Gorgeous Crystal Bay On Nusa Penida

Crystal Bay and its beach are probably the most popular site on Nusa Penida, a neighbouring island to Bali in Indonesia. The Bay faces directly west, so it’s the best beach on entire Nusa Penida to enjoy sunset from. It’s also the jump-off spot for snorkel tours. The ocean wildlife here is incredible (go for a casual swim and you might run into a turtle, no kidding). You can actually snorkel and swim in relaxing conditions, unlike on other Nusa Penida’s beaches. You can even turn it into a whole-day experience since you’ll find many sunbeds and small restaurants on-site.

Crystal Bay Aerial View — Photo by Aurelia Teslaru

Priskrbite si lokalno kartico SIM. Pri premikanju po mestu sva se veliko zanašala na Googlove zemljevide. Priporočamo Airalo eSIM, tako da boste imeli mobilne podatke takoj po pristanku.
Pozor! Za uporabo te možnosti mora biti vaš mobilni telefon združljiv z eSIM.

Pandan Beach – a short hike from Crystal Bay

If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, there is a path at the end of Crystal Bay (on the very left) that leads up and over the hill. On the other side of the hill is the beautiful Pandan Bay. Arriving here in the afternoon it’s safe to assume you’ll be the only person there. Pandan Bay is a common stop on the morning snorkelling tours, but it empties in the afternoon. We wouldn’t recommend staying until dark, though – the path back can be treacherous.

The hike has some elevation – 55 meters. It’s 820 meters long (each way) and it takes about 25 minutes (each way). Depending on the season it’s not always the most trodden path, but it is always visible.

Crystal Bay Pandan Beach — Photo by Charlotte Dovle

Snorkelling with Manta Rays

Snorkelling with Manta Rays is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the best wildlife encounters we’ve had in our lives. The Manta Rays are majestic and friendly animals with a potential wingspan of 6 meters. They are an important part of the marine ecosystem. The gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them, snap some fantastic photos and help to raise awareness about their conservation.

Most of snorkelling tours that go to nearby Manta Bay to swim with Mantas also stop in Crystal Bay for abundant experience of tropical fish and colourful corals. If you love wildlife and nature, snorkelling with Manta Rays should definitely be on your bucket list. It is an epic and unforgettable experience that will most likely create a core memory!
Read more about this adventure in full blog post: Snorkelling with Manta Rays on Nusa Penida. It’s easy to join one of the tours when already on Nusa Penida, but if you prefer to have the best possible service, we’d recommend booking in advance.

How to get to Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay is located on the very West Coast of Nusa Penida Island in Indonesia. The island is quite big and it can take over an hour to cruise from one side to another depending on where your accommodation is located.

We’ve pinned the location of Crystal Bay on the map of Nusa Penida below, so you can see where it is in relation to either your accommodation on the island or other points of interest.

Eden izmed najboljših načinov za obisk številnih znamenitosti Nuse Penide v enem dnevu je na tem enodnevnem izletu na Nuso Penido z Balija. Zjutraj vas poberejo pri vaši namestitvi na Baliju, nato z gliserjem odpeljejo na Nuso Penido in zvečer po neverjetnem dnevu dogodivščin pripeljejo nazaj na Bali. Za boljše doživetje jim lahko sporočite katere točke si želite obiskati in ustregli bodo vašim željam!
Lahko si tudi izposodite skuter in se po otoku odpeljete sami.
Cena najema: 70.000 - 100.000 Rp (5€) na dan.
Pozor! Ceste na Nusi Penidi so, milo rečeno, v slabem stanju. Veliko lukenj, ignorantni vozniki kombijev, makadamski deli ... Če niste vešči vožnje s skuterjem, priporočava da preskočite to možnost.
Možnost, ki sva jo enkrat izbrala (in jo toplo priporočava), je, da lahko najamete avtomobil na Nusi Penidi z zasebnim voznikom – odlična možnost za varen obisk večih točk v enem dnevu s prijatelji.

Več informacij o Nusi Penidi.

Tips:

Best sunset beach on Nusa Penida.
It can get crowded and chaotic during morning if snorkelling boat tours depart from the Bay.
It gets pretty crowded before sunset. An all of sudden Beach and parking will be full!
Great time to visit is also after 3pm.
Hike to Pandan Beach!

General information about visiting Crystal Bay:

Parkirnina: 5.000 Rp za skuter, 10.000 Rp za avto.
Ni vstopnine
It’s very close to Toya Pakeh Harbor, it only takes 20 minutes’ drive by scooter.
It’s the only beach in Nusa Penida where you can actually swim in peace. The rest of the beaches always pose some level of danger due to currents and crashing waves. Most of Crystal Bay in enclosed and deep enough to enable peaceful swimming.
It’s a very popular site for snorkelling. You can bring your own snorkelling gear or rent it on-site for around Rp 50,000 per person. The world of corals and marine life is abundant, beautiful, colourful and overall majestic! First time we visited we only went for a refreshing swim and a sea turtle casually swam by us.
Because of easy access and closeness to Toya Pakeh, Crystal Bay is also very popular site for tours that only go for short snorkelling session. That is mostly in the morning or early afternoon. When snorkelling tours are ongoing, the Bay can be preeeeetty crowded.
Being located on the very West of the island the Bay is in shadow until around 10am.
There is scarcely any natural shadow on the beach, but you can easily rent a sunbed with an umbrella for small money (or just by ordering something from the bar).
Natural shadow grows on the very left side of the beach (from the cliff) from 4pm in the afternoon.
There are many small bars and warung’s (local restaurants) on the beach. On the right side there’s also a local temple.
Don’t be surprised if there is a local ceremony on site. The Crystal Bay is often used as a burial ceremony site by local people. It usually lasts for an hour. It is very interesting to see (and listen to)!

BEST NUSA PENIDA DAY TOURS FROM BALI

Če ste nameščeni na Baliju... you can join a group and take a day trip on a speedboat to explore the highlights of Nusa Penida. Trips usually take whole day, but everything is organised. So you can literally wake up in Bali, they pick you up in your accommodation, you grab a speedboat to Nusa Penida, you can snorkel with Manta Rays and visit lots of the amazing beaches and viewpoints … vse to v enem dnevu.

Snorklanje z mantami na Nusi Penidi (z Balija): Snorklanje z mantami je enkratna doživetje in eno izmed najboljših srečanj z divjimi živalmi, kar sva jih imela dosedaj. Mante so veličastne in prijazne živali z razponom plavuti do 5 m. Nežni velikani krožijo okoli vas, medtem ko se potapljate med njimi. Izlet vključuje povratni prevoz od vaše nastanitve na Baliju, kot tudi vse ostale prevoze in vstopnine.

Ogled znamenitosti Nusa Penide (iz Balija): Ta izlet je najbolje ocenjen izlet na Nusa Penido. Obiskali boste vse najboljše točke, kot so Angel's Billabong, plaža Kelinking (T-Rex), Zlomljena plaža (Broken Beach), Drevesna hiška Rumah Pohon in razgledna točka Tisočih otokov. Vključeno je tudi snorklanje v Kristalni zaliv! Popolna enodnevna izkušnja, katero močno priporočava.