1. Boat: Nusa Penida is a small island off of the south east coast of Bali. There are several boat companies that make the daily trip from Sanur Harbor. We chose Idola Express and booked it through 12go.asia in advance. The ticket was about US$20/person round trip and it takes between 30 min to 1 hour depending on the sea conditions. One reason we chose the Idola Express was that we wanted to go to the North East side of the island (less touristy) and their boat takes you to Sampalan. Boarding the boat is an adventure in itself at the Sanur Harbor. You will get wet since there is no dock and you need to walk in water to climb into the boat, so plan accordingly. Also, plan to be at the port with plenty of time because finding the correct location for check-in is not easy.

2. Roads: Roads on Nusa Penida are very broken. The circle road is ok. It looked like it was recently paved, but if you want to venture more inland be prepare to drive in more of off-road conditions. We chose to rent a scooter and we had a blast.

3. Diamond Beach: This beach is one for a postcard. The stairs leading down to the beach are possibly the most photographed spot of south east Asia. The stairs start out ok, but the further you descend the more dangerous they get. At one point they become very narrow with no rails and it is a true adventurous experience to reach the beach. Because of this, a lot of people turn around and they don't get to the sand. Which is a good thing... if you make your way done, most likely you'll be one of the few people on the beach. We loved it! Also there is one of the Bali swings for a photo op near the beach.

4. Tree house: Since we were on an adventure, we decided to stay in a tree house. This place is amazing, but very isolated. The road to get to it is basically an off-road trail but if you can handle the rough journey, the view is amazing. We found the tree house on AirBnb and it is called Suwehan Cliff Eco Tourist. There are only 3 tree houses, so book way in advance if you want to stay there. We were offered to drink a home made "wine" but after hearing stories of the arak alcohol made by the locals we decided to only take a sip. Thank you anyway Putu!

5. Tembeling Beach, forest and pools: this was the funniest moment on the island for us. We read online that the way down to the pools/beach was a very difficult off-road trail (approx 2km) and that the locals offer rides to tourists on the back of their scooters to shuttle people down and up. We are 100% comfortable on a motorcycle/scooter, so we decided to do the trip on our own. At the beginning of the trail, a local offered us to guide us down (without asking) and when we got to the bottom, knowing that they do this for money, we wanted to offer a tip though we did not really use his service. Language was a barrier, but the guy seemed offended that we wanted to give him a tip. We then discovered that guides want to stay with you the entire time you are down there and we instead wanted to be alone. So the guy left us alone and we had a great time. On our way back to our scooter, after climbing a very long flight of stairs, the guy showed up once again and when he found out that we had no intention to have him shuttle either of us back up the hill (we were more comfortable riding together on our one scooter) he started to yell at us again. At that point, acting like that, he ruined all his chances to get even a small tip, so we took off with him in tow. Our scooter was more powerful than his, so we left him in the dust. The funny part was seeing the faces of the tourists on the top of the hill when they saw 2 women on one scooter make it up no problem. The pools are a wonder to be explored. If you are comfortable in riding off-road, you can do the trail on your own, otherwise you can taxi up and down with a local. We laughed so much during this adventure and we got to see a monkey too!!

6. Teletubies Hills: not sure what to make of this. We saw a sign for those hills and went to take a look. They are round, green hills just like the TV show...must have been named from visiting tourists.

7. Kelingking Beach: Kelingking beach is on the west side of Nusa Penida and closer to Bali. Here tourists come with a daily boat trip and there are lots of them. The place is very nice but definitely caters to the crowd of tourists. Can you see the resemblance of a T-rex head?

8. Broken Beach and Angel Billabong: We were going to continue our scooter ride toward those 2 locations but based on the amount of people encountered at Kelingking beach we decided to skip them. We heard that they are amazing sites but expected big crowds. Also, Rachel was feeling the effects of Bali belly.

9. East side: overall if you want to experience the island in its true sense, go visit the east side. Much fewer tourists allows you to feel the local vibe. If you drive there, just be prepared to deal with very broken roads, and as usual in Bali, lots of stairs!! Also be very careful with food, since it is very local. Only eat cooked food and drink bottled water to avoid the Bali Belly.

10. Gas in a bottle: We did not see any local gas stations on Nusa Penida so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the liter bottle of gas sold on the side of the road, if you decided to drive there.