Suwehan Beach is a place that epitomizes Nusa Penida. You’ll find huge towering cliffs, crystal clear yet strikingly blue water, an insane staircase down to the beach and maybe a turtle or two. In 2018 an earthquake ruined the stairs but by the end of the year, the locals had fixed them enough to make the access possible yet very sketchy. Nowadays, Suwehan Beach is one of the top beaches on Nusa Penida.
SUWEHAN BEACH ON NUSA PENIDA
Suwehan Beach is incredibly dramatic as are many of the coastal regions on Nusa Penida. This beach stands out due to a cone rock formation in the shallows of the beach. It has become an iconic backdrop to photos from Nusa Penida. This beach has a lot to offer and in this blog post, I’ll share everything you need to know about Suwehan Beach on Nusa Penida.
WHERE IS SUWEHAN BEACH
Suwehan Beach is on the far southeast corner of Nusa Penida. The road down to Suwehan is very steep and at times very sketchy. That’s par for the course on Nusa Penida.
To give you an idea, it is much, much worse than the old road to Kelingking. Having said that, if you take it slow and steady you should be okay.
To get to Suwehan it will take about 1.5 hours from Toyapakeh, which is the main port and where many people stay during their visit to Nusa Penida. I have included a map below, which shows the location of Suwehan Beach.
If you aren’t confident in driving, you can rent a car on Nusa Penida with private driver, which is a good option to visit multiple spots safely in a day with a group of friends.
HOW TO GET TO SUWEHAN BEACH?
The most common way of getting around Nusa Penida is on a moped, which can be rented for under $10 a day. However, the roads are often quite sketchy and not everyone wants to be driving for hours on end to see all of the Nusa Penida highlights.
Day Trip: One of the best ways to visit many of the best Nusa Penida beaches in one day is on this Ultimate Nusa Penida Day Trip Tour from Bali.
BEST NUSA PENIDA TOURS!
These are the four most popular Nusa Penida Tours. I’ve done all four and they are AWESOME!
- Manta Ray Snorkel Tour (from Bali) – Most amazing experience to swim with Giant Manta’s.
- Manta Ray Snorkel Tour (from Penida) This is the cheaper option if already on Nusa Penida.
- BEST of Nusa Penida Day Tour (from Bali) Most booked day trip fro Bali to Penida with all highlights
- Nusa Penida Car Rental with Driver: Great way to see all the highlights and tourist spots.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT SUWEHAN BEACH
On the drive down to Suwehan Beach, keep your eyes out on the left for a little hill. I pulled my bike over and went for a look at the viewpoint, which is known as Abangan Hills. The viewpoint has a few trees on it and looks out over the many rice fields on Nusa Penida. It could be a great spot for sunrise but was still nice during the midday sun.
Once you do continue down the steep, rocky road, you will eventually reach the parking lot for Suwehan Beach. I don’t recall paying anything to park but I usually buy a drink of the local vendor and say hello. I then began heading down the 342 steps and began the cliffside trail. It reminded me of Seganing, which is another cliffside hike on Nusa Penida.
After ten minutes, I reached the area where the landslide had destroyed the stairs. It looked a little sketchy and I was running short for time so I decided not to rush my way down. I ended up flying the drone around Suwehan but decided that I wouldn’t head down with high winds and the sketchy crossing to the other side of the path.
Here is an image I took of myself while deciding whether to continue or call it a day.
On the other side of the sketchy landslide gap, the path continues for another 10-15 minutes until you reach the beach. Here you have a huge strip of sand to relax on.
The beach has a jagged rock, similar to that on Diamond Beach. It makes a beautiful backdrop for photos and is the focal point of the stunning bay. This entire strip of coastline is phenomenal. The other part about this beach that reminds me of Diamond Beach is the tall rock formation called the Jineng stone.
Make sure you check the tide charts because you don’t want to be at Suwehan at high-tide. The entire beach is swallowed by the tide and you can’t walk down to the jagged rock I mentioned early. Make sure you arrive after high tide or well before.
These are the pictures from the drone I took of the beach and surrounding coastline.
KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN
The surrounding cliffs of Suwehan Beach are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Keep an eye out for exotic birds, and if you’re lucky, you might spot the endearing Bali Starling. The lush vegetation provides a green canopy that enhances the beach’s allure and offers an intimate experience with nature.
I hope you enjoyed this guide to Suwehan Beach on Nusa Penida.
BEST NUSA PENIDA DAY TOURS
If you are staying in Bali.. take a day trip on a speedboat to explore the highlights of Nusa Penida. It takes just 35 minutes to get from Bali to Nusa Penida by speed boat. Yep, in just one day you can snorkel with Manta rays and visit lots of the best beaches and viewpoints.
Manta Ray Snorkeling Tour
Manta Ray Nusa Penida Tour (from Bali): Snorkeling with Manta Rays is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the best wildlife encounters I’ve had in my life. The Manta Rays are majestic and very friendly. With a wingspan of 5m, these gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them. The Nusa Penida Manta Ray Snorkel Tour includes pick up and drop off from your hotel in Bali and all transport and tickets included.
Nusa Penida Highlights Tour
Nusa Penida Highlights Tour: Get picked-up from your Bali hotel, take a 35-minute fast boat to Nusa Penida and then visit the most popular viewpoints, beaches and snorkel spots on the island. This small Nusa Penida Highlights Tour group tour is the most highly reviewed day trip for Nusa Penida Island. You’ll visit all the most popular spots and can request certain viewpoints on your itinerary. Places you will visit are sites like the ones listed below:
- Angel’s Billabong
- Kelingking T-Rex Beach
- Broken Beach
- Rumah Pohon Treehouse
- Snorkeling at Crystal Bay
- Thousand Island Viewpoint
MORE NUSA ISLANDS BLOG POSTS
There are a ton of epic things to do on Nusa Penida, but I also wrote detailed guides for all of the adventurous things to do on Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan. You can explore more of my guides by clicking one of the links below.
- NUSA ISLANDS GUIDE: LEMBONGAN, PENIDA, CENINGAN
- 27 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON NUSA PENIDA
- 9 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON NUSA LEMBONGAN
- 5 AWESOME THINGS TO DO ON NUSA CENINGAN
- BEST CLIFF JUMP SPOTS IN BALI, INDONESIA
- WHERE TO STAY ON NUSA PENIDA: EAST & WEST REGION
- THE PERFECT 3-DAY NUSA PENIDA ITINERARY
- BEST NUSA PENIDA DAY TRIP TOURS FROM BALI
- HOW TO GET TO NUSA PENIDA FROM BALI VIA FERRY/BOAT
Jenn
Thursday 10th of January 2019
Hello! Thanks for all your tips on Raja Ampat and other off the beaten path Indonesian sites! It's probably mentioned somewhere here but what drone do you use? Your photos have inspired me to buy one for my trip to Bali and either Flores or Raja Ampat in May. Although you sure make me want to explore Penida! Spent 5 days on Lembongan last May lazing around that and Ceningan. Anyway, amazing blog thanks for tips and ideas for people who don't care to see what the average tourist would :) Oh one more Q: any issues bringing the drone around as you travel, at customs entry points etc?
Jackson
Thursday 10th of January 2019
Hey, I use a dji mavic 2. You can check out all of my photography gear and why I use it in this blog post: https://www.journeyera.com/travel-photography-gear/
I've had very few issues in SE ASIA with the drone. i don't fly in cities though. Not many police at the beach or mountains :P