Every now and again, we find ourselves looking around for a new beach club and finding one in the most surprising places. Orca Beach Club is out on the island of Nusa Penida, which is a boat ride away from the mainland.
The Nusa islands are an increasingly popular destination for people who want a slightly less hectic destination than Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu, etc., for a few days.
So, our team was quite excited about getting to go and visit Orca Beach Club and find out if its vibe matches the vibe of the island. This is what they learned there.
Introduction – Getting To Orca Beach Club
If you want to get to Orca Beach Club, first you have to get to Nusa Penida. This isn’t that challenging, in that you can get a boat from Sanur which takes about 45 minutes to reach the island.
However, in rough weather this is a very unpleasant trip and can become physically dangerous to visitors.
Assuming you make it one piece, then Orca Beach Club is in the busiest part of Nusa Penida, and it’s easy enough to get a ride to.
Where Is Orca Beach Club? Jl. Raya Toya Pakeh – Ped, Ped, Kec. Nusa Penida, Kabupaten Klungkung, Bali 80771
Website: Instagram
Opening Hours: 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. every day, except Nyepi
What’s Inside Orca Beach Club?
Orca Beach Club has a restaurant and bar service (supporting multiple cuisines) and a large outdoor pool area with daybeds and decent ocean views. It’s more of a bridging point between a classic beach bar and a modern beach club than anything else.
Our Review Breakdown For Orca Beach Club
Every review we produce for Best Beach Clubs Bali follows an identical mindset and process. This keeps us fair to the owners by applying the same methodologies each time.
It further allows readers to compare venues easily, since each review uses the same structure for every aspect of the business, helping them choose where to visit without difficulty.
To begin, the full team is sent to the beach club in question. Members need not arrive together, simultaneously, or on the same day, but each person still visits the location.
During their visit, they grade the venue from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) in the categories shown below and record any notable details.
Once all have attended, the team meets to talk through what they found and votes on the final mark for every category.
One group member is then selected to write the review, ensuring it mirrors the conversation and displays the final scores.
Finally, the review appears on this site and remains there for a minimum of one year. After that period, we revisit the venue and adjust scores and comments upward or downward as required.
Pre-Club Advertising
Yes, we understand that a beach club out on Nusa Penida has some serious challenges facing them when it comes to advertising.
It’s too expensive to compete against the clubs on the mainland and thus, any investment in this area has to be carefully considered by management.
And so far, we’ve not seen a single advert either online or in print for this beach club, which is a bit of a shame as while it might be costly to advertise, it helps to bring in more visitors, maximising the overall experience.
Location
You can’t fly into Bali, rush off to Orca Beach Club, and then fly home the same day. Nusa Penida is lovely, but it does require a boat ride from Bali to get there, and while it’s a lovely trip in clement weather, it’s an absolute nightmare when the seas are stormy.
Once you reach Nusa Penida, however, this is a very easy beach club to get to, and its location on the coast is very pleasant, indeed.
There are a few other businesses within walking distance if you want to change things up during the day.
Booking Process & Seating Options
It won’t come as a huge surprise, but a beach club which has no website won’t typically have any kind of reservations service.
While this can be appealing due to the fact that you don’t have to pay a deposit, we’d rather pay a deposit and have a guaranteed daybed when we arrive.
We’d like to see more beach clubs invest in booking systems; they’re so inexpensive and super handy for guests. After all, who wants to come all the way to Nusa Penida and not get a seat?
Entry Fee
While they do charge an entrance fee for big events (such as New Year’s Eve, where they charge a completely reasonable 250,000 IDR (about $15 USD or $25 AUD) to get in), generally they have no entrance fee.
That’s exactly as it should be for this kind of facility. You can walk in, check it out, decide if the vibe’s for you and then decide whether to commit your resources to food and drinks.
While we can see that the entrance fee is likely to become a standard in Bali’s beach club scene in the near future, we very much appreciate its absence for now.
Minimum Spend
There is no minimum spend requirement at Orca Beach Club, and while this may sound like it’s in your best interest, we’d beg to differ.
A reasonable minimum spend enables a beach club to start taking deposits, and it encourages them to implement a proper booking system, which is better for all of us in the long run.
Welcome And Security
You will be welcomed with a cheery greeting, and the staff are very helpful in finding you a place to sit and getting your first order taken.
However, there’s no security at all on the door and only a minimal presence in the beach club itself. While there’s probably never any trouble here, we like to see a bag search at a minimum just to try and keep people safe all the time.
Inclusions
It’s free to get in, and there’s no minimum spend, and you can sit down, so what more could you ask for? Not a lot in our opinion, and though we would like to see some VIP tiers of inclusions at every beach club, we’re not surprised that this practice hasn’t reached Nusa Penida just yet.
You will have to pay to rent a towel, but the fee is reasonable and again, the club is free to use; you can’t really go wrong there.
Service
We love coming to places like Orca Beach Club because while the service may not be as polished as it is in 5-star resort beach clubs, you get that wonderful genuine Balinese hospitality that just can’t be beaten.
You feel wanted, warmly appreciated and that nothing’s too much trouble for the staff here, and we think they’re a credit to their management.
Entertainment
Orca Beach Club doesn’t really offer any entertainment, and that’s fair enough. However, we can’t give a score for something that doesn’t exist.
You don’t come to this beach club to party; you come here to chill out and enjoy the seaside vibes, and that’s just fine by us.
Pool Quality
The pool is actually very nice and much bigger than you might expect in an out-of-the-way beach club like Orca.
There are some minor maintenance issues, but the water’s clean and inviting and super refreshing on a hot summer day.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
While you’re never going to find a “cheap” beach club, there’s no doubt that the food and drinks at Orca are cheaper than they are on the mainland.
And we think that they offer a fair reflection of the location and what’s on offer, great value maybe even pushing on the exceptional.
Food And Drink Quality
We found the food to be very tasty, and while it’s never going to win any culinary awards or be mistaken for fine dining, it’s hearty fare, and the portion sizes are generous.
The drinks are strong enough, though the presentation is very much “here’s a drink” rather than Instagram fodder.
Sunset View
If it wasn’t for Lembongan getting in the way, slightly, we’d say that this was one of the best sunset views in Bali; you can see all the way to the mainland on a clear day.
There’s nothing quite like the incredible mix of colours and hues on the ocean when the sun sinks below the horizon.
Music And Ambience
The music at Orca Beach Club is just fine. They do have some live music in the evenings, which varies from night to night.
We can’t imagine anyone travelling to this club for its music, but we can’t imagine anyone being offended by the music here either. It does the job that it’s meant to do.
Payment Options
You can pay with cash, cards, or QRIS and even with the local e-wallet, which was launched specifically for tourists on the Nusa Islands.
They can’t make it much easier than that when it comes to paying, and we found that the bill came promptly, as did our change.
Exit Process
This isn’t the biggest of beach clubs, and while there’s no formal exit process, you just head out the way you came in.
The staff will wish you a cheery farewell as you depart, and overall, this process couldn’t be any easier if it tried.
Transportation
You’ll find that there’s plenty of transportation nearby most of the time at this beach club, but don’t rely on that if you have to be somewhere else at a specific time.
Make sure to book your transportation in advance, and then they can be waiting for you as you walk outside. There’s no taxi mafia on Nusa Penida, but it still makes sense to agree your fares in advance.
Social Media Presence
This is a very small beach club in the middle of nowhere, they rely on their Instagram as their website, but they don’t work very hard to add material or to make it particularly inspiring.
We can’t really fault this too much; it’s just not the kind of polished operation where this kind of thing matters.
Other/General Comments
It’s more of a beach bar than a fully-featured beach club, but that’s fine. This is Nusa Penida, a relaxed island location in the middle of nowhere.
The vibe absolutely tallies with the location, and while this club may not have the highest scores, it does its job admirably well.
Our Overall Opinion On Orca Beach Club
We doubt that Orca Beach Club is ever going to win any awards, but it’s just perfect if you want a pleasant spot to enjoy some food and drink, splash in the pool and appreciate an ocean view, particularly at sunset.
It’s not pretentious or trying to be something it’s not; it’s just a touch of genuine Balinese hospitality on a small island off the coast of Bali.
We would very much return to Orca Beach Club the next time we are passing by, we had a lovely time here.
FAQs
What Can You Do At Orca Beach Club?
You can swim in the pool, take a walk down the beach, sit on a daybed or enjoy food and drinks. There’s not much more to Orca Beach Club than that, and it’s not seeking to compete with the beach clubs on the mainland.
Who Owns Orca Beach Club?
The ownership of this beach club is not in the public domain, but given that the general manager is Balinese, there is a high likelihood that the ownership is local too.
Their social media suggests that the owner might be MG Group, which is headed up by Mr Gede; if that’s the case, then it seems reasonable to believe that this is a locally owned spot.
Is Orca Beach Club Family-Friendly?
Yes, to the greatest extent this is a child-friendly beach club, and there are no age restrictions on visiting Orca Beach Club.
It’s not a party venue, which means your children are unlikely to be exposed to any shocking behaviour.
However, there are no child-specific facilities available here, and while your kids can swim in the pool, you should keep an eye on them at all times. Lifeguarding is a bit hit and miss.
Does Orca Beach Club Have A Dress Code?
No, you can pretty much wear what you like to Orca Beach Club as long as you are dressed legally; you will be fine to spend some time at this beach club.
Nusa Penida is very laid back, even by Bali standards, and this is not a party venue.
What Are Some Other Free Entry Beach Clubs In Bali?
FINNS Beach Club remains the king of free entry clubs in Bali. The world’s best beach club continues to offer guests access to its restaurants and bars without an entrance fee and without a minimum spend.
You might also try Potatohead (though it offers free entry only at certain times), Atlas (free entry only with proof of being a visitor), or White Rock Beach Club (free daytime entry).
Final Thoughts On Orca Beach Club
If you are looking for a fully-featured beach club with all the mod cons, then Orca Beach Club is not the place for you. But then, if you’re looking for that, why are you out on Nusa Penida in the first place?
But if you want an upgraded beach bar experience with a nice ocean view and a fun, relaxed vibe with no need to book in advance? Then, you may find that Orca Beach Club is just the kind of place to complement your Bali holiday.
Would we go to Nusa Penida just for this place? Absolutely not. But if we were in Nusa Penida and passing by, would we stop for a drink? You bet your life we would.
Sometimes, you don’t need polish and refinement; you just need a little authenticity and a place to escape the heat. That’s Orca Beach Club.
