Lembongan or Penida?

Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan sit together across the strait from Bali. They're often lumped together, but they make for very different trips.

Size and getting around

Lembongan is small. You can cross it by scooter in under half an hour, and many places are walkable. Penida is many times larger, hilly, and its famous viewpoints are spread around the coast on narrow, steep, often rough roads. A day of sightseeing on Penida means a lot of time in a car or on a bike.

What each island is best for

Lembongan

• An easy base: cafes, guesthouses and beaches close together.
• Surf on the northwest reef, in the dry season.
• Calm snorkelling near shore at Mangrove Point, the seaweed farms and the mangroves.
• Devil's Tears at sunset and the Yellow Bridge to Ceningan.

Penida

• The huge cliff viewpoints that fill Bali photos, like Kelingking.
• Wild, quiet beaches, many reached by steep paths.
• A rawer, less developed feel, away from the main roads.

Under the water: the same strait

The best marine life, including manta rays and, in season, mola mola, lives in the waters around Penida. Boats from Lembongan reach the same sites in a short ride, so you don't need to sleep on Penida to snorkel or dive there. More on the marine life.

Seeing both

A common plan: stay on Lembongan, and spend one day on Penida with a local driver. Cross early, pick one side of Penida rather than trying to see it all, and come back before the afternoon wind. How to plan a Penida day trip.