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Manta Point, off the south coast of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia, is one of two reef manta sites around the island; Manta Bay, off the west coast, is the other. In the long-term published study, mantas used both sites year-round. Manta Point is mostly a cleaning station, where sightings roughly double from May; Manta Bay is mostly a feeding site, facing the calmer strait. December and January bring the north-west monsoon, which can limit access. Both sites lie inside the Nusa Penida marine park, where the code of conduct for manta encounters is voluntary.
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peta map
The two sites lie on different coasts, 11 km in a straight line from each other, and the mantas use them for different things. Germanov and colleagues identified 624 reef mantas from 5,913 sightings in the marine park between January 2012 and April 2018. In one operator's 2016 to 2017 dive logs, about 93% of the island's manta sightings were at Manta Bay and Manta Point.
Manta Point is a cleaning station: in 59% of the sightings there with a behaviour noted, the mantas were being cleaned by small reef fish. Courtship peaks here, and the study counted the boats here. It sits off the south coast, open to the ocean swell.
Manta Bay is a feeding ground: in 79% of its behaviour-logged sightings the mantas were foraging. It is off the west coast near Crystal Bay, on the side that faces the strait.
Both are shallow, 7 to 25 m deep, the study states, so snorkellers see the mantas from the surface and divers from the reef.
| Manta Point | Manta Bay | |
|---|---|---|
| Coast | South, open to the swell | West, facing the strait |
| Position | 8.79479° S, 115.52592° E | 8.73534° S, 115.45066° E |
| Sightings, 2012 to 2018 | 3,058 sightings | 3,029 sightings |
| What the mantas mostly do | Cleaning, 59% of behaviour-logged sightings | Foraging, 79% of behaviour-logged sightings |
| Depth | 7 to 25 m, both sites | |
| Boats | Average a year rose from 5.3 in 2012 to 13.4 in 2017 | Not given in the study's main figures |
| Named by the snorkel trips compared | 8 of 18 trips | 5 of 18 trips |
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At Manta Point the mantas come in to the reef to be cleaned by small fish.
musim season
Pick a month to read it in words. The calendar weaves the months the research names against the swell off the south coast; a filled cell is a month the study names, not a promise of a sighting.
January at the manta sites
| Thread | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reef mantas present at both sites | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Manta Point sightings roughly double | yes | |||||||||||
| Courtship peaks at Manta Point | yes | yes | ||||||||||
| Most boats at Manta Point (10.9 to 14.0 a month on average) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |||||
| North-west monsoon limits access | yes | yes | ||||||||||
| Ocean sunfish season in the research | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |||||||
| South coast: days in the high wave band or above | 9% | 11% | 5% | 5% | 15% | 25% | 34% | 29% | 23% | 10% | 2% | 4% |
| Badung Strait: days in the high wave band or above | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
A filled cell is a month the research names for that thread. Wave bands are those of BMKG, Indonesia's weather agency; both coasts count days in the same high band (BMKG's high band (2.5 m and up)), so the two rows compare directly. Swell: ERA5 wave reanalysis, 1991 to 2020 (south coast), Meteo-France MFWAM wave model, 2022 to 2025 (strait). A likelihood from past records, never a promise of a sighting or a calm sea.
May. Mantas are at both sites in every month of the study, and the one clear peak is May at Manta Point, when sightings rose about twofold. Courtship there happens year-round but peaks in April and May.
The busy months. From April to October the monthly average at Manta Point is 10.9 to 14.0 boats, the study reports. That is also when the south-coast swell is highest: in the calendar, days in BMKG's high band or above run from 5% in April to 34% in July.
The monsoon. The north-west monsoon, December to January, brings poor weather that limits access to the sites, the study states; it gives this as the reason for fewer surveys in those months, not as a closure. The Nusa Penida weather page has rain by month.
Sunfish. The ocean sunfish, the mola, has its own season in other studies. The research reads for September: Most sunfish of the 2019 survey were recorded in September; high occurrence at Crystal Bay, August to October. For sunfish dives, see diving at Nusa Penida.
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Most mantas identified here were seen again. They also travel. Tracking cited in the study shows Nusa Penida mantas reaching the Gili Islands, about 80 km away in a straight line.
The injuries are the reminder that boats and lines share the water with them. Manta rays have full protection in Indonesia over their whole life cycle, by decree 4/KEPMEN-KP/2014 of 27 January 2014; the decree allows exceptions only for research and development.
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624 mantas identified
Reef mantas named from photographs, January 2012 to April 2018.
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82 per cent seen again
Share of the identified mantas re-sighted more than once.
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1.4:1 males to females
The male to female ratio of the population.
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87 (about 14%) with injuries
Mantas with fin or fishing-line injuries.
perahu boat
Every trip here is a boat trip: the manta sites are offshore. From Bali, the manta days include the crossing and usually a car tour to Kelingking Beach. From Nusa Lembongan or a bed on Penida, a shorter snorkel boat trip reaches them for a lower listed price. The listed prices on the cards were read 13 November 2026.
Look at the stops, not only the title. The Lembongan manta trip on Viator names no stops at all; it is shown here because it starts closest to the sites. The Klook listing that starts on Penida calls its manta stop Manta Bay in the text. The scuba day goes to Manta Point and Crystal Bay and lists the marine park fee as not included.
The Nusa Penida snorkelling page compares every snorkel trip by where you start and how long it takes, and the manta boat tours on the tours page set them against the land stops. Staying on Lembongan? The Lembongan page has the rest of the island.
Nusa Penida on Klook
Bali on Viator
Bali on GetYourGuide
Nusa Lembongan on Viator
Bali on Klook
Nusa Penida on GetYourGuide
Bali on Viator
retribusi levy
Both manta sites lie inside the Nusa Penida Marine Conservation Area. The district first set it up in 2010, and the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries designated it by decree 24/KEPMEN-KP/2014, signed on 21 March 2014, over about 20,057 hectares. The decree makes it a Taman Wisata Perairan (marine recreation park), names Mola-mola and Pari Manta (manta rays) among the species it protects, and named the Klungkung Regency government as its manager; a 2020 news report states management has passed to Bali Province (UPTD KKP Provinsi Bali).
The same report states the park is divided into 7 zones and holds about 300 coral species and more than 500 reef fish species.
The ticket. Bali Province charges a daily entry ticket to its marine conservation areas, the Nusa Penida park among them, under Regulation No. 1 of 2024. Some trips include it; the Viator scuba day lists it as not included. Klungkung Regency's island levy is a separate charge (see the levy table on the tours page).
The rules. Codes of conduct for manta encounters in the park are voluntary and not strictly enforced, the 2019 study states. Your guide's briefing is the rule in practice; ask for it before you get in.
| Visitor | Charged by | Amount per day | In dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign tourist | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 100,000 | about AUD 8, USD 5.5 or GBP 4.1 |
| Domestic tourist | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 10,000 | about AUD 0.8, USD 0.5 or GBP 0.4 |
| Child rate | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | none listed |
Dollar figures at Bank Indonesia's rates (Australian dollar 13 November 2026, US dollar 12 November 2026); amounts as the regulation writes them. The data page lists the site's sources in one place.
ombak waves
The south coast. Manta Point faces the open ocean. Off the south coast, waves in BMKG's high band or above came on 34% of days in July and 2% in November, over 30 years; the snorkelling page gives the band heights and every month. Read each listing's weather terms before you book.
Strait against south coast. The calendar above counts both coasts at the same high band. In July the strait off Manta Bay reached it on 2% of July days, against 34% off the south coast. The two coasts come from different wave models and periods: Meteo-France MFWAM wave model, 2022 to 2025 for the strait, ERA5 wave reanalysis, 1991 to 2020 for the south coast.
Children. None of the trips on this page states a minimum age; operators set their own, so ask before you book. Smartraveller states it is unlikely that boat crews in Indonesia will have life jackets for children, and advises bringing your own.
The monsoon. The north-west monsoon, December to January, limits access to both sites, the 2019 study states.
Scuba. The UK Foreign Office advises checking scuba operators' credentials, insurance cover, oxygen on board and access to a hyperbaric chamber (FCDO advice, updated 18 September 2026).
Insurance. Smartraveller lists scuba diving and snorkelling and boat rides among risky activities in Indonesia and warns travel insurance may not cover them (Australian Government advice, updated 21 October 2026).
pertanyaan questions
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