Nusa Lembongan

Lembongan lies off the south-east coast of Bali across the Badung Strait, an island of about eight square kilometres joined to smaller Ceningan by a narrow yellow suspension bridge that motorbikes cross one at a time. Until the 2010s its economy was seaweed: the shallows around the island were farmed in staked plots for carrageenan, harvested and dried on the beaches, and while tourism has largely replaced it some plots remain and the drying racks still appear. What visitors come for is diving and snorkelling in the strait - manta rays at Manta Point and, in the cooler months, mola mola, the oceanic sunfish, which rise from deep water and are a serious draw for divers. The currents in the strait are strong; Devil's Tear on the west coast is a blowhole cliff.

Highlights

• Seaweed farming plots - the staked shallows and drying racks, much reduced.
• The Ceningan bridge - the narrow yellow suspension crossing, one bike at a time.
• Manta rays and mola mola - the strait's diving, with sunfish in the cooler months.
• Devil's Tear - the blowhole cliff on the exposed western coast.

When to go

April to October; mola mola season is roughly July to October. Two days.

Good to know

Currents in the Badung Strait are strong and dangerous - dive with operators who know them. Fast boats are cancelled in swell and safety records vary. The island is busier than its size suggests.

Nearby

Nusa Ceningan is over the bridge; Nusa Penida is across the channel.

Key facts