We loved our visit to Nusa Lembongan island in Indonesia, and here are the best things to do in Nusa Lembongan, where to stay and where to eat. The island is only around 30 minutes from Bali by fast boat. It’s an easy trip (although sometimes can be quite bumpy) and a nice escape from the energy of Bali into a chilled island with gorgeous blue water, lovely local people and beautiful nature to explore. And Nusa Lembongan has accommodation to suit every budget from incredible beachfront villas to budget huts. 

If you can’t get over to stay on the island, jump on board this luxury catamaran with Bali Hai and spend a day exploring.

Best time to visit Nusa Lembongan

Rainy season is January and February, and although it won’t rain all day, it can be a bit risky to travel then. Personally I’ve travelled the middle of rainy season and it was fine, there was a few hours rain and often days without any rain at all.

If you want the most sun, visit the island from May to September but note the island will be at its busiest. From October to March it’s less crowded and there might be a little rain, but it’s much quieter.

How to get to Nusa Lembongan

Getting to Nusa Lembongan from Bali is easy – just take the fast ferry from with Sanur or Serangan Port. Tickets are less than $15 and you can get them for $6.00 at Klook. Choose from DCamel, Glory Express or Tanis, and add on hotel pickup for $6.35  too.

Getting around Nusa Lembongan

Getting around on scooters was the best way for us to explore  – it can get you everywhere and it’s pretty easy as the roads are quiet. It costs around 50,000 IDR a day for hire plus about 1000 for petrol. If you can ride then hire your own, otherwise hop on the back with a driver and off you go. Take your own bike helmet if you can as you may not be able to get one on the island. Head off over the mountains and along the coast to beaches, bays and lookouts. I’d always said we wouldn’t get on bikes but the roads here are not busy at all.

You can also jump onto taxi transport vans that take people around the island, and walk from beach to beach. 

The best things to do in Nusa Lembongan:

Beaches and bays

There are lots of lovely little bays to swim in, snorkel and stand up paddle so grab some gear and jump in. We organised an early morning boat trip from our villa to Manta Bay, Tamarind bay and Crystal Bay and it was incredible.

Swim with mantas at Manta Bay

Nusa Lembongan’s Manta Bay is incredible and we were surrounded by mantas as soon as we jumped into the water. It was the most magical experience. I took a couple of pics and then quickly realised that for something this special you need to be in the moment. So I put my camera back on the boat and we swam and just were in awe of these incredible creatures.

It can be very busy so make sure to go early, and sadly it is often not the most cleanest water and there is often a lot of plastic litter.

You can organise a trip with a local through your guesthouse or hotel, or look for the signs in the Main Street. An absolute must-do that you can also organise as a day trip out of Bali – we did a trip similar to this when we last visited.

Snorkel at Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay is actually in Nusa Penida but you can easily reach it on a boat charter from Nusa Lembongan. The snorkelling here is insane, the coral and smaller marine life is just stunning and you can float for hours mesmerised by the life underwater. You can also scuba here and it’s fab for a swim closer to shore.Nusa Penida also has the famous T-Rex lookout, beautiful beaches and wild jungle its a fabulous choice for a day or more of exploring – check out the best things to do on Nusa Penida.

Wander the beach at  Jungut Batu

 Jungut Batu is the main beach on the island, it’s where the ferries and the fishing boats pull in, and is lined with  beach bars and hotels . Walk the beach to the mangroves – with Mt Agung across the water in front of you  and stop along the way at little beach bars for a swim, beer and a softie for the kids. 

We loved The Blue Corner and Mahagiri, swimming in the pools and the gorgeous ocean as we made our way up the beach,  enjoying a few beers and some yummy food along the way.

Check out Jungut Batu accomodation here. 

Mushroom Bay

We booked tickets out on a big floating pontoon play area for the day, just off Mushroom Bay. These giant contraptions do kind of the waterline and peace of the island but omg they’re fun with slides, swimming and jumping off the side of the boat. Book here with Bali Hai, and you can book the pontoon only at the Hai Tide resort on Mushroom Bay.

Dream Beach

Dream Beach is a lovely – but often busy – beach with nice swimming and caves to explore. Stop at the top for a pic on the swings overlooking the beach and wander down for a swim and a hang on the beach. You can grab food and drinks here and even stay at the cutest little huts at Dream Beach Huts – with an awesome pool overlooking the beach.

Devils Tears

Right next door to Dream Beach is the Devils Tears. It’s a rocky outcrop amazing for sunset and with a fabulous blowhole that sucks and blows the water out – the droplets seating the teas of the devil. Sometimes you’ll see a rainbow in the spray. It’s a fab little spot – we didn’t see the spray when we visited but we bought a coconut and hung out looking for turtles.

Sandy Bay

 Just around the corner is Sandy Bay Beach, another fab sunset spot with the Sandy Bay Beach Club right on the water. It’s a popular spot for a swim, a meal, and you can stay here at the Sandy Bay Beach Club if you’re prepared to lash out a bit. We felt the surf was too rough to swim here and we watched a few people try…it’s not a good idea. 

The Yellow Bridge to Nusa Ceningan

The location of this iconic bridge has a tragic past – in 2016 the previous suspension bridge collapsed and many local people drowned. The community of businesses, expats and locals came together to support the local people and the bridge was rebuilt, but is a lasting memory to the lives lost. We loved this gorgeous yellow bridge and it was a fave spot for pics.

Stop off at little beach bars

The stretch of water between Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan is crystal clear and absolutely stunning. There are lots of cute little sandy beach bars on both sides of the inlet, and you can stop for a meal, a swim and a massive chill out in the sun.

Stay at Le Pirate – the cutest accommodation on the beach with swimming pool and little huts. It’s gorgeous.

Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon on Nusa Ceningan is the most beautiful lookout over dreamy blue water. It’s so nice to some here with a picnic or a coconut and water around the edge. There’s a little track to the left hat will take you to another viewing spot. The adventurous  cliff jump here…but not me.

 

Stay

We stayed at four amazing properties on the island and recommend them all.

 

Villa Sayang is a luxury villa that can fit up to 14 people and is perched over coconut beach. It is simply incredible and has a full complement of staff including a chef. The boat can be used for beach and bay tours around the islands,

The Tamarind Resort is a resort style property with three fabulous pools, kitchen, gym and facilities, and is just a short walk to  Jungut Batu

 

Tenang Villas are in such a perfect spot just above the restaurants and bars at the northern end of Jungut Batu. You can choose from three villas here.

Eat & drink

Check out the northern end of Jungut Batu for cliff top restaurants and bars like the deck, and fabulously located villas and accommodation – just about all of them have pools and are really affordable.

Nusa Lembongan has great food. If you’re staying in a villa you can eat in, or explore the cliff side restaurants. We loved the Indica Restaurant at the Tamarind and just wandering along the cliff side path and popping in to whatever restaurant took our fancy. There are many to choose from and some will send transport to pick you up and take you home. Check out the Lembongan Traveller for the best places to eat in Lembongan.

We’ve only scratched the surface – do let us know if you have other awesome things to do on Lembongan!

We stayed at a few different places while in Lembongan and there were all great! You can check out prices for the Tamarind Resort here and read our review here.

In Bali we have stayed at some awesome resorts like the Westin Resort Nusa Dua and Padma Resort Ubud.