Manta Point Snorkeling & West Nusa Penida Land Tour from Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan and the Yellow Bridge

Nusa Lembongan is the small island between Bali and Nusa Penida, a relaxed place of seaweed farms, white-sand coves and mangroves that many travellers choose as their base for the Nusa islands. The day starts here: on the default option our driver picks you up from your hotel and drives you to the Yellow Bridge, the narrow suspension bridge that links Lembongan with its sister island Nusa Ceningan and the departure point for boats to Nusa Penida.

After a quick check-in you board a fast boat for the short crossing of about fifteen minutes to Toyapakeh harbour on Nusa Penida's north-west coast, where the snorkelling crew and your island guide are waiting. Doing a Nusa Penida tour from Lembongan means far less time on the water than a trip from mainland Bali, so you get more hours on the reef and at the viewpoints. At the end of the day the boat brings you back and we drop you off on Lembongan.

Manta Point, Nusa Penida

Manta Point lies off the south-west coast of Nusa Penida, at the foot of high limestone cliffs where deep, nutrient-rich water rises from the open ocean. Reef manta rays visit this area all year round to feed and to be cleaned by small fish, which makes it one of the most reliable places in Indonesia to see them. Some of the mantas measure three metres or more from wingtip to wingtip, yet they move with slow, almost weightless grace.

Your crew chooses the best moment to enter the water, and you float at the surface while the mantas pass below. Sightings depend on nature and are never guaranteed, and the sea here can be choppy with swell, so you must be a confident open-water swimmer. Touching marine life is not allowed. If the crew cannot reach Manta Point safely because of the weather, they take you to a sheltered snorkelling spot instead. Snorkelling time in total is about three hours.

Gamat Bay snorkelling

Gamat Bay is a small cove on Nusa Penida's west coast, close to Crystal Bay, framed by steep green cliffs that shelter it from the wind. Below the boat the water is usually clear and calm enough to see the reef from the surface: hard and soft corals, giant clams, and schools of colourful tropical fish such as butterflyfish, damselfish and parrotfish. Turtles are sometimes seen here as well.

After the excitement of Manta Point, the Gamat Bay snorkelling stop is the relaxed part of the morning, ideal for photos with the underwater action camera that is included in the trip. You spend about an hour and a half between the two snorkelling spots, with time to rest on the boat in between. Please use reef-safe, biodegradable sunscreen to protect the coral, and eat a light breakfast beforehand if you are prone to seasickness.

Kelingking Beach viewpoint

Kelingking Beach is the image that made Nusa Penida famous: a long green limestone headland that drops into the turquoise sea in a shape that looks like a dinosaur head, with a perfect crescent of white sand far below. After the snorkel and a lunch stop at a local restaurant at your own expense, a car takes you along the island's narrow roads to the clifftop viewpoint on the south-west coast.

You have time to walk along the ridge railing, take photos from the classic angle and watch the waves wrap around the headland. The trail down to the beach is very steep and is not part of this tour. Roads on Nusa Penida are narrow and bumpy, so the drive takes patience; your driver knows the island well. The best time to visit Kelingking Beach is around midday to early afternoon, when the sun lights up the colour of the water.

Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong (option)

If you prefer rock formations to viewpoints, choose the option with Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong on the same west coast. Broken Beach, known locally as Pasih Uug, is a circular bay enclosed by cliffs where the sea flows in through a huge natural arch, creating a lagoon that you can walk all the way around on the clifftop path.

A few minutes' walk away lies Angel's Billabong, a natural rock pool carved into the cliff edge, filled with emerald water that glows in the sun. At low tide and in calm conditions it looks like an infinity pool; when the swell is high, waves crash over it, so visitors should stay on the rocks above and follow the guide's advice. Both sites are seen in about an hour, and this option has the same snorkelling programme and the same pickup choices as the Kelingking option.