Is a Nusa Penida day trip worth it?

The Nusa Penida day trip is the most sold excursion in Bali and the most common source of "it was amazing but exhausting" reviews. Both halves of that are accurate.

What the day actually looks like

• 6.00 to 7.00am: hotel pickup. From Sanur it is 15 minutes; from Canggu, an hour and a quarter; from Ubud, an hour.
• 8.00 to 8.30am: fast boat from Sanur, 30 to 45 minutes.
• 9.00am: meet your driver at Toya Pakeh or Banjar Nyuh harbour.
• 9.45am: Kelingking viewpoint. The drive is 45 minutes on winding roads.
• 11.30am: Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong.
• 1.00pm: lunch at a warung, usually included.
• 2.00pm: Crystal Bay for a swim and a snorkel.
• 3.30pm: back to the harbour.
• 4.00pm: boat to Sanur.
• 6.00 to 7.30pm: back at your hotel.

That is a 12-hour day with roughly four hours in cars and boats, for about three hours at four viewpoints.

What it costs

Typically 700,000 to 1,200,000 rupiah per person for a package including the return fast boat, a driver and car on the island, entry fees and lunch. Booking the boat and driver separately costs a little less and takes more organising.

The snorkelling version, with Manta Point and Crystal Bay by boat, runs similar money and replaces the land sights.

Do it well, or do not do it

Choose the west-coast circuit only. Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong, Crystal Bay. Anyone offering you Diamond Beach as well in the same day is selling you a drive.

Leave from Sanur. If you are staying in Canggu or Ubud, the transfer adds two hours to an already long day. Some people move to Sanur for one night to make the trip sane.

Take the earliest boat. The sights are empty at 9.30am and queued by 11.

Do not book the cheapest package. Boat safety records vary, and this crossing gets rough. Use an established operator.

Take cash, for entry fees, parking and drinks, in small notes.

Bring shoes, water, sunscreen and a hat. There is no shade at the viewpoints.

When the day trip does not work

• In rough seas, when the crossing is unpleasant or cancelled. Wet season is a gamble.
• With small children, for whom 12 hours and a cliff edge is a long day.
• If you get seasick. The Badung Strait has real current and the fast boats move.
• If you want Kelingking Beach itself, which needs several hours on its own.

The alternative: two nights

Stay on the island and the same sights become a completely different experience. Kelingking at sunrise with nobody there. The east coast at your own pace. A manta snorkel in the morning when the water is calmest. Dinner on a cliff with the lights of Bali across the water.

Accommodation on Penida is limited and simple, and that is the main argument against it. Two nights is still the version I would choose, and most people who have done both say the same.

The other alternative: Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan is closer, easier, calmer and far better set up for visitors. It does not have Kelingking, and it has snorkelling with mantas, a mangrove forest, good beaches and somewhere pleasant to eat dinner. For a first island trip with limited time, it is the easier yes.

The snorkelling day trip instead

The other version of the day skips the land sights entirely: a boat from Sanur, then three or four snorkel stops including Manta Point, Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay and Wall Point, and back by mid-afternoon.

It costs about the same, involves no rough roads, and for most people it is the better day. Manta rays at a cleaning station a few metres below you is a better memory than a viewpoint with a queue. The caveat is swell: Manta Point is exposed, and in rough conditions boats either skip it or the snorkelling is unpleasant.

What to check before you book

Ask which harbour the boat leaves from, whether island transport is a private car or a shared minibus, whether entry fees are included, and how many sights are on the itinerary. Four is realistic; six means you are being driven past things.

Ask also what happens if the crossing is cancelled. Reputable operators move you to another day or refund. Agents selling other people's boats often do neither.