Last month I wrote about how Christmas in Nusa Ceningan was, and now I’m gonna write a bit more about my experience there.
Compared to Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan is the smallest of three. Before the (picturesque) yellow bridge — which connected Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan — broke down, people used to visit Nusa Ceningan on a motorbike, packing it into a day trip. It was easy enough to go back and forth between the 2 islands. My friend advised me to just spend a day in Nusa Ceningan, since there was nothing much to see there.
My boyfriend and I decided to stay for 2 nights, and we chose Secret Point Huts as it had a private beach (the beach was only a short stretch, but it was enough). I don’t really recommend this hotel, though. The food was mediocre (but ridiculously expensive) and the service wasn’t great. They did, however, give us a free pickup at Nusa Lembongan. Since the bridge was down, we had to use a boat to go to Nusa Ceningan. There are some hiccups at the end of our Ceningan trip, but I’ll explain later in this post.
On our way to the hotel, we pretty much guessed that we would have no choice but to stay at the hotel all the time, as there was no restaurant or any other place within walking distance. Considering the hotel had a pool and private beach, we weren’t really bothered.
We spent most of the time by the poolside, reading and drinking cold beer. When the heat was too much, we either jump into the pool or had a dip in the sea.
The beach was lovely. As it was a private beach, there weren’t many people, and most importantly, it was clean. I was really grateful for this as most beaches in Bali were dirty, with floating plastics and whatnot everywhere. Most of the seabed was covered in sharp corals, but I didn’t mind as long as the beach was clean.
Looking in the west direction, we could see Nusa Lembongan.
And in the other direction, a stretch of rocks with a cave (see if you can spot it).
Before midday, we saw many people did cliff-jumping (sort of. It wasn’t actually a cliff, more like a platform). After midday, it would be too dangerous to do it because of the big waves. My boyfriend was eager to try, and so he did.
Me? I just took photos and resumed doing my thing.
No adrenaline rush for that one.
We made friends with the cutest, most timid dog we met on the vacation. His name’s Luki, and he loved swimming.
He’s just the cutest, and thanks to him, the hotel didn’t look so bad after our encounter. 😉
Beside Luki, there’s one other thing I liked about the hotel: its proximity to the Blue Lagoon. It was only 2 minutes walk, literally just across the road.
And the Blue Lagoon… Oh, where do I start.
Upon arriving, I was stunned to see the view before me.
We were standing on a cliff, with the bluest of blue water down below. The waves crashed on the rocks, breaking it into tiny white bubbles. I tried to capture how gorgeous it was, but obviously my photos don’t do it justice.
It was quite surreal, to be honest. There was something mesmerizing about this place that I can’t put into words.
After a while, we left Blue Lagoon and walked around the area.
We got back to the hotel just before sunset. We sat on the veranda, watching the sky changed colors. Slowly at first, and then it seemed like it took up speed.
The magenta-hued sky had us silenced us, as we stopped talking to watch the stunning sunset. Before long, the sky turned black, and the great show was over.
The next day was pretty much the same, full of reading, drinking, and swimming in the pool/sea. Indeed, Nusa Ceningan was one of the most relaxing parts of our vacations.
That is, until we had to go back to Nusa Lembongan. All peace and serenity we’d had in the last couple of days went out of the window, as we boarded the boat.
The boat was a small, traditional fishing boat with a small engine at the rear. At the most, it could fit maybe 8-10 people, and even then it would be crowded. When we arrived at the quay, I looked around to see which boat would take us to Nusa Lembongan. The hotel staff then pointed at the full boat, with no less than 10 people on it.
“That?” I exclaimed in disdain.
From where I was standing, the boat looked awfully full. Some people were sitting on the floor, the other were standing, while the rest was sitting on the seats. It took me a while to figure out that he was serious, and my boyfriend and I (plus 2 hotel staff) boarded the already-over-capacity boat. It was swaying violently as we stepped in, and it looked like it was going to capsize at any moment. People already on the boat were trying to balance it. I was so furious at this point, and almost yelled at them to be sensible. I really didn’t understand why they couldn’t make it in 2 trips, considering a one-way journey would only take about 3 minutes. My boyfriend, who rarely swears in public, muttered a curse word when the boat nearly capsized (for the umpteenth time).
Honestly, if I hadn’t had my camera and backpack with me, I’d considered swimming myself. The water was only knee-deep and the distance between these 2 islands couldn’t be more than 500 meters. They were building a new bridge when we were there, and let’s hope they will get it done ASAP as there’s no way this boat transport is safety.
So yeah, we weren’t really impressed with the hotel and the staff (they were quite rude as well). The island itself was beautiful, and on the way to the quay, I saw a glimpse of the beauty. A long stretch of white sandy beach with turquoise water, and no crowd. I guess it would’ve been much better had we rented a motorbike and spared a day to explore the island (too bad none of us could drive a motorbike).
But I guess, once is enough for Nusa Ceningan.
Other posts from the trip:
Her Little Journal 
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