Our below highlights from the best of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are some of our best beaches, viewpoints and experiences in Indonesia.
Just a boat ride away from Bali – we stayed in Mushroom Bay on Nusa Lembongan island for 5 nights. We hired a scooter and traveled between both islands every day. They are connected by a small yellow bridge and in our minds, are one destination.
Top 10 Highlights from the Best of Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Ceningan
Nusa Lembongan
1. Sunset SUP Boarding at Mushroom Bay
The beach at Mushroom Bay is calm and flat. The perfect place to hire a SUP board during sunset. This was our most memorable moment from our WHOLE trip! *Thanks for the recommendation Meg Sayle.
2. Eating Mie Goreng
Mie Goreng is a local Indonesian dish of spicy fried noodles – similar to Nasi Goreng which is the fried rice version. It comes with tasty chicken satays or prawns and is “garnished” with a fried egg 😉 – typical Southeast Asia.
3. Sunset Beach at Sandy Bay
Sunset Beach is a great spot to end off a beautiful day of exploring. You can watch the sunset from ‘Sandy Bay Beach Club’ (with cocktails), from up on the cliff or from down on the beach.
We opted to swim out over the reef and watch the sunset from in the sea.
4. Devil’s Tear and Dream Beach
Dream Beach is the most popular beach on the island because it offers soft sand and an easier, less rocky swim during high tide. For this reason it is pretty full and not necessarily our number one spot. If you’re heading to Devil’s Tear you can always use it as a quick swim stop.
Devil’s Tear is where the waves spray up fiercely against the rocks. The highlight being the rainbows that form in the spray. It’s actually quite magical (see in our video coming up below).
Nusa Ceningan
5. Discovering the Secret Beach
We first spotted the ‘Secret Beach’ on Nusa Ceningan through a forest of trees. We walked our way down and arrived into a stormy paradise. Surrounded by cliffs on each side this beach is home to the secluded ‘Villa Trevally Hotel’ (our bucketlist spot for a future, wealthier Rudi and Jen).
Having this whole beach to ourselves (in the rain) was so surreal and special. It was low tide so we didn’t actually swim. There is a shallow shore break onto the reef.
6. Sunset cocktails on Nusa Ceningan
As you cross over the yellow bridge from Lembongan to Ceningan you will find a strip of beautiful bars and guesthouses to the right. One of the first spots is ‘Seabreeze Warung Ceningan’.
Funny story – we had been budget backpacking for 7 months at this point and two of our besties (Kay & Dani) decided to send us money for a sneaky spoil. We used part of that spoil on a lazy afternoon here – lying in hammocks and ordering real mojitos. It sounds great – but to us who had only been drinking plain water and the very occasional local beer – it was AMAZING!!
Other good spots include ‘The Sand’ and ‘Le Pirate’! Le Pirate also being a beautiful spot to stay on a slightly higher budget.
7. Cliff Jumping at Mahana Point Surf Spot
Mahana Point is an awesome bar that overlooks a popular point break for surfers. After a cold beer Jen decided to take the 10 metre leap off the balcony.
8. The Blue Lagoon
The view of this unreachable turquoise cove is beyond beautiful. One of the best things about it is that there’s no way to actually get down to reach it. It’s an unspoilt view of a natural wonder!
Island Activities
9. Exploring both Islands on a Hired Scooter
The best decision we made was to hire a scooter from our accommodation. These two islands were made to be explored and a scooter gives you the freedom to do that.
10. A Snorkelling Trip to Manta Bay
The Best of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan is not complete without a snorkelling trip to Manta Bay. We organised a small, intimate trip with our accommodation owner.
On the way there they took us for a quick dip in the Ceningan Channel to visit the underwater Buddha. This is such a unique snorkelling experience!
We arrived at Manta Bay and the swells around Nusa Penida were quite hectic. Although slightly intimidating – the rough weather meant there were far less tourists (sliver lining).
Wading in choppy water with the bashing noises of swells hitting cliffs, we took a breath and went under. Suddenly, everything was calm and still.
We swam with ten, huge, bird-like Manta Rays that day. It was a phenomenal experience.
Watch our fairytale highlights here:
Below is a map showing just how close the Nusa Islands are from Bali mainland. Our one month route went from Bali – to the Nusa Islands – to the Gili Islands – to Lombok – and then back to Bali.
View our favourite travel guides and blogs from Indonesia to see more on these beautiful islands.
