In Reply to: Nusa Penida posted by cardinal fang on Thursday, 30. September 2010 at 22:56 Bali Time:
Nusa Penida is very much off the beaten track. Even long term expats in Padang Bai have never been there.
I followed the advice in the Lonely Planet handbook and took the small ferry from the Fishermens Cooperative in Padang Bai to Nusa Penida last year. The ferry left two hours late.
I was the only foreign tourist there and I found the locals to be a very sleepy lot. The concept of time is entirely foreign to them.
Despite what is written in the Lonely Planet handbook, I did not see any seawweed farms, but I did not explore the entire coastline.
There are several losmens in the main village, not mentioned in the Lonely Planet handbook.
To my surprise, I also found a brand new RoRo Ferry Terminal which had been opened by President SBY. The toilets were kept pristine by locking them from all users!
My recommendation would be to take a motorcycle from mainland Bali over on the RoRo ferry and explore the island. Make sure that you catch the returning RoRo ferry. The RoRo ferry is not mentioned in the Lonely Planet handbook.
I missed this ferry and ended up chartering a small prahu to take me back to mainland Bali. I ended up soaking wet due to the spray. All the contents of my money belt were sodden.