We spent four days at gorgeous INAYA Putri Bali entranced by the tidal pools that emerge each afternoon and are filled with all kinds of beautiful and unusual sealife. There were thousands of starfish, large sea hares, any number of little fish, sea slugs, eels and more.
On the second day, I was able to trail along behind a banded sea snake as he tried to make his way to deeper water. I knew it was a fatally venomous snake (50x more poisonous than a cobra per Bali Animal Welfare Association), but non-aggressive and I didn’t crowd him.
The next day, I was watching a small eel when a little octopus showed up. I trailed him with my camera. When I looked him up later, I found he’s a blue-ringed octopus and “recognized as one of the world’s most venomous marine animals,” having “enough poison to kill 26 adults within minutes.”
There’s no antivenin for either of these critters.
Quite a few people enjoyed the tidal pools and we saw lots of parents scooping up marine critters to put in pails for their children to see. We saw no warnings posted about the dangers posed by some of the local sealife, so be advised. Sea creatures are fascinating and often beautiful, but never try to touch or pick up what you aren’t familiar with.
HI, I was doing some research on Bali, for our upcoming family holiday in Easter and I found your article which made me locking up Nusa Dua rather than Kuta Beach for holiday. At first want to pick Kuta Beach because of its short distance from the airport and the most attractive turtle release activity. My 8 year old daughter loves sea creature and I often take her to tidal pool to look for new species. I am wondering which part of the Nusa Dua Beach are you referring to? Was it right outside Inaya Putri Hotel? I have been researching on other hotels beaches but seemed like nothing comparable to your location? Appreciate your advice. Thanks!
Yes, we were exploring tidal pools right in front of the Inaya Putri Bali hotel beach. They are fascinating and beautiful. Just be smart about the sealife you or your daughter touch or pick up! We thought the Inaya Putri Bali to be one of the best values in Nusa Dua, which is a more expensive enclave with some really high-end resorts. We were past security at the airport 30 min. after we walked out of our hotel room, too. The new road should make that more of a sure thing. See my post on the hotel for more. Enjoy your time in Bali!