Our journey to Bali was for 15 days. To see more about our 15 days in Bali check out, our 15 Days Itinerary In Bali and/or click on the below links:
7 Reasons Why You Should Go To Nusa Lembongan/Nusa Ceningan
- You are looking for a place to relax?
- You’re a surfer looking for great breaks
- You want to bask in the sunshine on a secluded beach?
- You enjoy Balinese food?
- You’re looking for a destination where you can get a villa with a private pool with gorgeous views?
- You are wanting to island hop?
- You’re looking for a place to snorkel/scuba dive
Our 4 Days In Nusa Lembongan/Nusa Ceningan
We left the beautiful island of Nusa Penida after spending 3 great nights. It is very easy to get from Nusa Penida to Nusa Lembongan. You just need to get to the harbour at Nusa Penida, go to the boat offices and buy a ticket. Generally you will need to wait for the boat to fill up with people before it will take you to Nusa Lembongan. If you are coming from Sanur, Bali it is just as easy, just grab a fast boat!!
About Nusa Lembongan
Nusa Lembongan is a small island southeast of Bali. It is one of the three islands which make up the Nusa Penida district. Out of the three islands Nusa Lembongan is the most popular for tourists. The islands are easily accessible by fast boat from the mainland and you can easily hop from one island to the other. You can take a boat from Nusa Penida harbour which is approximately a 15min ride to Nusa Lembongan. Once you arrive here you can walk or grab a scooter and cross the Yellow Bridge to the neighbouring smaller island Nusa Ceningan.
The island is popular for its beautiful beaches, surfing hot spots, snorkelling and Mangrove Forest.
The easiest way to explore the island is to hire a motorbike/scooter, some prefer to hire a bicycle or you can grab a taxi.
Some of the most popular tourist spots are Devils Tear, Dream Beach and Mangrove Forest. You can sit in one of the many bars and look across to the neighbouring island Nusa Ceningan or if you are on the other side of the island look across to Bali.
About Nusa Ceningan
Nusa Ceningan is an island which is the smallest of the three islands which makes up the Nusa Penida District. It is situated between Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida in the south of Bali. The island is easily accessible by crossing the “Yellow Bridge” from Nusa Lembongan. You can opt to walk across the bridge or go by scooter. It’s a very easy 5min scenic stroll.
The island can be explored by scooter within a couple of hours. If you are into fitness you could walk or cycle. The island is very easy to get around. Once you cross the Yellow Bridge you will find a number of restaurants that line the estuarine and you can enjoy a refreshment whilst looking across to the neighbouring Nusa Lembongan.
The island is popular with surfers that want to escape the crowds from Nusa Lembongan.
Our Journey
Day 1 Itinerary
- 15 min boat ride from Nusa Penida to Nusa Lembongan
- Hired scooter
- Checked into Villa
- Walked to Tamarind beach
- Lunch in one of the many restaurants overlooking the ocean
- Explored some of the island by scooter
- Evening spent relaxing in our private pool in the villa overlooking the ocean
It was a very quick and enjoyable boat ride from Nusa Penida to Nusa Lembongan. On arrival it is very easy to hire a motorbike/scooter or grab a taxi. We opted for a scooter and headed straight to our villa as we had our luggage with us.
We spoilt ourselves on this occasion and opted for a villa with a private view and gorgeous views. This villa ticked all our boxes….it really was a beautiful place to relax and take in the awesome view.
It was extremely hard to leave the villa!! If you wanted to you could easily spend your time here relaxing in the serenity and taking in the beauty of this lovely island. From our villa it was a 5 min stroll down to the beach. Easy walking distance to “Playgrounds” where you’ll find the surfers. You can choose from a number of restaurants to grab a meal and/or refreshment to enjoy whilst gazing across the ocean.
After lunch we strolled back to the villa to take a refreshing dip in our pool before heading off on the scooter to explore some of the island. Compared to Nusa Penida this island is full of tourists and caters for the tourist. You can easily go around the entire island by scooter in a couple of hours.
Our evening was spent relaxing in the comfort of the villa and enjoying the refreshing swimming pool.
Day 2 Itinerary
- Crossed the Yellow Suspension Bridge to Nusa Cenigan
- Explored Nusa Ceningan – Mahana Point (surf place) & Secret Beach
- Brunch along Jalan Nusa Ceningan (the main road when you come off the Yellow Bridge)
- Returned to Lembongan Island
- Explored Dream Beach
- Explored Devils Tear
- Lunch – Mama Mia’s Restaurant
- Afternoon spent relaxing in the private villa infinity pool
- Watched the sunset at sunset point
- Dinner – Mama Mia’s Restaurant overlooking Nusa Ceningan
- Evening spent relaxing in the private infinity pool at the villa
As we had a villa with an amazing view and kitchen we chose to shop locally and stock up with ingredients for breakfast. This in itself was an experience. You don’t buy a carton of eggs. You simply buy how many eggs you require and they are put in a plastic bag!! Being on the back of the scooter Mum had to be very careful how she carried the eggs home!!
After a home cooked breakfast it was time to explore. Off we headed to the Yellow Bridge where we crossed over to Nusa Ceningan. It’s another beautiful island with numerous scenic points and private beaches.
The island itself is very easy to navigate and it’s easy to find places to top up your petrol. It would be pretty hard to get lost for any length of time.
We had a lovely time scooting from one beach to another and taking in the beauty and culture of this small island. Our first stop was to watch the surfers at Mahana Point. Here the beach was beautiful, lovely white sand and clear waters.
Our next stop was at Secret Beach which is part of a hotel. If you are not a guest at the hotel you can frequent the beach provided you order food or drinks. The view here is absolutely gorgeous. You can lay on the sun lounges, gazing over the swimming pool and take in the ocean view.
Before crossing the Yellow Bridge back to Nusa Lembongan you will see a number of restaurants to grab a refreshment. The restaurants line the estuary and are a great spot to stop and take in the beautiful view across the estuary to Nusa Lembongan. It wasn’t lunch time however we opted to stop for brunch to take in the serenity of this beautiful island.
After exploring the island we headed back across the Yellow Bridge to Nusa Lembongan. It was time to explore Dream Beach. Dream Beach is a very popular beach on the island, however still considered a secluded beach. The beach is approximately 115m of white sand. You can swim here in low tide. As soon as you reach here it doesn’t take long to realise why its a popular destination.
From Dream Beach we scooted along to the popular tourist destination of nearby Devils Tear. Tourists are drawn here to take their instagram selfie as the waves crash up against the rocks in the cove behind them. This was the most populated area with tourists that we found on the island. Always take care when taking that special photo that the waves aren’t going to come crashing up and over you. Whilst we were here the waves were quite calm and there was a beautiful rainbow in the mist of the waves.
After spending the morning and afternoon exploring it was time to recharge our batteries and grab a very late lunch. We found this lovely restaurant which is situated along the estuary. Whilst you enjoy your meal you take in the scenic surroundings and look over to Nusa Ceningan.
Whilst scooting along we love seeing the culture of Bali. You never know what you will see. We drove past a builders site and stumbled upon this old canoe being used to sift sand.
With our bellies full it was time to go and relax back at our villa and enjoy the gorgeous view and swimming pool.
Such a wonderful place to relax, lap up the warm sunshine, take in the scenic view, the serenity and enjoy the refreshing pool after a day of exploring. Feeling refreshed it was time to scoot off to Sunset Point for a refreshment and to witness the sunset on this gorgeous island. There are great views from this point. A place where you can watch the waves crash up on the cliff rocks.
We then returned to Mama Mia’s Restaurant for a yummy dinner. The food is delicious, the staff are friendly and the view is beautiful. This little restaurant has become a favourite destination for us to go for a refreshment or meal.
Day 3 Itinerary
- Attended the ceremony for the full moon at the main temple
- Explored Nusa Lembongan by scooter
- Booked snorkelling trip for the next morning
- Relaxed in the Infinity pool at the villa
We love to witness the true culture of Bali and were fortunate the full moon ceremony was taking place whilst we were on Nusa Lembongan. With that in mind we headed to a local store to buy sarongs so we could go to the temple and witness the ceremony. Shoulders are required to be covered as well as your legs.
The locals attire is gorgeous. The ladies all wearing their traditional attire with flowers in their hair. The men & children also wearing traditional attire. It was a beautiful sight to witness.
It was absolutely fascinating. The ceremony went for several hours. We stayed for a couple of hours. There were so many traditional dances. Unfortunately we didn’t have anyone with us that could explain what was happening. Regardless of this we found it all very interesting and a great experience that we will always treasure.
The island was a buzz with the ceremony taking place at different temples across the island. Some streets were closed. As the ceremony was coming to a close streets were crowded with locals, many carrying their blessings on their heads.
After the ceremony it was time to explore some more of Nusa Lembongan and book our snorkelling trip for the next morning.
It was then time to enjoy another delicious meal at Mama Mia’s. The chef and staff all becoming our friends. With full bellies we headed back to the villa to make the most of this gorgeous view and our refreshing private infinity pool….aargh this is the life!! This is where we spent our afternoon, only leaving to go out for dinner!!
Day 4 Itinerary
- 3 hr Private snorkelling trip around Nusa Penida – Manta Bay, Crystal Bay & Wall Bay
- Checked out of hotel
- Returned scooter to the harbour bike hire
- 15 min boat transfer to Nusa Penida
- 30 min fast boat transfer from Nusa Penida to Sanur
- Private transfer from Sanur to Legian (approx. 55 mins)
It was an early morning rise. We then headed off on our private snorkelling trip. The best places to snorkel are on Nusa Penida. Yes, the island we’d stayed at prior to Nusa Lembongan. Whilst on the island we didn’t have time to go snorkelling. We didn’t want to leave these gorgeous islands without snorkelling in their warm waters. There are lots of companies to choose from which will take you snorkelling or scuba diving.
We opted to pay a little more and have our own private snorkelling trip. This way we got more time in the water rather than waiting for others to get back in the boat.
Our first stop was swimming with the Manta Rays at Manta Bay. The Manta Rays are huge and come up pretty close!! Such beautiful creatures to be sharing the water with. It truly was a great experience.
Our next stop was to snorkel with lots and lots of fish at Crystal Bay. This was a lovely spot to snorkel and feed the fish. We also enjoyed seeing the bay from a different perspective. When we were on Nusa Penida and visited Crystal Bay we only saw it from the beach. Unfortunately we don’t have any photos to share of our experience snorkelling as our driver took the photos with our phone which had a cheap water proof cover on it, hence the photos are not good quality!! Lesson learnt, ensure before you go snorkelling have a waterproof camera or phone protector which is of good quality!!
From Crystal Bay we went to Wall Bay which was another great snorkelling spot. You get dropped off and literally float along Wall Bay with the current. There were a lot of other snorkelers and scuba divers enjoying these tourist hot spots.
Sadly after our snorkelling adventure it was time to go back to the villa and check out. It was that time to move on to our next destination in Bali. We had a wonderful time on the island and truly loved staying in the villa.
Once we’d checked out we headed back to the Yellow Bridge to return the scooter and to book a boat to take us to Nusa Penida. We had a boat already pre booked to take us from Nusa Penida to Sanur. However if we hadn’t had this pre booked we could’ve got a boat directly to Sanur.
It was a 15 min boat road to Nusa Penida. 5 min walk to where our fast boat departed. The fast boat is approximately a 30min ride to Sanur. If you are likely to get sea sick highly recommend you take motion sickness tablets as the crossing can be quite rough.
We arrived in Sanur to our transfer waiting for us, they took us directly to our hotel in Legian. We were pleasantly surprised that it was just us in the transfer so we didn’t have to go all around Bali to get to our hotel.
Where Should I Go After Nusa Lembongan?
We returned back to Legian for our last 3 nights in Bali. If you’d like to follow our journey then check out our 3 Nights Legian
Nusa Lembongan Location
Nusa Lembongan is an Island southeast of Bali.
How I Do I Get To Nusa Lembongan?
You can get a 30min fast boat from Sanur, Bali directly to Nusa Lembongan. The most common option is to get a 30min fast boat from Sanur, Bali to Nusa Penida. From Nusa Penida it’s approximately a 15min boat road.
From Nusa Penida it’s approximately a 15min boat road.
Nusa Ceningan Location
Nusa Ceningan Island is located southeast of Bali.
How Do I Get To Nusa Ceningan
You can get a 30min fast boat from Sanur, Bali directly to Nusa Lembongan. From Nusa Lembongan you can walk, cycle or go by motorbike/scooter across the Yellow Bridge to Nusa Ceningan.
The most popular option is to get a 30min fast boat from Sanur, Bali to Nusa Penida. From Nusa Penida it’s approximately a 15min boat road to Nusa Lembongan. From Nusa Lembongan you cross the Yellow Bridge by foot, bicycle or motorbike/scooter to Nusa Ceningan.
Feedback/Comments
Have you explored the beautiful islands of Nusa Ceningan or Nusa Lembongan? What experiences or tips can you share with us? We’d love to hear from you.
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