Guide To Sightseeing Nusa Lembongan

The Nusa Islands (Lembongan, Penida, and Ceningan)are a small cluster of islands in Indonesia right next to Bali. If there are places you want to see on each island don’t worry it’s pretty easy to get from place to place. Either with a tour, scooters, or taxi. My backpackers guide to sightseeing Nusa Lembongan is all about traveling on a budget and easy travel hacks to seeing everything.

How To Get There

The docks in Sanur will have several options available to get you to Lembongan and Penida. Most will try and get you to go with their round trip package. I’m not going to lie the one I found had a package round trip boat, hotel drop off/pick up on the Nusa islands, and drop off at your new hotel in Bali on the main island. That was worth it for $36. It would have cost a lot more if it was all separate and tried to haggle with taxis.

There are no ferry’s that go to Nusa just fast boats. It’s about a 30 min ride out and you can actually still see Bali from the coastline.

Where To Stay

I stayed on Lembongan in Kawan’s Inn which was really nice, had it’s own private pool, and cafe for breakfast. I found it on Airbnb and just make sure that you google the actual address because if you click the address in the Airbnb map it’s not accurate. Most Airbnb locations are super cheap for only $15-25/night which is what I looked at. My private pool room was only $25 a night and I split that with a friend.

It truly doesn’t matter which island you stay on because it’s easy to get around to all three. There is a bridge that connects Lembongan to Ceningan. The only one that you have to get to by boat is Penida.

What To Do

The Best Beaches for sightseeing Nusa Lembongan

1. Dream Beach
2. Sand Bay Beach
3. Devil’s Tear
4. Blue Lagoon
5. Crystal Bay
6. Kelingking Beach.

Devil’s Tear isn’t a beach but more a photo opportunity because of the dramatic waves that crash in and out of the cove. Kelingking Beach is where you see all of those Instagram pictures of the dinosaur shaped rock and girls in boho dresses walking down the stairs. 

Snorkel or Dive with Manta Rays! I was so excited to take this tour. I found a 3 hour snorkel tour of 4 different spots ($10) and you had the chance to swim with Manta Rays. Well there is a season for the Manta Rays folks and they told us that was not the time only after getting on the boat. If you want to swim with these gentle giants the season is November to April. 

How To Get Around

The best way to get around to go sightseeing around Nusa Lembongan and the other islands is by motorbike. EVERYONE will have rental options so don’t worry. It’s a lot cheaper than tuk tuk’s. However, if you don’t have any experience driving a motorbike….don’t rent one or practice before your trip. So many people rent motorbikes, don’t know how to drive them, get in recks, and then have to pay for damages, etc.

Going over the yellow bridge from Lembongan to Ceningan is pretty tight and I still get nervous just writing about it. So MUCH ANXIETY with that bridge and if you try and drive a motorbike over it you’ll see why! haha

If you have the time to take a few days away from Bali and visit the Nusa Islands it’s worth the trip. Some of the BEST diving/snorkeling experiences I had were off of this collection of islands. The coral and fish are so incredibly vibrant! Probably my favorite part about sightseeing Nusa Lembongan.

The fish also have no issue getting up and close with you so it’s perfect for those GoPro videos! I take mine everywhere and can film under da sea. If you need a recommendation for cameras my favorite is the GoPro Hero 7 Black. With a touch screen, built in stabilization, and 4k HD video quality, it’s the best there is for underwater cameras.

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