Is Nusa Lembongan Worth Visiting? 5 Questions to Decide
When you only have so many days to spend in Bali or Indonesia, it’s difficult to figure out what’s worth your time and how many days to spend in each place. Although Nusa Lembongan is only 15 to 30 minutes from the island of Bali by boat, it’s a small island that often gets overshadowed by its larger counterpart Nusa Penida.
I had the luxury of being in Indonesia for a month and chose to spend six days in Nusa Lembongan. I absolutely loved the small, relaxed island. In fact, I prefer it over Nusa Penida. While I think that Nusa Lembongan is absolutely worth visiting, I recognize that it may not be worth it for everyone. To help you decide, use the questions below to determine whether it’s worth it for you.
Do you have at least one night to spare?
One night is the minimum that I recommend for Nusa Lembongan. You can take one of the morning ferries from Bali to Nusa Lembongan and then have an entire day to explore the island. Getting around Nusa Lembongan is easily done via scooter, bike, foot, or golf cart. I recommend renting a scooter for the most cost- and time-efficient way to see all the sights in one day. If you don’t know how to drive a scooter, you can still hit up all the sights by walking the entire island. It’ll just be a long, hot day.
After a night in Nusa Lembongan, you can take the first half of the following day to see anything you didn’t get to. If you managed to get to everything though, you can head to your next destination.
Do you plan on staying on Nusa Penida?
If you know that you’ll be making a stop at Nusa Penida, staying at least one night on Nusa Lembongan can be worth it since Nusa Lembongan is on the way to Nusa Penida. This breaks up the journey and gives you more time to see Nusa Lembongan than a day trip from Bali or Nusa Penida does.
On the other hand, it may also be worth just going straight to Nusa Penida and skipping a night on Nusa Lembongan. You may want to do this instead if you don’t want the hassle of having to pack up after one night and you’re happy to experience Nusa Lembongan via a day trip.
Do you want to get away from tourists and traffic?
If you had visions of empty beaches and dirt roads with hardly any cars, then you might have been disappointed when landing in Bali. Depending on where you go, the province of Bali is notoriously touristy and busy. This is the case in Nusa Penida, which attracts lots of tourists with its Instagram-worthy landscapes. However, Nusa Lembongan offers a much quieter, tranquil environment. You’ll still find other travelers on the island, but the roads aren’t filled with scooters and people. You can also be one of a few people on the beach or at a beautiful viewpoint. In some cases, you might even have it all to yourself.
The quietness of Nusa Lembongan is a big reason why I really enjoyed it. As a solo traveler, I was able to meet people, but I didn’t have to wait in line to take photos of famous spots or be surrounded by many tourists. So if you want to escape the crowds, Nusa Lembongan is one of the best spots to do so while still having plenty to do, see, and eat.
Do you scuba dive or want to learn to dive?
The Nusa islands (Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida, and Nusa Ceningan) are a hotspot for incredible dive sites, with most being drift dives. Divers come here to see the manta rays at Manta Bay or Manta Point and spot the unique mola mola (ocean sunfish) from July to September. Although most dive sites are located around Nusa Penida, they’re easily accessed via a short boat ride from Nusa Lembongan.
While you can stay on Nusa Penida to dive, I chose to stay on Nusa Lembongan to do my diving because it was easier to get around the smaller island and I found that prices were generally cheaper. For example, I chose to dive with Tamarind Divers, which charges 1,500,000 IDR (~$92.84 USD) for two dives and offers discounts if you dive multiple days with them. Meanwhile, Purple Dive Nusa Penida charges 1,800,000 IDR (~$111.41 USD) for two dives.
If you’re a scuba diver, I highly recommend staying at least two nights on Nusa Lembongan so that you can get a day of diving in. For those who want to learn to dive, Nusa Lembongan is also a great place to do so that’s a little bit cheaper than learning on Nusa Penida.
Do you surf?
Nusa Lembongan attracts more experienced surfers due to all of its reef breaks, but it’s well worth it for those who can handle it. There are several surf breaks located off of Jungutbatu Beach: Playgrounds, Lacerations, Shipwrecks, and Razors. You can also venture to Ceningan (also known as Mahana Point), which is located off of the lower-left side of Nusa Ceningan.
For surfers who want to do more surfing across Bali, spending a few days to experience the waves around Nusa Lembongan can be worth it.
More resources for traveling Indonesia
- How to Get Around Nusa Lembongan: 7 Transportation Options
- How to Get to Nusa Lembongan
- How to Get to the Gili Islands From Bali
- 16 Fun Things to Do in Gili Air
