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The Blue Lagoon cove on Nusa Ceningan, turquoise water under limestone cliffs

Lembongan and Penida in one day

Across the Badung Strait to both islands and home for dinner. This is the plan we run most, with the timings we have learnt to trust.

Length of day
10–11 hours, hotel to hotel
Lembongan
12 nm from Sanur
Penida
18 nm from Benoa
Best vessel
Catamaran or 50 ft+ sport yacht

The full day, hour by hour

Timings shift within 30 minutes with the tide. Phinisi cannot make this schedule comfortably.

  1. 07:30

    Hotel pickup

    From Seminyak, Canggu, Nusa Dua or Sanur. Ubud guests leave at 06:30.

  2. 08:30

    Board at Benoa Marina

    The captain greets you, runs a five-minute safety brief and serves welcome drinks.

  3. 09:00

    Cast off

    Lembongan is 30 minutes on a sport yacht at 24 knots, 65 minutes on a catamaran at 11.

  4. 10:30

    Mushroom Bay, Lembongan

    Anchor in 6–8 m for a 60-minute snorkel on the fringing reef.

  5. 11:30

    On to Penida

    40 minutes to Crystal Bay or 50 to Manta Point.

  6. 12:30

    Lunch at anchor

    Served before the second swim to settle stomachs in the open swell.

  7. 13:30

    Second snorkel

    Manta Point drift, around 70% encounter rate, or Crystal Bay’s clear water.

  8. 14:45

    Head home

    Allow 90 minutes against the afternoon current.

  9. 16:15

    Dock at Benoa

    The deckhand’s photos are already on your phone.

  10. 17:30

    Back at your hotel

    Time to shower before a 19:30 dinner.

Aerial view of Crystal Bay with boats at anchor
Crystal Bay
A reef manta ray at Manta Point
Manta Point
Tanah Lot sea temple on its rock
Tanah Lot

Site by site

What you see at each stop.

  • Mushroom Bay

    Lembongan, south coast

    Sandy bay with a fringing reef, 12–18 m visibility, parrotfish and the odd turtle. Sheltered from the southerly swell.

  • Devil’s Tear

    Lembongan, south-west tip

    A cliff-base blowhole. No anchoring; a slow pass for photographs, best at mid-tide with 1 m+ swell.

  • Mangrove Forest

    Lembongan, north

    A 20-minute tender ride through the mangrove channels while the boat stands off.

  • Crystal Bay

    Penida, west

    White sand and 18 m+ visibility on a clean day. Moorings only, no anchoring on coral.

  • Manta Point

    Penida, south-west

    The cleaning station, with encounters 70%+ from June to October. Choppier; supervised from the tender.

  • Tanah Lot anchorage

    Bali coast

    A designated anchorage 600 m off the temple, for the sunset window only.

Variations

When the full day is not the right day.

Lembongan only

For under-tens or anyone wary of open water: Mushroom Bay, Devil’s Tear, the mangroves and lunch at anchor, home by 4 pm. Suits any vessel, phinisi included.

Tanah Lot sunset

Add it to a Lembongan day: west along the coast at 4 pm, at anchor off the temple by 5:45 pm, dinner through sunset, back by 9:30 pm.

Sea state

If the morning forecast reads above 1.8 m, we downgrade the route. December to February is the most variable; November and August the steadiest.

What to bring

Bring

  • Swimwear under your clothes
  • A dry bag for phone and wallet
  • A light long-sleeved shirt for the return
  • A hat with a chin strap
  • Motion-sickness tablets if needed
  • A card for the crew gratuity

Provided on board

  • Towels
  • Snorkel kit
  • Reef-safe sunscreen
  • Drinking water
  • Lunch

Pick the route, we match the boat

Tell us the route you want and we choose the vessel, or name the vessel and we choose a route that suits its sea-state limits.

Plan this route

Departures
Benoa Marina · Serangan · Sanur