Lembongan is small enough to cross in fifteen minutes by scooter, yet it packs in wave-battered cliffs, a calm swimming bay, surf breaks, mangroves and seaweed farms. Across the Yellow Bridge, Nusa Ceningan adds the Blue Lagoon; across the channel, Nusa Penida adds the mantas and some of the most dramatic coastline in Indonesia. These are the twelve places we would build a stay around, each with its own guide.
Things to Do on Nusa Lembongan & Around
Twelve places across three islands — all within a short ride or boat trip of your bed.
Nusa Lembongan
Nusa Lembongan Devil’s Tear
Where the Indian Ocean explodes into the rocks
A jagged limestone inlet on Lembongan’s south-west coast where swells funnel into a sea cave and burst upwards in plumes of spray. Sunset here, with rainbows in the mist, is the island’s signature sight — and the rocks are genuinely dangerous.
Nusa Lembongan Dream Beach
Lembongan’s prettiest cove
A short crescent of white sand between limestone cliffs, a five-minute walk from Devil’s Tear. The colour of the water is extraordinary; the waves and currents can be too, so it is often better for looking at than swimming in.
Nusa Lembongan Mushroom Bay
The calm, sheltered bay on the west coast
A crescent of sand on the west coast, named after the mushroom corals that once filled it. Protected from the swell, it is Lembongan’s best swimming beach and the base for many resorts, day-cruise beach clubs and boats from Sanur.
Nusa Lembongan Jungutbatu Beach
The village beach, the surf breaks and Mount Agung
The long north-west beach where most fast boats land and where Lembongan’s tourism began, with surfers in the 1970s. Guesthouses, dive shops and warungs line the sand; offshore are the reef breaks of Shipwrecks, Lacerations and Playgrounds, and on clear mornings Mount Agung rises behind Bali.
Nusa Lembongan Mangrove Forest
Quiet channels on the north-east coast
Lembongan’s north-eastern shore is fringed by a protected mangrove forest threaded with shallow channels. Local boatmen punt visitors through it on flat wooden boats; you can also kayak or paddleboard, and snorkel at the nearby Mangrove Point reef.
Nusa Ceningan
Nusa Ceningan Yellow Bridge
The suspension bridge to Nusa Ceningan
The narrow yellow suspension bridge (Jembatan Kuning) across the tidal channel between Lembongan and Ceningan, used by pedestrians and scooters. The original collapsed in 2016; the rebuilt crossing is one of the islands’ best-known landmarks and a lovely spot at sunset.
Nusa Ceningan Blue Lagoon
Cliff jumping into electric-blue water
A small cove on Nusa Ceningan’s south-west coast where the sea turns an astonishing blue against white limestone cliffs. Cliff-jump platforms of different heights draw daredevils — on calm days only. With a swell running, it is strictly a viewpoint.
Nusa Ceningan Seaweed Farms
The islands’ traditional living
For decades the shallow channel between Lembongan and Ceningan was a patchwork of seaweed plots, tended at low tide and dried on the shore. Tourism has replaced much of it, but farming continues, and walking the shallows at low tide shows you a side of island life the day cruises rarely see.
Nusa Penida & the reefs
Nusa Penida & the reefs Manta Point
Snorkel and dive with reef manta rays
A cleaning station off Nusa Penida’s wild south-west coast, where reef manta rays gather to have parasites picked off by small fish. Encounters are frequent all year, making it one of the most reliable places in Asia to see mantas — reached by a 30–45-minute boat ride from Lembongan.
Nusa Penida & the reefs Crystal Bay
Penida’s palm-fringed bay and mola-mola dive site
A sheltered bay on Nusa Penida’s west coast, backed by palms and a small temple island. Its reef is a favourite snorkel stop, and on the drop-off beyond, divers look for the oceanic sunfish (mola mola) that rise from the deep, mostly between July and October.
Nusa Penida & the reefs Kelingking Beach
The “T-Rex” headland above a hidden beach
Nusa Penida’s most famous view: a knife-edge limestone headland shaped like a dinosaur, plunging to a pristine white-sand beach. The viewpoint is easy; the steep descent to the sand is a serious scramble that takes most people 30–60 minutes each way.
Nusa Penida & the reefs Broken Beach & Angel’s Billabong
A sea arch and a natural infinity pool
Two neighbouring wonders on Penida’s west coast. At Broken Beach (Pasih Uug) the sea flows through a giant natural arch into a circular cove; five minutes away, Angel’s Billabong is a rock pool on the cliff edge that looks like an infinity pool — and becomes lethal when waves break over it.
A sensible three-night plan: Day one, arrive from Sanur, swim at Mushroom Bay and watch the sunset at Devil’s Tear. Day two, manta snorkelling in the morning, the mangroves in the afternoon. Day three, Nusa Penida — Kelingking, Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong. Morning four, cross the Yellow Bridge to Ceningan before the boat back to Bali.
Plan your island days
Turn a few days on Lembongan into the highlight of your Bali trip
Swim with manta rays, watch the waves at Devil’s Tear, cross the Yellow Bridge to Ceningan and stand above Kelingking on Nusa Penida. Compare the best-rated experiences and book in a couple of taps.