Nusa Lembongan: A Slower Island in the Bali Strait

Nusa Lembongan is one of three small islands sitting east of Bali in the Badung Strait — the others being Nusa Penida (the big one to the south) and Nusa Ceningan (the tiny one between them, joined to Lembongan by a yellow suspension bridge). Lembongan is small, quiet, and exactly the antidote to a busy week on the main island. There are no cars. The roads are scooter-wide. The beaches are mostly empty after 5 p.m. The diving and snorkelling are arguably the best in the Bali area. And the pace — the actual texture of the day — is slower in a way that you can feel in your shoulders within about an hour of arriving.

I had three days. It was the right length.

Getting there

Fast boats run from Sanur on Bali’s east coast to Lembongan throughout the day. The crossing is around thirty minutes. Cost is about $20–30 each way; book through your hotel or any of the kiosks at Sanur Beach. Boats arrive at Jungutbatu, the main village on Lembongan’s western shore.

You don’t need a car. You don’t need a Grab. Most accommodations send a small pickup to the beach (call ahead), and once you’re at your villa you’ll either rent a scooter ($5 a day) or walk. The whole island is about three kilometres long.

I stayed at a small bungalow at Mushroom Bay. Cost: $45 a night, with breakfast on a deck over the beach. Hard to beat.

Day one: arrival, beach, slow start

Arrive on the morning boat. Lunch at one of the warungs along Jungutbatu Beach (the main strip — Bunga Cafe, Kuningan Beach Warung, Sandy Bay Cafe). Have a long swim. Walk south along the coast.

Sandy Bay, twenty minutes from the village by scooter, is the prettiest beach on the island. White sand, calm water, a single beach bar with cushioned daybeds you can hire for $15 (which buys you the daybed plus a credit at the bar). There’s a small ocean pool at one end of the bay that fills with each tide. Sunset here is the move on day one. Order a coconut. Order a beer. Watch the surf.

For dinner, Hai Bar at Mushroom Bay is consistently brilliant — fresh fish, charcoal grill, sunset over the strait. Book a table.

Day two: the diving (or the mangroves)

Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida together form one of the great dive areas in Indonesia. The reasons are scale (the strait is deep and the currents are nutrient-rich), variety (manta rays at Manta Point, mola mola sunfish in the cooler season, drift dives on healthy coral walls), and accessibility (most sites are 15–30 minutes by boat from Lembongan’s dive centres).

If you’re a certified diver, book a two-tank dive day. Several reputable dive shops operate from Lembongan — Two Fish Divers and World Diving Lembongan are the established names; both are PADI 5-Star centres with serious safety standards. A two-tank day is around $90–110, including gear, lunch, and the boat ride.

I did Manta Point and Crystal Bay on my dive day. Manta Point is exactly what it sounds like: a shallow cleaning station off Nusa Penida’s west coast where reef manta rays come in to be cleaned by small fish. We had four mantas glide directly over us within the first ten minutes — wing tips bigger than my arms span — at a depth of maybe eight metres. They came so close one of the divers in our group involuntarily ducked. The boat captain was unsurprised. He said quietly, “Manta Point.”

Crystal Bay, the second dive, was a pretty wall dive with healthy coral and a strong drift. We didn’t see any mola mola (it was the wrong season), but the coral and reef fish density were excellent. By 3 p.m. we were back at the dive shop with a hot shower, a beer, and an unstoppable smile. Best dive day of my life.

If you don’t dive — or even if you just want a slower morning — book a mangrove paddle. Lembongan has a substantial mangrove forest at its northern tip, accessible by hiring a small wooden outrigger and a poler (a guide who pushes the boat through the channels with a long bamboo pole). The trip costs about $10 per person and takes around an hour. The mangroves are quiet, shaded, full of crabs and small fish, and one of the more meditative experiences you can have on the islands. Several of the mangrove guides also offer kayak rentals and a short snorkel stop.

Day three: Ceningan and the yellow bridge

On day three, take the scooter (or walk) across to Nusa Ceningan via the famous Yellow Bridge — a footbridge spanning the channel between the two islands. The original bridge collapsed in 2016 (with fatalities); the rebuilt one is much sturdier and rated for scooters and pedestrians, though wide cars and trucks are no longer allowed.

Ceningan is tiny — you can ride around the entire island in twenty minutes — and the headline attractions are the Blue Lagoon (a deep, bright turquoise inlet at the southern tip, with a cliff platform you can jump from if you’re feeling brave) and the cliff lookout at the western edge, with sweeping views across to Penida. Spend a half-day exploring. There are a couple of small cafes and warungs for lunch. Don’t overplan. Ceningan is for slow.

Back on Lembongan, finish with a sunset at Mushroom Bay or Dream Beach. Pack. Catch the morning fast boat home.

How nice are people on Lembongan?

Tiny-island warm. The Lembongan community is small enough that the same faces appear in different places — the bartender at Mushroom Bay is also the mangrove guide’s cousin, who is also the dive shop’s neighbour. Within three days I had: a bungalow owner walk me to the doctor when I felt seasick on day one (I was fine; she made me drink coconut water, which fixed it); a dive guide who refused to let me carry my own gear after the first dive “because you’re tired, professional rule”; and a warung lady who packed an extra portion of nasi campur into my lunchbox “for tomorrow morning, before the boat.” The Balinese hospitality continues to be the warmest thing about Indonesia.

If you go

• Three days minimum on Lembongan. One day is a tease. Two is short. • Book the dive day in advance, especially if you want Manta Point — it’s a popular site. • Bring cash for everything. Some warungs and small operators don’t take cards. • Wear reef-safe sunscreen. You’re snorkelling and diving on living reefs. • Don’t plan to combine Lembongan with a Nusa Penida day trip in the same week. Penida deserves its own day from Bali; Lembongan deserves its own visit. Mixing the two leaves you tired of boats.

Lembongan is the slower, quieter Bali — the one you find when you’re ready to stop running. Three days here will reset you in a way that the busy main island never quite manages. The mangroves are quiet. The mantas are real. The bridge is, finally, sturdy. Go.

Plan your trip to Indonesia

For more, see our Indonesia travel guide and country page, places to visit in Indonesia on BugBitten, tours and experiences in Indonesia.

Useful external resources: the Indonesia country profile on Wikipedia and the official Indonesia tourism site.