Visiting Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia

Latest visit: March 2018

Tips for visiting Nusa Lembongan:

      • Rent a scooter to explore the island & Nusa Ceningan.
      • Dream beach is worth checking out but swimming wasn’t recommended due to strong currents and there was a lot of trash on the beach.
      • Mamma Mia’s Bar & Grill was recommended to me by an Australian woman who comes to this island every year.
      • I had this map that recommended I make a stop at the Seaweed farms (apparently they export tons of it all over Asia). Once I got to the area, I could see the seaweed but there was no tour, building or even boat there to explain the process, etc. Sadly, I couldn’t actually find any information on site.
      • Devil’s tear, a place where the ocean waves come crashing into a small cove, was very impressive and reminded me of how strong and beautiful mother nature is.
      • Mushroom Beach could have been beautiful if there hadn’t been 10-15 big boats lined up for tours. But this is also where I found a company that would take me (& 2 other new friends I made before getting on the boat) on a snorkeling trip.
      • Snorkeling around Nusa Lembongan/Ceningan/Penida was actually quite challenging. The current was strong, there were a lot of boats and snorkelers, in some areas the water wasn’t very clear and there was trash in the water. We went to Mangrove Stop and Crystal Bay and I wasn’t too impressed by the water nor the coral or fish. Then we went to Buddha point, and that was quite unique: they placed statues at the bottom of the water and coral and fish made it their home. Getting to Manta point was a little bit terrifying because of the size of the waves (and our small boat) and how much we were getting rocked around in the boat…but it was worth fighting the waves and the current to see and swim around HUGE Manta Rays (and trash sadly)!
      • A few more things I wish I had had time to do: check out the shops and restaurants around the downtown area, get an aromatic spa treatment at  Kemilau Spa (recommended by one of my friends), explore the mangrove forest.

Impressions of Nusa Lembongan:

Nusa Lembongan is definitely the more touristy island out of both of them. All the ferries and tour boats arrive here from Bali and other islands so it has a little bit of a tourist trap type of vibe but I was not there long enough to get an in-depth feel for the place. It looked like there were some nice hotels with cute beaches, which I really would have enjoyed to cool my body down! It seemed like this island was busier, more alive and I think spending a night or two here could have been fun.

I did really enjoy exploring the sites mentioned above and think it’s worth the stop. Friends also mentioned that Nusa Penida island was beautiful and was their favorite island out of the 3!

Related posts: Visiting Seminyak (Bali), Visiting Canggu (Bali), Visiting Ubud (Bali), Visiting the Outskirts of Ubud (Bali), Visiting Nusa CeninganVisiting Gili Trawangan and Visiting Sanur (Bali).