[Trip Report] Nusa Penida (Bali, Indonesia) - October 2019

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MomZo

Contributor
Messages
167
Reaction score
121
Location
Vietnam
# of dives
200 - 499
Hi everybody.

Here is a trip report of our trip to Nusa Penida (Bali, Indonesia) the last week of October 2019 (from 10/25 to 11/02, 8 days)

After landing at Denpasar, I bought a 4G sim card with 10Gb data available for 30 days for 150.000 IDR ($11)
I highly recommend to buy one for your trip as WiFi was often weak and to have a good connection to exchange with hotel/dive OP and to use tools like GMaps was so convenient.

We (my wife, daughter and I) grabbed a taxi to Sanur harbour where you can get a fastboat to Nusa islands south-east of Bali. Fixed price displayed at the airport: 200.000 IDR ($14)

En route, I confirmed by phone with the fast-boat company (El Rey Junior) our booking for the 3pm departure. The lady asked for 450.000 IDR per head, but the price went down to 150.000 IDR ($11) after mentioning I was coming from Purple Dive Penida...

A 40 minute ride with a 5-engine-fastboat on strong seas and we got to Toyapakeh pier on Nusa Penida.
The hotel manager was waiting for us with his car for another 30 minute ride along the north coast to the hotel.
Pick-up was included in the price of the room, no extra charge.

Regarding to the accommodation, we chose Pita Mata Villas on north-eastern part of the island.
There were only 5 nice newish bungalows.
There was also a beautiful heated swimming pool, perfect for a lazy evening swim after wondering around the island each afternoon.
The room was big with a large double bed, a small fridge, a boiler, a table, 2 chairs and a wardrobe. The bathroom was charming with its open roof above the shower.
Everything was clean and well maintained. A good clean was done on a daily basis, or almost.
The price was 450.000 IDR per night ($32) including a breakfast (not a lot of choice - eggs, fried rice, fruits and fruit juice, tea/coffee - but it was okay for us who usually don't eat anything on the morning)

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The big plus was the family who managed it as they were always so kind, so smilling, and helpful. And also, the location far from the village which made the place quiet and peaceful, exactly what we were looking for.

To move around the island, a vehicle was mandatory because of the distance and time between 2 points of interest, and because of the bad road condition. We rented a well maintained scooter to our hotel for the week at 70.000 IDR per day ($5)

Let's now talk about the diving.
I chose to dive with Purple Dive Penida, a dive OP recently opened and managed by Hélène and Julia, 2 French ladies who worked in the diving industry in Bali for many years.

Their dive center actually didn't exist yet as it was still in construction for few months. Thus, appointments, briefings, gear fitting, lunch break... were done at a bar/restaurant called SD point on a beach of the north coast.

Meetup each morning at 7 or 8am, depending on the tide, to choose the dive sites of the day, get the rental gear and depart for diving. Departure was done either from the beach of from the small pier just few kilometers away, with a short van ride to go there.
As I had my own gear, I didn't need to use their equipment but I confirm all their gear was brand new.

The boat, Albatros, was equipped with a VHF radio and around 10 divers could squeeze in, plus 2 or 3 crew members.
There was fresh water, tea, coffee and biscuits for surface intervals.
A roof covering 75% of the boat allowed to find some shade on these burning days, but the front part still allowed to improve your tan for those who liked it.

Screenshot_20191028-225915__01.jpg


I got unlucky the first days as sea conditions were not great. Coefficients at 115+ and a huge swell which blocked diving boats to go on the western and southern parts of the island.
We dove on the northern and eastern sides with a reduced visibility but it was still okay (10/15m the first days, then 20/25m after, a bit less close to the surface)
However, the water temperature was 28°C up to 40m (I didn't check below...)

The reef was beautiful, full of life, and the current was strong. Definitely not for the faint-hearted!!
All dives were actually drift dives, more or less fast.

IMG_20191027_142518.jpg


I dove the first 5 days with Alvons, a really nice local guide who seemed reliable.
The first part of each dive happened in the 30~40m zone to look for "big dudes" (Alvons spotted some threshers and hammerheads few days before) Then, we slowly made our way up along the slope watching our NDL (with his conservative Suunto Zoop, Alvons ended a couple times doing 5-8 minutes deco)

Between 2 dives, a strict 1h15 surface interval (often more) was respected. Especially that dives were quite deep all the time.

During these diving days, I saw a lot of "usual" reef fish, sometimes in huge schools. I also saw some big morays, yellow ribbon-eels, an octopus, plenty of turtles, few nudies, and very healthy hard and soft corals.

After the 2 morning dives, I just let all my gear in my dive bag and the crew handled the cleaning and drying getting my equipment ready for the next day.

IMG_20191028_154840.jpg


After 4 days diving on the North/East, the sea got calmer and we could go to Toyapakeh (very beautiful dive site) and to the famous Crystal Bay.
We went down to 30m looking for Molas, diving into the 19°C thermocline. Freezing!
There were bannerfish and a mild current. Everything was set to find some... but nothing that day. However, we spotted 3 decent sized marbled rays.
As a downcurrent was starting to push us downward, we climbed up along the reef and swam back to the bay to finish the dive with a school of small barracudas watching us.

The following day, we sailed to the most popular dive site: Manta Point.
Departure at 7am to be the first there. At least 45/50 minutes of navigation as the dive site was at the extrem sourthern point of the island. The south coast was very wild and amazing.
We were the 3rd boat there, not bad when you know there could be 30+ boats on some busy days.

IMG_20191029_162828.jpg


I dove this time with Pete, a friendly American Divemaster (OWSI?) The visibility was very bad (5m) and the water was only 23°C.
We looked for Mantas for an hour but didn't meet any, only a blue-spotted stingray which was lazily sleeping on the sandy bottom. Disappointing.

On the afternoon, there was finally a window to dive Blue Corner, another signature site which was located on the northern part of Nusa Lembongan. From what I understood, this site was only divable at specific conditions: slack time, high tide, just few minutes before... It was the only day I did 3 dives.
We went with a select committee: Helene and Julia (the 2 business owners), 1 DMT, 1 experienced German lady and myself.
Helene and Julia checked the current face in the water and decided to give it a try.
Instructions were clear: negative entry, everybody shall descend to the 20m deep plateau as fast as possible, and then we improvised depending on the current.

We finally met all hooked to the reef on the plateau, with a terrific ripping current threatening our mask and regulator to fly away.
Helene checked at the wall if the current was more manageable, but no, still too dangerous... We then aborted the dive under the SMB after only 15 minutes.
What a shame, but it was better to be safe than sorry!

IMG_20191028_174743.jpg


Last diving day and we tried Manta Point again, still with Pete. Visibility got slightly better, water temp was 24°C... but still no Manta!!
We went back to the boat, the other group saw one. Huge frustration for ours.
Julia asked the captain to stay still and with some other customers, we joined a big snorkeler group at the surface which seemed to have spotted one.
This time, I saw several Mantas from very close, and there were even 5 of them at some point. Mesmerising!

IMG_20191029_164616.jpg


For the second dive, we went back to Crystal Bay for a last chance to spot a Mola. Thermocline at 21°C, plenty of bannerfish, but still no Mola... In exchange, we spotted 2 dolphins fast swimming close by around 25m. Down current slowly rising, we spent most of the dive in the bay, with a nice encounter with a snowflake moray eel.

In summary, I did 15 dives within 7 days, with very healthy corals, loads of fish, a playful current which could even get dangerous (Blue Corner), and even if I didn't cross Mola from my list, I really enjoyed every moment.
I was also very happy with my choice of diving with Purple Dive Penida. Helene and Julia are great, Alvons was a good guide, and Pete was really friendly. The crew was also very smilling and helpful.

Budget wise, the price for 2 tanks was 1.200.000 IDR ($85) I got 10% discount because I brought my own gear, and 10% more for diving 3+ days. At the end, a fun dive was 480.000 IDR ($34)
It was pricier than diving at Bali (Amed, Tulamben) but this was in the price range most OPs around there were asking, and I felt the diving quality really worthed it.

Just few words about the island itself. We spent each afternoon wondering around the island.
Roads are picturesque and the view was often breathtaking.

IMG_20191029_163840.jpg


Some beaches on the east (Attuh Beach) or on the south (Kelingking Beach) were really wild and gorgeous. The counter part was they cannot be easily accessed with young children.
It didn't prevent us to love the view and to highly appreciate every day on this little paradise.

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The way back went as we came. The hotel manager drove us to the harbour for free and we got a fastboat to Sanur - 150.000 IDR (only 20/25 minutes on a very flat sea) then taxi to the airport - 220.000 IDR ($16)

To finish with, here is the video I made from this trip, and it was not easy to select good parts as filming in the current is quite tricky.

If you have any remark or question, just shoot!

 
I wanted to insert some pictures inside the text but didn't find how to do it...
 
Nice detail report. Sorry to hear that you weren't able to find Mola Mola & diving with mantas.

To insert picture in the text, click / tap on
1. Upload a File button
2. Choose a File button
3. Select the picture in the device.
4. Once the picture shows up as Thumbnail on the bottom of the post, position your cursor to where you want the picture to show in the text, then click / tap the Full Image button to the right of the Thumbnail button.

Here is an example of the picture of a manta that I took last December in the same Manta Point of Nusa Penida.

image.jpeg


Try it and PM me if you have any more question.
 
Nice detail report. Sorry to hear that you weren't able to find Mola Mola & diving with mantas.

To insert picture in the text, click / tap on
1. Upload a File button
2. Choose a File button
3. Select the picture in the device.
4. Once the picture shows up as Thumbnail on the bottom of the post, position your cursor to where you want the picture to show in the text, then click / tap the Full Image button to the right of the Thumbnail button.

Here is an example of the picture of a manta that I took last December in the same Manta Point of Nusa Penida.

View attachment 549839

Try it and PM me if you have any more question.
Thanks for your help @Dan.
I have edited my post adding some pictures in the text as you explained to me.
 
Amazing. I don't know if night dives were scheduled, but I'd have a hard time not just exploring the surface. Beautiful.
 
Thanks for very nice and detail report.
We did similar trip on August last year, everyday 2 morning dives then enjoyed the amazing top sites late afternoon. No night diving though. We did before, not impressed, not much to see.
The infrastructure is poor but the scenery is indeed breathtaking.
 
Amazing. I don't know if night dives were scheduled, but I'd have a hard time not just exploring the surface. Beautiful.
No night dive around Nusa Penida due to the tide and strong current.
I would have loved to try one but they told me it is not possible.
 
Thanks for your write up. I enjoyed reading it.
 
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