We are a PADI 5 Star Dive Center on Nusa Penida and can help you arrange transfers to and from the island.
Bali Ngurah Rai, otherwise known as Denpasar (DPS) is a large international airport with daily flights from over 30 international destinations, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Dubai, Amsterdam, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and many cities in Australia. You can also take a flight from Bali to connect with international flights through Jakarta Soekarno-Hatto airport (CGK) which is the 8th busiest airport in the world and has international departures to even more cities including London, Paris, Doha and Tokyo.
Denpasar also services domestic flights from all over Indonesia, including direct flights from Manado, Lombok and Jakarta. You can also fly to or from almost anywhere in Indonesia using connecting flights. The main internal carriers are Lion Air and Garuda, the national airline of Indonesia.
There are daily direct Lion Air flights between Manado and Bali, allowing you to easily have a dive-combo between the locations:
Flight time is approximately three hours and a one way ticket should cost approximately IDR1,500,000.
Nusa Penida is about a 45-minute ride by fast boat from the harbour in Sanur.
If you are arriving into the airport, there are many options for taxi’s and online drivers, and we can also arrange an airport pickup/ transfer from your flight if you wish.
If you are travelling between Nusa Penida and the East of Bali (Amed area), in either direction, we use Gangga Express, a fast boat company in Kusamba. This is easier than travelling all the way to Sanur, and the crossing to the island is a little shorter also. We arrange this transfer for you.
Fast boats run between Sanur and Nusa Penida throughout the day, from around 6.30am until 5pm, and the crossing takes about 45 minutes. We can book you onto any of them. The two operators below are the ones we use most and the ones we recommend — and the reason is where they land.
Which harbour you arrive at changes your day. Sampalan is a 5-minute car ride from our dive centre. Toyapakeh is 25 minutes. The other harbours on Nusa Penida are further again — so a boat chosen for its departure time or its price can cost you an extra half hour by road at each end. If a later boat or a different harbour suits your flights better, tell us and we will arrange it; just allow for the transfer.
We recommend Idola Express to/from the village of Sampalan on Nusa Penida — about a 45-minute boat ride and a 5-minute car ride to our dive centre.
Idola Express (about 45min boat ride / 5min to & from dive centre)
There are also boats to other villages on Nusa Penida. The transfer from those to our dive centre takes longer, but they give you more choice of departure times. We recommend Semabu Hills to/from the village of Toya Pakeh — about a 45-minute boat ride and a 25-minute car ride to our dive centre.
Semabu Hills (about 45min boat ride / 25min to & from dive centre)
Arranged by Two Fish
we can arrange all the boat transfers for you.
For all these services, pick up from any hotel in Sanur, Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Jimbaran or Nusa Dua is sometimes included in the cost of the transport, with additional charge for pick up from other area (eg Ubud, Canggu, etc). Please check with the relevant operator.
The first boat back to Sanur leaves Toyapakeh at 8am, a 25-minute drive from our dive centre. Boats from Sampalan, our nearest harbour, do not start until 1pm — so for a morning flight, plan on the Toyapakeh route.
If you need to be at the airport before 9-10am you may need to leave Nusa Penida the day before and stay 1 night in a hotel in Bali.
Two last boats matter here. The last boat to Sampalan — the harbour 5 minutes from our dive centre — is 2pm. The last boat to Toyapakeh, a 25-minute drive away, is 5pm.
Allow about an hour from the airport to Sanur harbour, so aim to land by around midday for the Sampalan boat, or by 1-2pm for the last boat of the day. If you arrive after this you may need to stay 1 night in a hotel in Bali and transfer on the first boat the next day. Note that this depends on whether you are on an international flight as the immigration checks can be 1hour or more.
