By Cristina
I had the pleasure of spending a week in beautiful Nusa Lembongan, off the southeast coast of Bali in Indonesia, last year. I was not expecting much from snorkeling Nusa Lembongan, as we had chosen the location due to its proximity to some gnarly surf breaks (one of our party of five was a keen surfer) but I was more than pleasantly surprised!
There is no real beach snorkeling available, so I hired (for $100 AUD) a lovely local guy by the name of Captain Yin Yang. He took our party out four times during our stay, in his very clean and well set up little boat.
Being a local, he knew all the best spots for snorkeling Nusa Lembongan, and that the best time to get in the a water was early. So we headed out at 6am and had four amazing experiences. The coral we saw was in excellent condition and there was an abundance of marine life. Whilst I only saw a couple of turtles and one reef shark, the smaller marine life was bountiful. Butterflyfish, surgeonfish, triggerfish, anemonefish, etc., were everywhere!
The highlight of these trips, however, were our interactions with the manta rays. Captain Yin Yang knew exactly where to find these majestic creatures and on two occasions we were fortunate enough to swim with them.
Overall, if you have a chance to visit Nusa Lembongan, go for it! If you find a friendly local boat operator, of which there are many, you will not be disappointed by the vibrancy of the coral and plethora of marine life. The only downside I found was the noticeable level of plastic waste in the water.
I am heading back in July 2024 and will be interested to see if there has been any impact on the coral with regard to the latest worldwide bleaching event. I hope you enjoy a few of my pics from snorkeling Nusa Lembongan.
Hi Cristina, thank you for sharing pictures and some info about snorkeling Nusa Lembongan!