14 Things to Do in Nusa Lembongan for Adventure, Relaxation & Epic Views

You’re headed to Bali and have heard about the nearby Nusa islands that you should check out. Although Nusa Lembongan may not be quite as well known as it’s neighbor, Nusa Penida, from my experience, it’s actually better to stay on Nusa Lembongan island, enjoy the better infrastructure, and take a day trip or two over to Nusa Penida.

So, what should you do with the rest of your time on this island chain? This post will give you an idea of 14 things to do on Nusa Lembongan to ensure your time here is a memorable!

Nusa Lembongan & Penida quick hits

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Where to Stay
– Budget: Castaway Island Hostel
– Mid-range: Royal Cottages Nusa Lembongan
– Luxury: The Tamarind Resort

Things to Do
– Road trip around the island
– Explore Nusa Penida
– Enjoy the quieter pace
– See the manta rays

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If this will be your first time in Bali, check out my Ultimate Guide for First Timers to help you plan your trip!

Beaches to Visit in Nusa Lembongan

You’re ready for your island adventure, and the obvious first question is… “Where’s the beach?”. These are 3 beach spots that my friend and I got to enjoy during our 3 day trip in Nusa Lembongan!

Mushroom Bay

We visited this spot at sunset and really enjoyed watching the sun come down over the water with the island of Bali in the distance! It was the busiest beach we visited in Nusa Lembongan, but that also could have been due to the sunset timing.

The water is really calm and great for swimming or stand-up paddle boarding; just pay attention to any boats coming into shore! There are also several restaurants along this stretch of beach as it is a pretty popular spot!

If you’re a photographer, you’ll also find a lot of cool shots and compositions between the boats on the water and the jungle in the distance! Even as an amateur, I really enjoyed all the different angles I could capture!

How do you get to Mushroom Bay?

This is a really popular area for accommodations, so depending on your location, you could likely just walk here.

If you prefer, you can also drive a scooter and park along the street… you can see in the photo that plenty of people do just that!

Is there any cost to visit Mushroom Bay?

Visiting the beach is totally free if you want to swim, relax on the sand, or watch the sunset!

Hidden Beach

Hidden beach was probably my favorite of the three beaches that we got to explore! It was beautiful in every direction with cliffs on either side, the trees behind you, and cool rocks along the beach!

Another thing I loved about this beach is how quiet it was (though I found this to be true for most of Nusa Lembongan)! There was only one other group on entire beach while we were there, so this is definitely be a great spot to relax and feel a bit more secluded!

If you’re a fan of critters – we saw some of the largest crabs I’ve ever seen in my life on the beach; and if you’re not a fan of critters, just know that they like to crawl along the rocks, so keep an eye open for them!

When my friend and I were there, we had a full list of places on the island we wanted to explore and it looked like the weather was going to sour, so we decided to skip the swim. BUT, looking back, I wish we had taken a bit of time to relax a bit more and enjoy the water.

How do you get to Hidden Beach?

You will need a scooter or private driver to get to Hidden Beach. As the name suggests, it can be a bit difficult to find, but if you plug it into Google Maps, you’ll end up on a small road that has a wooden sign pointing you in the right direction!

It’s easy to miss the turn, so keep your eyes peeled! Once you park, take the short path through the trees and arrive at the beach.

How much does it cost to visit Hidden Beach?

There was no entrance or parking fee for Hidden Beach.

Secret Beach

Truthfully, Secret Beach itself is just okay, BUT what my friend and I LOVED doing here was shell-hunting!

There isn’t a whole lot of beach, but are a ton of shells on the ground and each one was prettier and more unique than the previous! Even if looking for shells isn’t typically your thing (it’s definitely not mine), you could really enjoy this activity!

And because it is a relatively small beach area, you can spend as little or as much time as you want trying to find the coolest shell.

How do you get to Secret Beach?

Secret Beach is located close to Hidden Beach. You’ll want to follow the Google Maps location, park your scooter on the side of the road, and look for a wooden sign on a tree branch with an arrow that says either “Secret Beach” or “Secret Lagoon”.

Follow the dirt path in the direction of the arrow. It seems a little sketchy, but after a couple of minutes, you’ll come up on the beach!

How much does it cost to visit Secret Beach?

The best thing about the beaches in Nusa Lembongan (as opposed to the beaches we visited in Bali) is that they are all completely free to visit and very quiet!

View Points to Catch in Nusa Lembongan

One of my favorite things to do in Nusa Lembongan was going to and enjoying the different view points. Some of these are technically on Nusa Ceningan – but since the two islands are connected, I’m including them on this list as well!

And the best part is you can see all of these PLUS the three beaches discussed earlier in just one day!

Day 1 of my 3 day Nusa Lembongan itinerary has ALL the details you need to catch all of these sights!

Blue Lagoon

On my trip to Bali, I started sharing my thoughts and reviews on instagram of the different things we were doing on our trip, and this is the verbatim review I gave:

“Absolutely stunning. The water is so blue and the contrast with the rocks is 💯💯💯”

This was my favorite spot on Nusa Lembongan. We actually ended up sitting here for half an hour (and that’s saying a lot, because the friend I was traveling with is TERRIFIED of heights)!

How to get to the Blue Lagoon in Nusa Lembongan?

You’ll definitely need a scooter for this one. Cross the yellow bridge from Nusa Lembongan over to Nusa Ceningan, and park at Mahana Point. From there, it’s a short path to the viewpoint!

We didn’t see any specific signage, but luckily some folks were on their way back and pointed us in the right direction! In the Google Earth image below, I’ve highlighted where the Mahana Point parking lot is, and you can see there are several paths to the various viewpoints! It will take you about 10 minutes to reach them from the parking lot.

Be cautious as you are going to each of the viewpoints as you will be walking along the cliffs; it’s best to stay a fair distance back from the edge so you can stay safe!

Yellow Bridge

If you’re headed to Blue Lagoon – and you definitely should – you’ll pass this bridge along the way!

You don’t need a long stop, just enjoy the pop of yellow color and the thrilling feeling of crossing over the bridge. It’s narrow, so don’t attempt to scooter across it if you don’t have experience!

If you don’t have scooter experience but still want to be able to visit these spots, this tour includes a lot of the highlights of Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan discussed in this post, as well as, a couple others!

Also, if you’re headed to Nusa Penida from Nusa Lembongan, the ferry’s pick up point is at the Yellow Bridge.

How to get to the Yellow Bridge?

Just follow the GPS directions on Google Maps! Parking was just off to the side of the road.

How much does it cost to go to Yellow Bridge?

No cost to visit unless you need to hire a driver or tour to get there!

Devil’s Tears

Devil’s Tears is a massive blow hole in Nusa Lembongan. And I have to say… my friend and I totally did this spot wrong!

We tried to be as efficient with our driving route as possible, and forgot to take the tides into account! By the time we made it to Devil’s Tears, the tide was at its lowest point and we really didn’t get to witness the full effect of the water crashing into the waves.

It was still a great view and I think it would be EPIC at high tide; so learn from our mistake and check the tide for the day you plan to visit so you can get the best experience!

How to get to Devil’s Tears?

Nothing too difficult about getting to this spot; use Google Maps and you’ll start to see some wooden signs pointing you in the right direction.

This is also a bit more of a tourist spot than some of the others on this list, so there is a parking lot and cabana with some food options and a bathroom. My friend and I enjoyed a cold coconut after being in the sun all day!

How much does it cost to visit Devil’s Tears?

This is the one viewpoint on the list that DID have an entrance fee, which costs 25K IDR (~$2 USD) per person.

A super affordable entrance fee, but because you do have to pay, I would definitely recommend timing the visit correctly!

Secret Lagoon

Secret Lagoon was also a top view point for me during our time on Nusa Lembongan!

It almost felt like a secret cove with a small beach and stunning turquoise waters! There was one other person here when we came who was reading on the small beach.

It was lucky she was there, because otherwise we probably wouldn’t have found it!

How to get to Secret Lagoon?

You’ll park in the same spot as you did for Secret Beach, but there will be a point where there is an option to take a different dirt pathway.

I honestly wish I could give you better directions than that, but like I said, the other woman noticed us trying to find a path, and then we just started shouting back and forth as she pointed out the path; your best bet is to start at Secret Beach and carefully try to find the other pathway.

Activities to Try in Nusa Lembongan

Beaches and view points are nice and all, but what is there to actually DO on Nusa Lembongan? Well, despite the slower pace on this island, there are quite a few activities – from relaxing to adventurous – that you can enjoy on the island!

Explore the Mangroves

Nusa Lembongan is well known for the mangroves it houses!

I wish my friend and I had had time to explore the mangroves, but we had a last minute change in plans that required us to cut some things out of our original itinerary.

You have several different options for how you want to experience the mangroves on Nusa Lembongan, and I do recommend booking a tour for this so everything is planned for you.

This is the tour we would have booked and will allow you to pick between stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, or clear bottom boating through the mangroves!

Snorkel Around the Island

Indonesia is well-known for its marine life! Nusa Lembongan – and the neighboring Nusa Penida – offer some of incredible snorkeling opportunities near Bali!

If you’re scuba certified, I would actually recommend doing that instead of snorkeling (see the next section), but if not, snorkeling is a great way to get a similar experience!

Some of the more popular snorkle spots include Manta Bay and Crystal Bay, and this snorkeling tour includes both of those plus one additional snorkeling spot. Plus it has great reviews!

Take a Surf Lesson

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is experiencing and learning something new! While I didn’t have the opportunity to take a surf lesson, Bali, Nusa Lembongan, and the surrounding islands are GREAT places to learn!

There are several surf shops along the west coast of Nusa Lembongan, concentrated near Jungutbatu beach – find one you love and try to catch some waves!

Enjoy Sunset at Mahana Point

This is one of the most iconic experiences you can have in Nusa Lembongan, and the great part is, you’ll probably already be parked here!

If you remember from earlier in this article, Blue Lagoon is one of the most incredible spots on Nusa Lembongan (at least in my opinion), and the easiest place to park for that view point is at Mahana Point.

So, why not time the two of them together? Go see Blue Lagoon in the late afternoon and then grab some food at Mahana Point while you watch the sunset!

Mahana Point sits right at the edge of a cliff, is surrounded by stunning turquoise water, and has an incredible vantage point for watching the sun disappear below the horizon.

Visit Nusa Penida for a Day

If you’ve done some research on where to go during your trip to Bali, Nusa Penida (and the famous KelingKing Beach) has probably come up on your searches. I highly recommend that you visit, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying on the island – the infrastructure isn’t as good as Nusa Lembongan and there is a LOT of traffic. Plus, the island is huge so it can be more difficult to navigate.

I think the better option is to take a day trip (or two if you have time) from Nusa Lembongan. You can catch the 15 minute ferry at the Yellow Bridge for 150K IDR (~$10 USD) round trip. If you’d like to book in advance, you can do so with 12Go; otherwise, you can pay with cash at the Yellow Bridge where you’ll be picked up!

You can cover either the east or west side of Nusa Penida in a day. One thing to note is that the road conditions are significantly worse on Nusa Penida with pot holes, steep hills, and HEAVY traffic.

Note: I would not attempt renting a scooter unless you are very experienced driving one.

My friend and I did rent a scooter, and realized quickly that we probably should have booked a driver. We ended up getting caught in bad traffic, had a fall (luckily it was minor), and would have been able to see so much more of the island if we had just booked with a private driver or tour.

We probably would have booked a private driver, like the one linked above, if we hadn’t rented a scooter since that would have given us the flexibility to choose our exact itinerary for the day!

Embrace the Calmer Pace

I’m usually a go-go-go kind of traveler, but something I really appreciated about Nusa Lembongan is that it forced me to slow down a bit!

Yes, I had plenty of adventures during the day and could see epic landscapes, but the overall pace of the island is just slower. There isn’t much traffic, there aren’t as many tourists, and even at the warungs (local eateries) and restaurants, there didn’t seem to be any hurry!

My friend and I took full advantage by packing our mornings and early afternoons with activities and then enjoying the pool at our hotel in the evenings. And honestly, after this style of travel in Nusa Lembongan… I’m a changed woman!

Now, I love to have a mix of the go and fast-pace mixed with the calmer breaks towards the end of the day… and, I think my travel is better off for it!

Anyways – whether you’re a fast-paced traveler or a more calm one, I think a few days in Nusa Lembongan is a great way to slow down and reflect on your adventures!

FAQ

Final Thoughts on Things to Do in Nusa Lembongan

As you can see, there are a large variety of things you can do during your time in Nusa Lembongan! I loved the way you could have adventurous activities while still enjoying the slower pace of the island!

If you want to see how you can fit all of the things on this list in just 3 days, read my Nusa Lembongan itinerary blog post!