The three adjacent islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan, located southeast of Bali under which administration they fall, are top-rated destinations among tourists. The bright beaches, peaceful atmosphere, excellent surfing conditions, and fantastic diving & snorkeling make them a place we recommend not to miss when wandering around Bali. The diving mentioned above is one of the main reasons why thousands of people go to Nusa Penida in the first place. Aside from the coral reefs, visitors can observe hundreds of fish species, swim with giant manta rays, and, if they're lucky, dive with the world's heaviest bony fish, the Mola Mola, aka the sunfish.

The big news for 2023, specifically from 1 July 2023, is a measure that continues to resonate with tourists and providers of diving and snorkeling trips around the islands. This is introducing a fee for entering the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area (or MPA), which anyone entering the ocean must pay. This includes not only divers but also snorkelers and swimmers. So if you just want to swim in the famous Crystal Bay, you won't avoid the fee either.

The fee was introduced very unexpectedly. Although legislation in the form of the Bali Provincial Regulation No. 7 of 2021 allowed for the creation of this fee in 2021, it had not been mentioned or collected anywhere until then. Reportedly, its introduction has been communicated with stakeholders since January this year.
The fee for international tourists is IDR 100,000 (approx. USD 6,5) per person/day. The fee for residents is only IDR 10,000 per person/day. So if there are, for example, five people on a snorkeling trip, the intermediary will ask you to pay IDR 500,000 on top of its price. Unfortunately, the amount of the fee is fixed and cannot be negotiated 🙂 .
The funds raised will be used to protect and restore the already fragile marine ecosystem in the area.
Although the fee is official and compulsory, many tourists refuse to pay it due to inferior communication from the government as they believe it is an unfair practice by the providers.
The government has also promised more frequent checks at the busiest places soon to reduce the number of potential tourists unwilling to pay as much as possible.
Are you interested in diving or snorkeling on Nusa Penida? Check out our Diving & Snorkeling Guide for more information, or for more information on what to do on the islands and how to get there, check out our Nearby Islands Guide.
How and Where to Pay the Fee
The fee can currently be paid at selected locations:
Tanjung Benoa Port, Bali
Port of Benoa, Bali
Serangan Port, Bali
Semawang Port, Bali
Padang Bai Port, Bali
Port of Jungutbatu, Nusa Lembongan
Tanjung Sanghyang Port, Nusa Lembongan
Port of Bias Munjul, Nusa Ceningan
Toya Pakeh Port, Nusa Penida
Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida
Another alternative is to pay directly to dive and snorkel tour operators, who should also be able to accept the fee and issue a receipt, which you should take as it is valid for the whole day.
Alternatively, the fee can be paid directly to the official staff, who collect the payment at selected points directly on the beaches concerned.
The last payment alternative is online payment through the official website here, where you can also pay the monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual fees, which will save you a lot of money if you plan to stay longer than two days on Nusa Penida and the other islands or plan to return more often. The fee amounts are as follows:
1 day: IDR 100,000 (approx. USD 6.5) - item Tiket Masuk Mancanegara Dewasa
1 month: IDR 200,000 (approx. USD 13) - item Tiket Penelitian Mancanegara 1 Bulan Dewasa
3 months: IDR 500,000 IDR (approx. USD 33) - item Tiket Penelitian Mancanegara 1-3 Bulan Dewasa
6 months: IDR 800,000 IDR (approx. USD 52) - item Tiket Penelitian Mancanegara 3-6 Bulan Dewasa
The disadvantage of paying online is that you can only use a transfer from an Indonesian bank or pay via QRIS code, which unfortunately does not support international transfers. Therefore, if you want to use this service, we recommend setting up and charging GoPay, which is compatible with QRIS payment.
Will the new fee deter you from visiting Nusa Penida?
YES
NO
About Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area
The protected area is in close proximity to the islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan. It covers an area of approximately 20,000 hectares and contains more than 290 species of coral and around 570 species of coral fish.
The MPA was established in 2010 by the Klungkung regency Government with the support of the non-profit organization Coral Triangle Center and other partners. In 2018, the Nusa Penida MPA came under the jurisdiction of the Bali provincial government. The MPA Nusa Penida Administrative Unit is directly responsible for managing the protected area and implementing its zoning system (see map above).
Thoughts
✍🏻 What do you think about the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area entry fee? And what do you think about international tourists paying ten times more than locals? Does this mean that international tourists have ten times the impact on the marine ecosystem? Or do you already take this as a typical attitude in Bali and don't address it? Please share your thoughts with us and other readers in the comments.
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