Tourists Notified Of Changes To Nusa Penida Snorkeling Fees

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Snorkeling, scuba diving, and free diving are some of the most popular activities for tourists in Bali. With so many destinations to choose from for incredible underwater experiences, tourists are spoiled for choice.

One destination in particular is booming in popularity as it is home to an abundance of marine life. In order to protect the fragile ecosystem, a tourism levy was recently introduced to help fund conservation through tourism.

The Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area covers 20,057 hectares of ocean surrounding the outlying islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan, and Nusa Lembongan.

The waters are home to incredible marine life like manta rays, turtles, sunfish, and endangered coral reefs.

Diving and snorkeling are two of the best ways for tourists to really connect with the marine landscape, and diving with the manta rays is one of the most in-demand tourist activities in Nusa Penida. 

@emily..merry Probably one of the most magical mornings of my life. Lucky enough to swim with four beautiful Manta Rays at Manta Point, Nusa Penida 🌊🤿🫶🏼 #bali #mantaray #snorkeling #nusapenida #traveltiktok #fypシ ♬ roslyn (slowed + reverb) – ghostly echoes & creamy & 11:11 Music Group

The fragile marine ecosystem is in need of huge conservation support. In order to achieve this the provincial government implemented legislation to introduce a new tourism retribution fee just before the pandemic. While the legislation was passed, the fees were not introduced until earlier this year. 

In a move that many tour operators and tourists said came from out of the blue, the tourism retribution fee for visitors to the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area was formally implemented in early July.

The fees require foreign tourists to pay IDR 100,000 to snorkel, dive, or swim in the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area. 

@koutavstheworld Come to nusa penida island with us! A day tour that includes snorkeling and land exploring is a must! 🐠🐬 #bali #balitravel #nusapenida #nusapenidaisland #nusapenidabali #snorkeling #tour #beach #travel #traveltiktok ♬ original sound – Kouta vs the world

This IDR 100,000 fee applies to all tourists entering the area, but due to the lack of awareness about the new fees, many tourists refused to pay believing that they were being ripped off by local boat trip providers.

Local boat trip providers are generally already operating on a tiny margin, and the fees were not an additional cost that they could absorb in order to preserve bookings. 

@zenitajantjies Snorkeling is my new thing😅💙#bali #nusapenida #snorkeling ♬ Island In The Sun – Weezer

The IDR 100,000 is applicable to international tourists, per person, per day.

However, a new online payment system has been launched allowing tourists to pay for access to the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area on a monthly, up to 3 months and 3-6 month basis which hugely reduces costs, even if only going out on the water for 3-days or more.

The fee for a foreigner to swim, snorkel, or dive in the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area for up to a month is IDR 200,000, for up to 3 months IDR 500,000, and for up to 6 months IDR 800,000. 

As a result of issues with e-payments at the entry points to the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area, it looks like tourists will be pointed toward the dedicated website for making their tourism retribution payments in the future.

The Head of Bali Province Fisheries and Maritime Service, I Nengah Bagus Sugiarta, has spoken to reporters about the new changes.

There have been suggestions that the fees will increase in the coming months. 

Sugiarta has confirmed that payment of the retribution fees will still be possible at Tanjung Benoa, Benoa Harbor, Serangan, Semawang Padangbai Harbor, Jungutbatu Harbor, Bias Munjul, and Tanjung Sanghyang Harbor.

As well as from Toya Pakeh Village-Sakti Village, Ped Village-Suana Village, and from the Crystal Bay which are all the main meeting points for boat and snorkeling tours in the Nusa Penida Marine Protection Area. 

He noted, however, that he and his teams will be cracking down on tourists and tour operators not paying the fees.

More patrols and ticket checking will be being conducted from now on and teams have been advised to ensure that tourist are making their payments online if there are issues at the main counters. 

The main website is – https://balimarinepark.baliprov.go.id/en/dashboard/ – To process payment online, tourists must click through to ATIX Online Ticket from the main website.

In the ‘Name of Destination’ box, simply type in ‘Nusa Penida’ and click KKP Nusa Penida (the box with the photo of the sunfish).

You’ll be guided to the payment page and select “Tiket Masuk Mancanegara” – all pages of the website can be translated into English in the top corner, but the selection category for the ticket types does not translate from Bahasa Indonesia.