Nusa Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan is a small island about 15 km off Sanur, across the Badung Strait. The fast boats take about 30 minutes, up to 45 in a poor sea, with the first departures from Sanur around 7:00 to 7:30 and the last about 17:00. Fares are the most confused number in Bali: budget operators are quoted from roughly IDR 100,000 to 175,000 one way and premium ones up to IDR 560,000. Treat any single published price as a guess. Check in 30 to 60 minutes before departure, and expect to wade ankle- to knee-deep at both ends, because most operators load off the beach rather than a jetty.

The crossing depends on the sea, and not only in the wet season. From November to March swells of one to two metres are not uncommon, January and February are the worst, and mornings are smoother than afternoons. But on one August day in 2025, in the dry season, waves of two to four metres closed the water and cancelled 80 to 90 sailings from Sanur to the Nusa islands and the Gilis. When the harbour master closes the strait nobody sails, so do not book a flight home for the afternoon you cross back.

Two fees apply before you arrive. Every foreign visitor pays the one-off Bali tourist levy of IDR 150,000 through the official Love Bali portal, where only the .go.id address is genuine, and the Nusa islands charge a separate retribution of IDR 25,000 per adult and IDR 15,000 per child. Island cash machines charge around IDR 25,000 to 50,000 a withdrawal, so bring rupiah across with you.

Devil's Tears is the sight everyone comes for: blowholes in the low cliffs on the west coast, about ten minutes from Jungutbatu by scooter, IDR 25,000 in cash and small notes. High tide throws the biggest spray and the half hour before sunset is the light. It is also the most dangerous place on the island, with reported deaths from falls and one capsized tour boat over the years. Stay behind the marked line, never turn your back on the sea, and do not swim.

The mangroves on the north coast are the opposite kind of morning. A paddler takes you through the channels for 30 to 50 minutes, roughly IDR 100,000 a person or IDR 100,000 to 200,000 for the boat, from about seven until five. The tide decides what you get: at high water the boat goes deep into the forest, at low water the channels run shallow and the route is cut short.

We spent four days on Lembongan and would do it again rather than cross for the day. The island lives on day-trippers who land mid-morning and are gone by mid-afternoon. What is left after they go is the part worth having. You can ride the length of Lembongan in twenty minutes and see the headline sights in a day and a half. That is an argument for going slowly, not for staying away.