How to get to Nusa Penida from Bali, boat by boat

The ferry to Nusa Penida is in practice a fast boat, and the Indonesian tourism ministry names three departure points for it: Sanur, Kusamba and Padang Bai.² A news report on island access adds the administrative picture, with Sanur in Denpasar, Kusamba in Klungkung and Padang Bai in Karangasem.⁴ For a visitor staying in the south of Bali, which means the Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu and Sanur belt, Sanur is the natural starting point, and Bali's provincial tourism portal describes the Port of Sanur as the gateway for crossings to Nusa Penida and Lembongan.³

Counting the crowd shows where the traffic actually goes. During 18 to 24 December 2025 the Benoa port authority recorded 37,089 travelers heading for the Nusa Penida islands on 818 fast boat crossings.^5,6 Of those, 30,053 left from Sanur, 5,673 from Serangan and 707 from Tanjung Benoa, so one harbor carried the bulk of the week.⁷ Kusamba and Padang Bai are not among the three points in that count.

Serangan, the small harbor south of Sanur, matters for this site because the boat day we point to sails from there. Its listing begins at a lounge in Serangan and ends with the return to Serangan Harbor around 5:30 to 6 PM. That is a different arrangement from buying a seat on a scheduled boat, since the crossing, the snorkeling and the land tour are all bundled into one listing.

Boats from Sanur arrive at Banjar Nyuh Harbor, which the provincial portal calls busy because it is one of the island's entrances.¹² Other arrival points are Toyapakeh and Sampalan.¹⁰ The ministry lists the whole landing zone as the place to hire onward transport, whether a motorbike or a car.¹¹ If your plan involves a particular beach, ask which harbor your boat docks at before you buy, because the drive from the quay differs.

Two fees apply to a foreign visitor on a typical day. The Bali provincial levy is Rp150,000 per person and is paid only once during a trip to Bali.^13,14 The island visit ticket is separate: in April 2022 the Klungkung regent put it at Rp25,000 per adult and Rp15,000 per child, paid once and valid for the whole stay on the island.^8,15 One Sanur transfer listing states the same IDR 25,000 per person, to be paid in cash on Nusa Penida. Keep some rupiah notes for it.

The island ticket can be bought at four posts: Sampalan harbor, Buyuk harbor, Banjar Nyuh harbor and Devil's Tear.⁹ The tourism head said in July 2023 that the adult ticket covers all sites run by the regency, with no further payment at those sites.¹⁶ Privately run sites can still charge their own entry, as detikBali reported for a Diamond Beach landowner in September 2023.¹⁷ Fees are set by the authorities and move over time; read each amount here as the latest one reported, tied to its source, not as a quote.

The ministry's own advice is blunt: on arrival the main option is to rent a motorbike or a car, with or without a driver.¹¹ It also warns that the island's trails are hilly and in places rocky, so the vehicle should be in good condition.¹¹ A news report prices scooter rental on the island from Rp60,000 to Rp100,000 a day.³² That is a reported figure, not a quote, and it says nothing about insurance or fuel.

If you would rather not ride yourself, a private Private car and driver on Nusa Penida lists from $27 for 6 to 8 hours, takes up to 5 passengers and costs IDR 100,000 for each extra hour, paid in cash. The same listing does not include entrance tickets, activities or the boat from Bali, and the day starts on the island itself. Another private charter says it also starts from Nusa Penida and puts the boat from Bali at up to an hour.

The ministry names Kelingking as a place where the descent is steep and dangerous, which matters when you choose between an unhurried scooter day and a guided stop.³³ Narrow, bumpy roads recur in the tour listings too. If your party includes small children or anyone who dislikes mountain roads, a driver is worth pricing. If you are confident on two wheels and fit, a scooter gives the freedom a fixed itinerary lacks.