Nusa Lembongan is a small island off Bali's southeast coast. Think mangroves, surf breaks and clear water for snorkelling. The bus and ferry combination gets you from Bali to Nusa Lembongan in 1h 15m. The fast boat is the cheapest way across at $6.60 (116,000 IDR). A minivan with the ferry included sits in between on price.
Distance from Bali to Nusa Lembongan
Bali and Nusa Lembongan are about 41 km (25 miles) apart. Depending on the option, the trip takes between 30m and 2h 15m.
3 ways to travel from Bali to Nusa Lembongan
There are three ways to travel from Bali to Nusa Lembongan. You can choose between the ferry, minivan, and bus. The journey takes 30m–1h 30m and the quickest way is by ferry. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by ferry with tickets starting at $6.60 (116,000 IDR).
Fast boatWith transfersDuration30mPricefrom$7116,000 IDR
Bali to Nusa Lembongan by Fast boat
Bali has several ports that act as a gateway to its neighbouring islands, such as Lombok, Gili Islands, Nusa Penida, and Nusa Lembongan.
For the Bali to Nusa Lembongan route, all fast boats depart from the new port in Sanur in Bali. This port is the closest to Nusa Lembongan, just directly across from it, making for a short 30-minute fast boat ride.
PRO TIP: There are some fast boat companies operating between Bali and Nusa Lembongan that offer a hotel pick-up for an extra charge. However, keep in mind that this is a shared shuttle, meaning the van will make several stops to pick up other passengers. Booking a taxi with Gojek or Grab will be cheaper than the hotel pick-up.
Arrival in Nusa Lembongan
Note that not all ferries arrive at the same pier in Nusa Lembongan. It’s best to check this before you book so that you can choose the boat that arrives closest to your destination.
Most of the fast boats arrive at Jungut Batu beach, which is a great area to stay with lots of restaurants within walking distance. Tanis and Dream Beach Express, on the other hand, arrive at Mushroom Bay. You can also find several places to stay in this area, but it’s a bit more quiet compared to Jungut Batu.
Both beaches are on the western coast of Nusa Lembongan and about a 15-minute drive apart. A taxi to the other beach will cost around $8.60 (150,000 IDR).
Two arrival ports in Nusa Lembongan
| Jungut Batu Beach | Glory Express, Rocky Fast Cruise, DCamel Fast Ferry, Arthamas Express |
| Mushroom Bay Beach | Tanis Lembongan Express, Dream Beach Express |
Sanur Port
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Ferry tickets are available on Bookaway.
ferry
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Note: Not all ferries arrive at the same location in Nusa Penida.
We suggest booking your tickets online in advance. If you buy your tickets at the port, expect a hefty uplift from the online prices, as they can go up to $17 (300,000 IDR) per person, one-way.
Klook currently offers some great deals on this route. You can book your fast boat tickets for as cheap as $9.10 (160,000 IDR). Note that there is an official entrance fee for the island of $1.40 (25,000 IDR), which is collected when you arrive.
Transport to your accommodation in Nusa Lembongan
You can find several accommodation sites around both beaches, but it might be easier to use local transport to get to your hotel. Most hotels also offer pick-up services, but they are often higher priced.
Public (slow) boat from Bali to Nusa Lembongan
Note: Slow boats are currently not operating.
There were also public boats between Bali and Nusa Lembongan. These boats were the main mode of transportation for locals, especially those travelling with goods.
Travelling by slow boat used to take up to 1.5 hours, and tickets were $0.60 (10,000 IDR)per person. These public boats were not available daily, and if they were running, there used to be only one trip per day.
These public boats were available in Sanur Port in Bali and also arrived at Jungut Batu Beach on the island.
Getting from Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Ceningan
The best way to explore the Nusa Islands is by motorbike as the roads aren’t great for cars and it’s too far to walk all distances.
From Lembongan, you can just cross the bridge with your motorbike and tour the entire Ceningan island. The famous Blue Lagoon is a highlight not to miss!
Getting from Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Penida
From Nusa Lembongan, you can also make a day trip or continue your journey to Nusa Penida.
Paradise Island and Lembongan Ocean Trip
Paradise Island has hourly departures from 07:30 to 16:00 and tickets cost $5.70 (100,000 IDR). It takes only 15 minutes to travel from the Yellow Bridge in Nusa Lembongan to Toya Pakeh Harbour in Nusa Penida. You can book your tickets online in advance:
Lembongan Ocean Trip also offers ferry tickets that you can book in advance. Tickets cost $4.30 (75,000 IDR) on their website, but they are a bit cheaper at $3.40 (60,000 IDR) on the Jtrip app. There are only three departures at 09:00, 12:00, and 16:00.
Note that Jtrip is a fairly new company, and based on reviews, some recent travel experiences have been quite negative. Common complaints are about several hours of delays and cancelled ferry trips because there weren’t enough passengers.
Public boats
Public boats at the Yellow Bridge are cheaper at just $2.90 (50,000 IDR) per person.
These public boats operate all day from 06:30 to 18:00. But note that they don’t have specific departure times — they simply leave when the boat is full (14 passengers + 1 captain). Waiting time can be 30 minutes or more.
If you don’t want to wait or prefer a boat for yourself, you can also rent a private boat for $11 (200,000 IDR).
Renting a motorbike in Nusa Penida
Bike rental in Nusa Penida normally costs around $5.70 (100,000 IDR). But if you book with Klook, you can get a discounted price of $9.10 (160,000 IDR). The renter will also be waiting for you at the harbour with your bike.
Of course, it’s still required to have a valid driver’s license and you should be comfortable driving a bike. If you don’t want to drive a bike in Bali, it’s also better to not drive it in Nusa Penida.
Reach out to our Community
4Hi,
We are a group of 6 adults and 6 children and we would like to visit the island of nusa lembogan.
Given our poor experience with scooters, is it possible to hire golf buggies there?
Thank youuuuuu
Hi Cristophe,
There are a number of golf buggy rental spots on Nusa Lembogan, it's just more expensive than renting a scooter, but still a lot of fun. We recommend checking with your accommodation where they recommend you renting from so that you use a reputable and safe company.
PS: J’ai répondu à ce commentaire en anglais, donc d’autres nationalités peuvent également bénéficier de cette info. Je recommande d’utiliser Google Translate pour le lire en français.
Hello Maarten, after spending a few days in Canggu and Ubud we want to travel to Nusa Lembogan to spend 2 days, and from there to Gilly Air and afterwards to Lombock; finally we will return to Seminyak before catching the plane back home. Our question is which is the best place/port of departure to get to Lembogan if we are staying in Ubud, and from where to take a fast boat to get to Gilly Air if we are staying in the South near Mushroom Bay, so as to travel as little as possible.
Hi Joaquin, most ferries to Nusa Lembongan (bookaway.com) depart from Sanur Port, located about an hour away from both Canggu and Ubud. From Sanur Port, the ferry ride to Nusa Lembongan takes only 30 minutes.
There are direct ferries from Nusa Lembongan to Gili Air (bookaway.com). None of the ferries depart from Mushroom Bay Beach, but the departure port, Lembongan Harbour, is just a 15-minute ride from where you'll be staying. Have a safe trip!
PD: Esta respuesta está escrita en inglés para que sea útil para los viajeros de todo el mundo. Recomiendo usar Google Translate para traducir esta respuesta al español.
Hello,
We (me and my son 14y)from The Netherlands want to travel to Nusa Lembongan and the Gili islands end of Juli.
My initial plan is Sanur - Nusa Lembongan - Gili - Amed.
The internet is not ferry helpfull, some say its posibble others say no its not.
A lot of old info until i saw youre post on Gecko routes, one of the most resent post i read so far.
i dont want to get stuck somewere.
What im looking for is the best option/route.
im still planning the trip i can also do
Sanur - Nusa Lembongan - lombok - Gili - Amed
Sanur - Nusa Lembongan - Padang bai - Gili - Padang bai.
or any other combination could be slow and fast rides
Maybe you can tell us whats possible at this moment.
Thanks sofar,
Richard
PS. i think we prefer the slow boat instead of a rough ride with my son.
maybe rent a cabin and rest some.
Hi Richard, your route sounds perfect. From my latest knowledge there are direct ferries from Nusa Lembongan to the Gili Islands (bookaway.com), without making a stop in Bali.
You indicated you prefer to travel by slow ferry to avoid a rough ride. Unfortuanely, that will be very time consuming. You would need to take a boat from Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Penida and then travel by slow boat from Nusa Penida to Lombok. This slow ferry arrives in the south of Lombok, which is still about 2 hours drive to the northern harbour in Lombok (Bangsal harbour). Then from Bangsal harbour you can take a short boat drive to the Gili Islands. Moreover, the slow ferry departs irregular and I can't confirm the latest schedule. There is a risk that you would need to wait quite a while in Nusa Penida for this ferry.
Another solution is to take the Eka Jaya ferry to the Gili Islands. This is the largest ferry operating on this route and it will be much more pleasant experience when the ocean is rough. You can book a ticket directly from Nusa Lembongan. At the moment, I can't confirm the exact schedule, but it looks like they take the Gili-Nusa-Bali route. Travelling first to the Gili islands and then visiting the Nusa islands could be a more efficient route when booking with Eka Jaya. Unfortunately I don't have the time to confirm everything right now. Hope this was still helpful! Safe travels.
Hello! We are planning a Bali trip in the first two weeks of April 2023. We would like to tick off the following destinations and combine them with each other:
- Nusa Lembongan
- Nusa Penida
- Gili T
- possibly another Gili island
- South of Lombok
- Then back to Bali again, probably to Ubud
This order would make the most sense to me. Unfortunately, from Lembongan to Nusa Penida for example I can only find fast boats for approx. 50 €. Are there public, slow boats again by now? Or do all trips have to be booked locally?'
Would you generally recommend this order as well, or would you do something differently?
Many thanks in advance!!
Best regards
Thomas
Hey Thomas, fast boats from Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Penida only cost €6 on 12GoAsia (12go.asia). You can also just go to the Yellow Bridge and look for the public boats going to Nusa Penida.
Your itinerary is a great idea. It's quite convenient that you can take a direct ferry from Nusa Penida to the Gilis and also makes sense to travel from the Gilis to the south of Lombok. From the south of Lombok, you have the option to fly back to Bali, or if you want to travel back by ferry, we suggest taking the Eka Jaya ferry (bookaway.com) from Senggigi Pier to Padang Bai (instead of travelling back all the way north to Bangsal Pier).
Hope this helps you plan your Bali trip!
PS: Diese Antwort ist auf Englisch verfasst, um sie für Reisende aus allen Ländern hilfreich zu machen. Wir empfehlen die Verwendung von Google Translate, um diese Antwort ins Deutsche zu übersetzen.
Our favourite places to stay in Nusa Lembongan
You really don’t need to splash the cash to get an insanely beautiful place to stay on Nusa Lembongan. Even budget options give that island vibe that we all dream of.
Two of the most popular places to stay on Nusa Lembongan are:
- Jungut Batu — the main beach area which puts you at the heart of the action. It’s a hub for restaurants, bars and water activities.
- Mushroom Bay — known for its calm and picturesque beach that’s a lot quieter than Jungut Batu. You’ll find most of the island's resorts here.
- Nusa Ceningan – is the little sister of Nusa Lembongan, connected by the famous yellow bridge. It’s more remote, but the gems you can find here make up for it! Take, Blue Lagoon for example. Here you can have a private villa with a pool! If you don’t want to stay for the night, make sure to give it a visit during the day. The pool, overlooking the ocean from the cliff is like waking up in a dream.
Check out our favourite places to stay in Nusa Lembongan:
Mid-RangeBukit Taman Cottages
Being a bit further inland, Bukit Taman Cottages offer panoramic views of the island. Imagine pulling back the curtains each morning to that breathtaking view! Or you can admire the sea view from the luxurious infinity pool.
The cottages are cosy and comfortable with dreamy outdoor bathrooms to get the full Indonesian experience.
- Amazing staff
- Panoramic views
- Infinity pool
- Onsite restaurant
Double rooms between $30-$50 (530,000-880,000 IDR) per night
Mid-RangeThe Beach Huts Lembongan
Waking up and being only steps from the beach is a dream escape for most people. There are several accommodations in Jangut Batu where you can do exactly, but our favourite is The Beach Huts Lembongan.
The beautiful rooms are traditional with pops of colour. Some offer stunning sea views and a private balcony. The best part? It’s amazing value for money. Normally, you’ll have to pay hundreds of dollars for this kind of location.
- Right on the beach
- Stunning sea views
- Friendly and welcoming owners
- Big and beautiful rooms
Double rooms between $30-$50 (530,000-880,000 IDR) per night
Mid-RangeTS Huts Lembongan
Bright and bohemian are two words to perfectly describe TS Hut Lembongan. This place really feels like an island paradise with its lush greenery, thatched roofs and swimming pool surrounded by palm trees.
The bungalows are all you could wish for, with some of them boasting outdoor bathrooms and lavish bathtubs. The best part? You’re only 150m from Mushroom Bay Beach.
- Beautiful bungalows
- Outdoor swimming pool
- Metres from the beach
- Amazing staff
Double rooms between $30-$50 (530,000-880,000 IDR) per night
BudgetHelly's Secret Garden Cottages
Another great budget option is Helly’s Secret Garden Cottage, located in Jungut Batu. The cottages boast the famous Balinese style wood and decor, creating a dreamy interior that you won’t want to leave. It’s a bit off the main road but worth the upgrade!
Helly, the owner, and his team go above and beyond to make sure you have a memorable stay, and that starts from the moment you arrive on the island as they offer harbour pick-up. This is the perfect option if you want to stay in Jungut Batu.
- Beautiful cottages
- Located in Jungut Batu
- Amazing hosts
- Swimming pool coming soon
Cottages start from $28 (490,000 IDR) per night.
BudgetGatri Hut
Gatri Hut in Mushroom Bay is an absolute steal! You can get a beautiful and traditional private bungalow with an outdoor bathroom for only $20 (350,000 IDR). The accommodation's amazing value continues as you’ll also have a swimming pool and thriving gardens to wander.
Stay here and you’ll be only 700m from Mushroom Bay. And if you need to go anywhere else on the island, your friendly hosts will help you out.
- Stunning bungalows
- Swimming pool
- Amazing value for money
- Exceptional free breakfast
Bungalows start from $20 (350,000 IDR) per night.
ABOUT YOUR DESTINATION
Why Visit Nusa Lembongan?
If you're looking to relax, Nusa Lembongan is the ideal destination to enjoy the chilled beach vibes and tour around the island. Beyond its pristine beaches though, Nusa Lembongan is also a haven for adventure seekers in Bali.
Whether it be cliff-jumping, surfing on world-class waves, swimming with manta rays, or kayaking across mangroves, you’re definitely in for a treat on this island. From Nusa Lembongan, it's easy to reach the neighbouring island Nusa Cenigan, as well as its larger brother, Nusa Penida.
Rounding it up
That's the full picture for getting from Bali to Nusa Lembongan, roughly 41 kilometres (25 miles) apart. In all, there are 3 ways to make the trip. The cheapest fare is $6.60 (116,000 IDR). The quickest trip takes 30m.
Prices and timetables change, so it's worth a quick check before you travel. Have a question, or travelled this route recently? Ask the community below and we'll do our best to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the distance from Bali to Nusa Lembongan?
The distance from Bali to Nusa Lembongan is 41 kilometres (25 miles).
What is the fastest way to get from Bali to Nusa Lembongan?
Journey times from Bali to Nusa Lembongan overlap: fast boat 30m - 2h 15m, minivan + ferry 1h 30m - 2h 15m, bus + ferry 1h 15m. Depending on the departure, no single option is always the fastest.
What is the cheapest way to get from Bali to Nusa Lembongan?
The cheapest way to get from Bali to Nusa Lembongan is by ferry with ticket costs starting from 116,000 IDR.
About the Authors
Founder & Trip Planning Expert
Based in Bali, Maarten's passion for travel is undeniable. In 2016, he decided to quit his job as a stock analyst and started doing what he always dreamed of: travelling through South East Asia and helping other people plan their trips. When he is not working on Gecko Routes, you'll find him surfing in the ocean or exploring the best gems of Indonesia.
Travel Writer
Abby is a writer who finds joy in mountains, beaches, and road trips. She considers her solo backpacking trip to the rice terraces of Bontoc one of the most fulfilling moments in her life. She's loyal to the islands of her home country, the Philippines, but Thailand's beaches also have a special place in her heart.
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Ferry Schedule Notice
Ferry schedules can change due to weather, sea conditions, or seasonal adjustments. We recommend confirming departure times directly with the operator, especially during monsoon season.
