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.
Get a local SIM card. While getting around we relied heavily on Google Maps for directions. We recommend Airalo eSIM, so you’ll have data transfer as soon as you land.
Note! Your mobile phone has to be eSIM compatible to use this option.
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.
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.
- One of the best ways to visit many of the best Nusa Penida’s epic sites in one day is on this Ultimate Nusa Penida Day Trip Tour from Bali – they pick you up in the morning from your accommodation in Bali, take you across to Nusa Penida Island by speedboat, and then bring you back to Bali in the evening after an incredible day of adventures. Remember to tell them which spots are on your Nusa Penida Bucket List and they will make it happen!
- You can also rent a scooter and drive around the island yourself.
Price for rental: Rp 70k – 100k (US$5) a day.
NOTE! The roads on Nusa Penida are, mildly said, in bad state. Lots of holes, ignorant van drivers, gravel parts… We’d avoid this option if you’re not experienced scooter driver. - The option we once did (and would highly recommend it) is you can rent a car on Nusa Penida with private driver – great option to visit multiple spots safely in a day with a group of friends.
More information about Nusa Penida Island.
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:
- Rp 5,000 parking fee for scooter, Rp 10,000 for car
- No entrance fee
- 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
If you are staying in Bali… 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 … in just one day.
Manta Ray Snorkelling Tour on Nusa Penida (from Bali): 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 wingspan of 5m. The gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them.
This tour includes pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Bali and all transports and tickets are included.
Nusa Penida Highlights Tour (from Bali): This tour is the most highly reviewed Nusa Penida tour there is. You’ll visit all the best spots, like Angel’s Billabong, Kelingking (T-Rex) Beach, Broken Beach, Rumah Pohon Treehouse & Thousand Island Viewpoint. Also included is snorkeling at Crystal Bay! It’s a total win and we highly recommend it.
MORE NUSA ISLANDS BLOG POSTS
There are loads of adventurous things to do on Nusa Penida, but we also wrote detailed guides for all of the epic things you can do on Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. You can explore more of our guides by clicking one of the links below.
