pantai beach
Crystal Bay, on the west coast of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia, is a palm-backed beach bay with a rock islet offshore. Snorkel boats and dive boats use it as a stop, and west land tours from Bali stop at its beach, one of them as the last stop of the day. If the ocean sunfish, the mola, are the point, come in the cool months and early: the research links cold upwelling in the bay with sunfish from August, most in September, into December, and most 2019 sightings came early in the morning, on dives. Outside those months, take Crystal Bay as a snorkel stop or as the beach at the end of a west loop.
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peta map
Crystal Bay faces west, towards the open water, at 8.71534° S, 115.45876° E. The beach is a curve of sand between two headlands, and a rock islet, Pulau Batumejinong, stands off it with a window worn through the rock. Boats moor between the two. On a map it sits at the north-west corner of the island, near the snorkel sites the boats from Toyapakeh use: Manta Bay lies off the coast to the south and Gamat Bay round the corner to the north-east.
The islet is the bay's landmark, and the reef around it is where the snorkel boats stop. It is not a place to swim out to from the beach without a boat or a guide: Smartraveller, the Australian Government's travel advice, states that many beaches in Indonesia are unpatrolled and can be dangerous due to rough seas and strong currents (advice updated 21 October 2026).
The US CDC advises travellers in Indonesia to swim only in designated areas, obey lifeguards and warning flags, and always wear a life jacket when boating (CDC travel health advice, reviewed 25 August 2026). For the bay itself, ask at the beach and follow the flags.
jam hour
The strip sets the one clock window the research gives against the order in which the listings visit the bay.
The bay's day, 7:00 to 18:00
Most ocean sunfish sightings of the 2019 survey around Nusa Penida fell in the 7:00 to 9:00 window, at an average depth of 26.8 m (Dewi et al. 2021). That is a dive, not a snorkel.
Early in a trip: the snorkel boats
Snorkel boat from Nusa Penida
As listed: Manta Bay 30 minutes, Crystal Bay 30 minutes, Gamat Bay 30 minutes.
Day from Bali, sea stops first
As listed: Manta Bay 40 minutes, Crystal Bay 40 minutes, Gamat Bay 40 minutes, Broken Beach 45 minutes, Angel's Billabong 45 minutes, Kelingking Beach 45 minutes.
Last stop: the land tour
West land tour from Bali
As listed: Angel's Billabong 25 minutes, Broken Beach 25 minutes, Kelingking Beach 45 minutes, Crystal Bay 60 minutes.
The listings give the order of their stops and the minutes at each, not clock times, so the trips sit beside the strip, not on it. Listings read 13 November 2026.
Early morning. The 2019 sunfish survey made most sightings in the first hours of the day, at depth. If the mola are why you came, book an early dive; the Nusa Penida diving page sets the dive days side by side.
Mid-trip. The snorkel boats from the Penida side, and the Bali day with sea stops first, put Crystal Bay between Manta Bay and Gamat Bay.
The end of the day. The west land tours from Bali put Crystal Bay last, after Angel's Billabong, Broken Beach and Kelingking Beach, and the GetYourGuide highlights tour gives it the longest stop of the four.
terumbu karang coral reef
Crystal Bay is one of the regular snorkel stops on the west coast: of the snorkel trips compared on the snorkelling page, 9 of 18 trips name it. The 3-spot boat from the Penida side lists it at Manta Bay 30 minutes, Crystal Bay 30 minutes, Gamat Bay 30 minutes, and the whole trip at 2 to 2.5 hours.
The reef holds hard corals, and the snorkel boats stop over it. A temperature logger on that reef averaged 26.2 °C over 2011 to 2014, and it ran coolest in September, a 2017 study found; the reef water stayed cool from the middle of the year through September.
From where. Snorkel boats run from the Penida side; from Bali, the snorkel-and-land days include the fast boat; from Nusa Lembongan, Klook lists boats that cross to the Penida bays.
Gear. Bali Province's Regulation No. 1 of 2024 charges IDR 10,000 / IDR 15,000 per snorkel set and per scuba set a day brought into a provincial marine conservation area, and a daily ticket for the area itself (see levies and tickets). Trips that bring their own sets settle this; ask what yours includes.
Manta Bay is the next bay south, 2.4 km in a straight line; the Manta Point page compares the two manta sites.
menyelam diving
Ocean sunfish come up from deep water to be cleaned by reef fish. Around Nusa Penida that happens on dives, mostly in the cool months.
musim season
Pick the month you travel. The columns set the sea temperature against the reef logger and the sunfish research.
Crystal Bay in January
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea surface, strait | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 26°C (79°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 29°C (84°F) |
| Reef logger, 8 m | warmest | coolest | cool | cool | ||||||||
| Upwelling peak | yes | yes | ||||||||||
| Sunfish season | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
On the reef the logger's monthly means ran from 24.6 to 27.8 °C, with an overall mean of 26.2 °C. The logger sat 8 m down on the reef, while the bars are the sea surface of the whole strait over another period, so the two are not compared figure for figure. A filled cell is a month the research names; it is a likelihood from past records, not a promise of a sighting.
menyelam diving
Why here. Cold water wells up at Crystal Bay in the cool months. Tito and Susilo found that the upwelling of cold water onto the reef peaks in August to September, and that the coolest water, with the largest daily swings, came in September to November (IOP Conference Series, 2017). They tie the sunfish to it, citing dive records from August to October 2014.
When. A survey around Nusa Penida from July to December 2019 recorded the most sunfish in September, 38 (in 22 sightings), the second-highest count in November, 22 (in 15 sightings), and still recorded them in December 2019 (Dewi et al., Jurnal Biologi Tropis, 2021). Of the sites, Crystal Bay had the most sightings: 19 (27 individuals).
How. The same survey put most sightings in the 7:00 to 9:00 window, and in 66 percent of encounters the sunfish were being cleaned by reef fish. It tentatively names two species, Mola alexandrini and Mola mola. These are dive figures: the sunfish are at depth, not at the surface.
menyelam diving
19 (27 individuals) sightings at Crystal Bay
The most of any site in the 2019 survey.
menyelam diving
26.8 m average depth
Sightings in the early-morning window, 2019.
laut sea
21.4 °C average water
The temperature at those sightings.
menyelam diving
66 percent being cleaned
Share of encounters with reef fish cleaning the sunfish.
Where they go. Satellite tags put on sunfish at Nusa Penida recorded water from 10 to 27.5 °C, from warm surface water to the cold deep. One tag came to the surface after six months less than 10 km in a straight line from Nusa Penida (Thys et al., Journal of Marine Biology, 2016).
What to expect. These are records of past dives: a sighting is a likelihood in the right months, not a sure thing. Dive days that name Crystal Bay are on the diving page.
pasir sand
On land, the west tours from Bali reach Crystal Bay by car. The west loop runs the cliff sights first and ends on the sand: the GetYourGuide highlights tour lists Angel's Billabong 25 minutes, Broken Beach 25 minutes, Kelingking Beach 45 minutes, Crystal Bay 60 minutes. Across the west tours compared on the tours page, the stop at Crystal Bay runs 45 to 90 minutes.
The road. Klungkung Regency states that works on the 2 km road between Telaga and Klumpu, the access to Crystal Bay and Kelingking Beach, have begun (regency news of 24 August 2026); it gives no completion date. The day trip page covers the island's roads.
Staying close. The west side of the island, around Ped and Toyapakeh, puts you nearest. Penida Bambu Green Villas sponsored, in that area, listed US$107 for 2 nights, US$54 a night, about AUD 157 in total on Booking.com on 13 November 2026. The area picker on the stay page compares the rest, and the west loop sets the bay among the other west sights.
perahu boat
Each listing names Crystal Bay. Prices are the partner's listed price on the date shown; levies and the marine park ticket may come on top.
Snorkel boat on Nusa Penida on GetYourGuide
Snorkel and land day from Bali on Viator
West land tour from Bali on GetYourGuide
West day tour from Bali on Klook
Scuba day from Bali on Viator
For every snorkel trip by start and length, see the snorkel trip picker; for the tour types side by side, the tour matrix.
retribusi levy
Klungkung Regency charges on land, Bali Province for the marine park.
| Charge | Charged by | Amount | In dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nusa Penida Tourism Levy, foreign adult | Klungkung Regency tourism office | IDR 25,000, once on entry | about AUD 2, USD 1.4 or GBP 1 |
| Nusa Penida Tourism Levy, foreign child | Klungkung Regency tourism office | IDR 15,000, once on entry | about AUD 1.2, USD 0.8 or GBP 0.6 |
| Tourist Attraction Levy, adult | Klungkung Regency, Regulation No. 4 of 2026 | IDR 25,000 at each attraction that charges it | about AUD 2, USD 1.4 or GBP 1 |
| Tourist Attraction Levy, child | Klungkung Regency, Regulation No. 4 of 2026 | IDR 15,000 at each attraction that charges it | about AUD 1.2, USD 0.8 or GBP 0.6 |
| Marine park ticket, foreign tourist | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 100,000 a day | about AUD 8, USD 5.5 or GBP 4.1 |
| Marine park ticket, domestic tourist | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 10,000 a day | about AUD 0.8, USD 0.5 or GBP 0.4 |
The island levy applies to foreign visitors only, paid once on entry into the Nusa Penida area, the tourism office states. Klungkung Regency's levy poster of February 2026, issued under its 2023 regulation, states that one ticket covers Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan (regency post); the regency's Regulation No. 4 of 2026 lists Nusa Lembongan-Ceningan as a levy area of its own (kawasan wisata pulau nusa lembongan-ceningan).
The attraction levy applies to all visitors, foreign and domestic. Regulation No. 4 of 2026 lists 17 attractions on the three islands that charge it. The levy table on the tours page has the dates it took effect.
The marine park ticket is Bali Province's daily charge for its marine conservation areas, the Nusa Penida park among them (Regulation No. 1 of 2024). Some trips include it; the Viator scuba day lists its conservation fee as not included.
Dollar figures at Bank Indonesia's rates: the Australian dollar on 13 November 2026 (IDR 12,448 per AUD), the US dollar on 12 November 2026 (IDR 18,241 per USD). The data page lists the site's sources.
pertanyaan questions
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