Field note · Indonesia · Bali

Nusa Penida

Everyone arrives by boat: tourists on 30–45 minute fast boats from Sanur, locals and freight on the cheaper Kusamba boats and the Padang Bai roro. Once ashore there is no Grab, no metered taxi and almost no public transport, so the island runs on rented scooters, drivers hired by the day, and the trucks and bemos that serve the north coast road.

Researched: 21 September 2026
Reviewed: not yet
Ways of moving: 8, 25 sources
Not confirmed: 8
Fares seen: 2026

How transport works here

8 ways of moving, each with its rule

We confirmed eight ways of moving to, from or around Nusa Penida: four by water, two hired or on demand, one under your own steam and one by road, from 25 sources. Two of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be. One needs a phone call or a message before you turn up.

The fares were seen in 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. We rate 3 of the 8 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 21 September 2026, and ends with eight things we could not confirm.

4 ways

By water

speedboat

Sanur fast boats to Banjar Nyuh, Toya Pakeh, Sampalan and Buyuk

Sanur Harbour (Pelabuhan Sanur, formerly Sanur Beach Pelabuhan Rakyat) to the north-coast harbours of Nusa Penida

Go to the new Sanur Harbour terminal building, not the old beach jetty. Operator counters are inside; exchange your e-voucher for a boarding pass and show photo ID. Most guides say be there 30–45 minutes before departure. Check which harbour your boat lands at before you book, because Banjar Nyuh and Toya Pakeh sit at the west end of the north coast and Sampalan and Buyuk are 10 km east of them.

When: Over ten crossings a day. First departure from Sanur around 06:30–07:00, last around 17:00; from Nusa Penida roughly 07:20 to 17:00
Takes: 30–45 minutes
Fare 2026: Booked online, operator start prices in 2026 run Starfish Rp 117,000, Axe Stone Rp 118,000, The Angkal Rp 120,000, Angel Billabong Rp 122,000, Arjuna Rp 125,000, up to Semaya One at Rp 170,000. One guide puts the realistic online range at Rp 170,000–215,000 one way and says port ticket booths ask up to Rp 250,000. Add a Rp 25,000 island retribution fee on arrival

SeasonYear-round, but crossings are suspended outright when BMKG warns of high waves. In August 2025 all fast boats from Sanur and Padangbai to the Nusa islands, Gili and Lombok stopped for two days with 4 m waves reported. Rainy season December to February is the roughest. BookingOnline through the operators, Skypenida, 12Go or Ferryhopper, or at the counters in the Sanur terminal. Return tickets are usually cheaper but tie you to one operator. Run byAngel Billabong, Idola Express, Starfish Fast Cruise, Caspla Bali, Axe Stone, Arjuna, The Angkal, Semaya One and around a dozen others.

boat

Kusamba traditional harbour boats to Sampalan and Buyuk

Pelabuhan Tribuana at Kusamba village, Dawan, Klungkung, to Sampalan (Mentigi) and Buyuk on Nusa Penida

Kusamba is on the coast road east of Klungkung town, about 45 minutes by car from Sanur and much closer to east Bali than Sanur is. It is a working beach harbour, not a terminal: boats load off a floating pontoon and passengers wade or walk the ramp. This is where island residents and domestic travellers cross, and where sampan and jukung boats carry building materials, food and clothing across alongside the passengers.

When: Daily from about 06:30 to 17:00, roughly every 30 minutes across all operators. Gangga Express has listed Kusamba to Sampalan at 06:30, 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 12:25 and 14:00, returning 06:30, 07:30, 08:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, plus a Kusamba to Buyuk run at 10:00 and 16:00
Takes: 20–30 minutes
Fare 2026: Booking sites list Rp 150,000–212,000 for foreigners in 2026. Operator pages have quoted a two-tier fare: Rp 65,000 one way for Indonesians and Rp 150,000 for foreigners, though those figures date from 2021 and should be treated as the floor

SeasonYear-round; cancelled in the same high-wave conditions that stop the Sanur boats. BookingWalk up and buy at the harbour, or book through 12Go, Ferryhopper or the operators. Locals simply turn up. Run byGangga Express, Sekar Jaya, The Angkal, plus local jukung owners.

cargo boat

Padang Bai roll-on roll-off ferry

Padang Bai, Karangasem, to the roro ramp at Mentigi near Sampalan (Jl. Nusa Indah, Batununggul)

At Padang Bai buy the ticket in the building marked Loket, from about 09:00. The roro shares the harbour with the Lombok ferries, so check which ramp. This is the only sailing that will carry your scooter or car across, and it is how most vehicles and bulk goods reach the island.

When: Twice a day each way, dropping to one on some days. Wikivoyage recorded 10:00 and 14:30 from Padang Bai and 08:00 and 12:00 from Nusa Penida as of 2023. A 2026 Indonesian schedule gives 09:00 and 13:00 from Padang Bai Monday to Saturday and 09:00 only on Sunday, returning 08:00 and 12:00 with a single 08:00 sailing on Wednesday and Sunday. One 2026 guide lists 10:00 and 14:00. Confirm on the day
Takes: About 1 hour, longer in swell; some sources say up to 90 minutes
Fare 2026: Foot passenger Rp 31,700 adult and Rp 22,700 child, motorcycle up to 500cc Rp 90,300, per a 2026 listing. A 2024 Tribun Bali listing gave Rp 31,000 adult, Rp 26,000 child and Rp 17,500 for a bicycle. Wikivoyage recorded about Rp 50,000 per adult in 2023

SeasonYear-round; suspended in the same high-wave warnings. BookingBuy at the Loket window on the day. No online sale found. Run byASDP, KMP Nusa Jaya Abadi.

boat

Nusa Lembongan shuttle boat to Toya Pakeh

Yellow Bridge, Nusa Lembongan, to Toya Pakeh harbour on Nusa Penida

Walk to the shoreline beside the yellow suspension bridge between Lembongan and Ceningan and buy a ticket from the small booth or from the boatmen. There is no timetable board. Boats hold about 20 people and leave when reasonably full, so the wait depends on how many others are crossing. Wikivoyage also records a 06:00 public departure from near the bridge to Toyapakeh or Buyuk, and services from the Jungut Batu side.

When: Roughly 08:00 to 17:00 daily, weather permitting, no fixed times. Around 07:00 and 16:00 are the busiest and so the fastest to fill
Takes: 15–30 minutes
Fare 2026: About Rp 75,000 one way as of June 2026, after a fuel price rise. Another 2026 guide quotes around Rp 60,000. A private charter both ways runs around Rp 300,000

SeasonYear-round in daylight, cancelled in rough water. BookingNone. Buy one-way tickets in each direction rather than a return: a return ties you to a Lembongan-based boat and can mean an hour of waiting. Run byLembongan and Penida boat owners, no single company.

2 ways

Hired, booked and on demand

private hire

Cars with a driver hired by the day, and harbour taxis

From Banjar Nyuh, Toya Pakeh, Sampalan or Buyuk to anywhere on the island; the standard runs are the west loop of Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong and Crystal Bay, and the east loop of Atuh and Diamond Beach

Drivers wait in a crowd at whichever harbour your boat lands at and will call out as you walk off the jetty. There is no Grab, no Gojek and no metered taxi on the island, so this is the fallback for anyone not on a scooter. Hotels will send a pickup if you tell them your boat. Booking a driver by name through WhatsApp the day before gets a better rate than the harbour scrum.

When: On demand, daylight hours. Harbours get busy between 08:00 and 10:00 as the day-trip boats land
Takes: The west loop is roughly 40 km round trip from Toyapakeh and takes most of a day with stops; about two hours of it is driving
Fare 2026: Full day with driver Rp 700,000–800,000 for up to six people, per a 2026 guide. Individual drivers advertise Rp 550,000–900,000 a day. A short harbour transfer is around Rp 200,000, and the same guide says never pay more than Rp 700,000 for one. A packaged west-coast day with driver is sold from Rp 750,000

SeasonYear-round. Midday on the west loop is the worst for congestion; the access roads are narrow and busy with tour vans from about 10:00 to 13:00. BookingWhatsApp a driver in advance, ask your accommodation, or negotiate at the harbour. Run byindependent local drivers, plus small agencies such as Nusa Penida Transport and Penida Trip Go.

tour package

Day-trip cruises and packaged island tours from Bali

Sanur or Benoa Harbour to Nusa Penida and back the same day, with a driver and a fixed loop of stops included

Sold by every agent in Sanur, Kuta and Ubud and by all the fast boat operators. For most visitors this is the actual transport: the boat, the harbour pickup, the car and the driver are one booking, because arranging them separately on arrival is the harder path.

When: Daily, leaving Sanur about 07:00–08:00 and back mid to late afternoon
Takes: Full day. A typical west tour lands about 08:40 and runs 09:00 to 15:00 on the island
Fare 2026: West coast day package from Rp 750,000 including driver. Quicksilver's Benoa pontoon cruise has been listed at US$120 adult and US$60 child

SeasonYear-round, cancelled in high waves. BookingOnline through GetYourGuide, Klook, Viator or the boat operators, or through any Bali hotel. Run bythe fast boat companies, plus Quicksilver from Benoa and dozens of agents.

One way

On foot, by bike, or otherwise

scooter hire

Scooter hire, and why so many people come off

Anywhere on the island. The paved west loop is easy; the east and south are steep concrete ramps and stone tracks

Rental vendors work the harbour fronts at Toyapakeh and Sampalan and will approach you as you land. Hotels and dive shops also rent. Check the brakes and tyres before you take one: the half-price harbour machines are usually the tired ones. Bring a helmet-strap that works and closed shoes.

When: Daily hire, walk in
Takes: 24 hours per day of hire
Fare 2026: Rp 100,000–200,000 a day in 2026, plus about Rp 5,000 parking at each site. Wikivoyage recorded Rp 50,000–100,000 in August 2024 and car self-drive at about Rp 650,000 a day. One traveller guide quotes about Rp 75,000 a day with a full tank

SeasonYear-round, but afternoon rain on steep concrete is the common crash setup. Ride the loops in the morning. BookingWalk up. Vendors rarely ask for a licence, but an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category is what your insurance will want to see, and riding without one usually voids cover. Run byharbour-front vendors and hotels; no chains.

One way

By road

bemo

Bemos and pickup trucks on the north coast road

The north coast road between Toyapakeh, Ped, Buyuk and Sampalan

Flag them from the roadside on the north coast. They are small old minibuses, or a truck with people sitting in the tray. They run this stretch with some regularity; away from the north coast there is effectively nothing scheduled and you should not plan around one turning up.

When: Irregular, daylight, north coast only
Takes: Toyapakeh to Sampalan is about 10 km
Fare 2026: Not published in any source found. Expect to pay the driver a small cash fare and agree it before boarding

SeasonYear-round. Run byowner-drivers.

Not confirmed

What we could not find out

8 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.

01
No source confirms a formal one-way traffic rule on the west-coast cliff road. Guides describe the Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong and Crystal Bay circuit as a recommended driving order on a narrow two-way road, and Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong share one access road and one car park. Klungkung was still repairing the Telaga–Klumpu access road in July 2026 and a new 1 km link between Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong was due in early 2026. Ask a driver on the day whether any section is being run one way.
02
Bemo and pickup-truck fares on the north coast road are not published anywhere. Neither is a route or timetable. Agree a price before you get in.
03
Whether a foreign visitor can simply board the traditional jukung and cargo boats out of Kusamba alongside residents, and what they charge, is not documented. The 300–500 daily passengers at Tribuana are described as local residents and domestic tourists.
04
Kusamba fare figures split by nationality come from a 2021 operator page. The 2026 figures come from booking aggregators, which quote the foreigner price only.
05
The Padang Bai roro schedule differs between three sources for the same period. Treat the departure times as indicative and confirm at the Loket.
06
Nobody publishes scooter crash numbers for Nusa Penida. Reporting is one incident at a time in the Bali press, and the island's clinics do not release figures, so the scale of the problem is inferred rather than measured.
07
The Rp 25,000 island retribution fee appears in one guide only and was not found on a Klungkung government page. Klungkung was preparing a formal tourist-attraction levy in 2026, so expect this to change.
08
Toya Pakeh and Banjar Nyuh are treated as the same arrival point by some operators and as separate harbours by others. If you are meeting a driver, get the harbour name in writing.

In the planner

What the planner can route today

The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Nusa Penida is this.

Y: Scheduled flightsKuta, Badung (DPS), 40 km
Y: Trains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
Y: FerriesNusa Penida, 7 km; sailings estimated
Y: Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
N: Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
N: Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.