Kelingking is the cliff shaped like a dinosaur that put Penida on the map. It deserves the attention. What it does not tell you is that the island is bigger than it looks, the roads are bad in places, and the day starts at half past five in the morning.
How the day runs
Pick-up before six, fast boat from Sanur around half past seven, on the island by eight. The crossing is forty minutes and the sea between Bali and Penida is real ocean, not a bay. If you get seasick easily, take something before you board, not after.
On the island you switch to a car with a local driver. West coast in one day: Kelingking, Broken Beach, Angel Billabong, Crystal Bay. East coast in one day: Diamond Beach, Atuh, the treehouses. You do not do both in one day, whatever anybody sells you.
What people underestimate
The stairs at Kelingking. It is a steep scramble down a cliff on a bamboo handrail, and going down is the easy half. Plenty of people take one look and stay at the viewpoint, which is where the famous photo is taken anyway.
The heat. There is almost no shade at the viewpoints. Water, a hat, and shoes you can actually climb in.
The last boat. It leaves in the late afternoon and it does not wait for you. If the sea turns, boats get cancelled and you spend the night on the island. That is not common, but it happens, and it is why I never put Penida on the last day before a flight.
One day or two
If Penida is the thing you came for, sleep there. Two days means both coasts without rushing, sunset on the west side, and the island after the day trippers have gone home, which is when it is actually beautiful.
If you only have one day, do the west and accept that you will be back.
