse condition than in Bali, so if you don’t trust your riding skills, just take a taxi: motorbike or car. And enjoy your trip safely). Another option is to join a one-day tour from Bali that will take you to the most popular spots on the island. Kelingking Beach will surely be on their list!
As we had limited time on Nusa Penida and wanted to visit as many places as we could, we decided to hire a personal driver, who took us to all the places we needed to go. Usually, we prefer to get around on our own, but this time we had a lot of equipment with us. And we didn’t want to risk it (in the rainy season, it’s difficult to predict the weather). So we just decided to be comfortable for once. And we didn’t regret it.
Everything you need to know about Kelingking Beach
Kelingking Beach is a relatively new tourist spot. Sounds weird, but it's true. We actually didn’t know that before visiting the island. But our driver, Erik, told us that it was discovered only in 2003 by a group of backpackers who traveled through Nusa Penida. The place was still untouched back then. However, since 2003, it became famous very fast. And there’s no wonder why. It would be a sin to keep this place a secret! So locals started to develop the area to attract more tourists. Thanks to social media, this viewpoint is now at the top of most people’s bucket lists. And it’s definitely one of the most famous viewpoints in Indonesia!
The whole island is still undeveloped compared to Bali though. But this fact makes it even more charming. To enter the viewpoint area, you need to pay a small entrance fee: 10k Rp (0.7 USD) per person. As we got to Kelingking Beach pretty early (6 am), we didn’t have to pay for entrance. There were simply no people at that time. That’s another advantage of visiting places in the early morning, by the way. We usually don’t pay fees. And we always have the whole place to ourselves!
There is a built platform near the parking lot from where you can safely enjoy the breathtaking view. Or, if you are adventurous enough, you can climb down to the beach itself. Just keep in mind - that’s not such an easy hike at all.
Best Time To Visit Kelingking Beach
This place is open daily, 24 hours. It’s very important to know that Kelingking Beach is a part of all the organized day tours to Nusa Penida. Since it is the main attraction on the island, it always gets crowded during the day.
So if you want to avoid the crowds and truly enjoy being there, try to visit this place early in the morning (before 8:00, as the first tour boats arrive on the island around 7:30 am and hundreds of people rush to the most popular spots) or in the late afternoon when most of the tourists are already gone (after 4 pm). Sunset is a great time for visiting the spot as well! The place will be almost empty, the temperature won’t be high anymore, and the colors of the setting sun will make your end of the day just perfect!
What to pack for trip to Kelingking Beach
Many people going to Kelingking Beach without proper preparation. Even if you won’t climb down to the beach, trust us, that you still will need these things:
Sunscreen. Kelingking Beach is an open area, exposed to the burning Sun. Even spending short time up there you can easily get burned. So don’t overthink. And just put some sunscreen on yourself.
Towel. Yes, towel. Even if you don’t swim at the beach (which we don’t recommend due to huge waves and strong current), you are probably going to sweat. A loot. So towel will become very handy.
Water. This is the must. It’s very hot and sunny up there. Take water because you are going to feel thirsty. It’s not good to get dehydrated. Especially if you are planning to hike down to the beach!
Comfortable shoes. Without good shoes you won’t make hike down. It’s going to be uncomfortable. And unsafe.
Rain Jacket. You know. Sometimes weather is very unpredictable. It’s always good to be ready for different conditions.
Where is Kelingking Beach and T-Rex Viewpoint
Kelingking Beach is located on the South West coast of Nusa Penida. The nearby attractions are the Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach on the east and the Banah Cliff point on the west.
Getting down to Kelingking Beach
Although the view from the top is astonishing enough, you can decide to hike down to the beach as well. I have to say that in many guides and blogs I’ve read that hike down to the Beach is super challenging and extremely dangerous. People saying that it took them about 1 hour to get down and about 2-3 hours to get back up! After these kind of scary messages I was mentally prepared for a hardest hike in my life…but it wasn’t as difficult as people say.
As I mentioned before we got to the place around 6 am. Of course there were no crowds there at that time (which made our hike easier). But the truth is that if you have good shoes and good fitness shape you will make it much faster.
It took us about 15-20 minutes to get down to the beach, and even faster (10-15 minutes) to climb back up. Maybe it wasn’t so hard for us because we go hiking at least every half a year. But I’m pretty sure it is still not as bad as you might have heard.
If you decide to go down to the beach, remember that the path is secured by not much more than bamboo railings. The stairway is not greatly maintained, so please be safe as you venture down and try to be very careful. Also, make sure to wear comfortable shoes. Hiking in flip flops isn’t such a great idea.
If you manage to hike all the way down you will be rewarded with an incredible white sandy beach, turquoise water, beautiful cozy cave and the most spectacular view. However, at the Kelingking Beach the waves are very strong and unpredictable…so be careful. Swimming can be very dangerous there. So please don’t swim if you aren’t 100% sure you can handle the conditions.
In the end I want to say that Kelingking Beach is truly one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen in our lives. It does look amazing from the top, and is even more stunning from down the bottom. If you have a chance to come to Nusa Penida, don’t skip this spot as it might become your most favorite as well!
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