terumbu karang coral reef
Nusa Penida snorkelling, around Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia, comes down to where you start. From a Bali hotel, a full-day trip crosses by boat and snorkels three or four stops, usually Manta Bay or Manta Point, Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay and Wall Bay, often with Kelingking Beach on land. From Nusa Lembongan, or a bed on Penida itself, a boat trip reaches the same reefs in less time for a lower listed price. Mantas are a likelihood that shifts with the month and the swell, set out below from the published research and the wave data.
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perahu boat
The comparison holds 18 snorkel trips from GetYourGuide, Viator and Klook. Choose where you start and how long you have; the trips that fit stay, best-reviewed first, and the panel sets out each spot and the sea in the month you pick. Tours that add land stops are compared on the tours page under snorkel and land tours.
A trip fits when it starts where you start and its shortest stated length is within your time; a trip that states no length shows under a full day. Best-reviewed first.
Pick where you start and how long you have; the trips that fit show below.
10 trips, stated lengths 5 to 12 hours, listed US$52.86 to 147 (about AUD 77 to 215) on GetYourGuide and Viator, AUD 170.95 on Klook per person.
Bali on Viator
Bali on Viator
Bali on Viator
Bali on GetYourGuide
Bali on GetYourGuide
Bali on Viator
Bali on Klook
Bali on Viator
Bali on Viator
Bali on Viator
5 trips, stated lengths 3 to 8.5 hours, listed US$21 to 26 (about AUD 31 to 38) on GetYourGuide and Viator, AUD 32.25 to 53.75 on Klook per person.
Nusa Lembongan on Klook
Nusa Lembongan on GetYourGuide
Nusa Lembongan on Viator
Nusa Lembongan on Viator
Nusa Lembongan on Klook
3 trips, stated lengths 2 to 6 hours, listed US$16 to 64 (about AUD 23 to 94) on GetYourGuide per person.
Nusa Penida on GetYourGuide
Nusa Penida on GetYourGuide
Nusa Penida on GetYourGuide
Prices are each partner's listed price per person in the currency the listing shows, read 13 November 2026. Minutes are what each listing gives a stop.
pari ray
Manta Bay sits off the west coast of Nusa Penida, 2.4 km in a straight line from Crystal Bay, and is one of the two manta sites the trips below name.
pelabuhan harbour
The comparison has 10 trips from Bali, with stated lengths of 5 to 12 hours. Listed prices: US$52.86 to 147 (about AUD 77 to 215) on GetYourGuide and Viator, AUD 170.95 on Klook, per person.
The fast boat from Sanur to Nusa Penida takes 30 to 45 minutes, as 8 operators state. Several listings take the public fast boat and switch to a snorkel boat on the Penida side; the yacht days use their own boat all day, and the Klook one departs from Serangan. The fast boat page has the fares if you would rather cross on your own.
A Bali day buys the reefs and, on most listings, a land stop. The Viator manta day lists Manta Point 45 minutes, Wall Bay 30 minutes, Kelingking Beach 40 minutes. The yacht days add a car tour to Kelingking Beach and lunch.
If the snorkelling matters more than Kelingking, a night on Lembongan or Penida swaps the crossing for time in the water; the Nusa Penida day trip page follows a day from Bali hour by hour.
jukung outrigger boat
Nusa Lembongan sits across a narrow channel from Penida's west coast, and its snorkel boats reach Manta Bay and Crystal Bay in a morning. The comparison has 5 trips that start on Lembongan, with stated lengths of 3 to 8.5 hours. Listed prices: US$21 to 26 (about AUD 31 to 38) on GetYourGuide and Viator, AUD 32.25 to 53.75 on Klook, per person.
The GetYourGuide trip picks you up at your Lembongan hotel and lists Manta Point 45 minutes, Gamat Bay 30 minutes, Mangrove 30 minutes. The two Klook listings name a manta site, Crystal Bay and Toyapakeh. The two Viator listings give no itinerary, so ask the operator which spots the day covers.
From Sanur, fast boats to Lembongan take 30 to 45 minutes, as 5 operators state (see Sanur to Nusa Lembongan). A night there leaves the afternoon for things to do on Nusa Lembongan; the Nusa Lembongan day trip page covers a day from Bali.
Staying on Nusa Ceningan? No trip here starts there; ask a Lembongan operator whether pickup reaches your hotel. Beds on both islands: where to stay on Nusa Lembongan.
menginap staying the night
The shortest trips in the comparison start on Penida itself: 3 trips, stated lengths 2 to 6 hours, listed US$16 to 64 (about AUD 23 to 94) on GetYourGuide per person.
The GetYourGuide three-spot trip lists Manta Bay 30 minutes, Crystal Bay 30 minutes, Gamat Bay 30 minutes, over a stated 2 to 2.5 hours. The private boat on GetYourGuide adds Wall Bay, with 3 to 4 hours stated. For scuba at the manta sites, see diving at Nusa Penida.
A bed on the north-west coast keeps the ride to Crystal Bay and Manta Bay short; where to stay on Nusa Penida sorts beds by coast.
terumbu karang coral reef
Two of the six spots the trips name are manta sites; the rest are reef bays and walls on Penida's north-west coast.
Manta Bay lies off the west coast, 0.3 km in a straight line from Broken Beach, at 8.73534° S, 115.45066° E. Germanov and colleagues logged 3,029 sightings there between 2012 and 2018, and describe both manta bays as 7 to 25 m deep.
Manta Point is off the south coast, at 8.79479° S, 115.52592° E, 11 km in a straight line from Manta Bay. The same study logged 3,058 sightings there. It takes more swell than the west coast. The Manta Point page compares the two sites month by month.
Crystal Bay is the beach bay at the western tip, at 8.71534° S, 115.45876° E, with a rock islet off the beach. A temperature logger on its reef measured monthly means of 24.6 to 27.8 °C between June 2011 and December 2014. More on the Crystal Bay page.
Gamat Bay is a small bay further up the north-west coast, at 8.70050° S, 115.46734° E, 1.9 km in a straight line from Crystal Bay. It is named by 9 of 18 trips.
Wall Bay is named by 6 of 18 trips. The Klook listings from Lembongan name Toyapakeh, the village and wall on the strait, as a stop.
Several Lembongan trips add the mangroves as an option: a boat ride through the trees rather than a snorkel stop.
musim season
At Crystal Bay the warmest month on the logger was January and the coolest September. The study found the coolest water, about 24 °C (75 °F) with daily swings over 1.75 °C, in September to November.
Swell is the other half. BMKG, Indonesia's weather agency, sets the warning bands: moderate (1.25 to 2.5 m) and high (2.5 to 4 m). The table counts days in the high band or above on both coasts, so the two columns compare directly; its shares of days are a likelihood, not a forecast. The moderate band is the everyday sea: in the strait it came on 42% of November days and 94% of July days, and off the south coast on 90% of December days and 100% of July days. The two coasts come from different wave models and periods, given under the table. For the day itself, BMKG forecasts the crossing as sea area P.P.02 Selat Badung on its marine site. The Nusa Penida weather page adds rain and air temperature.
| Month | Sea surface, Badung Strait | Sea surface, south coast | Strait, high band or above | South coast, high band or above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 0% | 9% |
| February | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 0% | 11% |
| March | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 0% | 5% |
| April | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 0% | 5% |
| May | 28°C (82°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 1% | 15% |
| June | 28°C (82°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 3% | 25% |
| July | 27°C (81°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 2% | 34% |
| August | 26°C (79°F) | 26°C (79°F) | 4% | 29% |
| September | 27°C (81°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 1% | 23% |
| October | 27°C (81°F) | 27°C (81°F) | 2% | 10% |
| November | 28°C (82°F) | 28°C (82°F) | 0% | 2% |
| December | 29°C (84°F) | 29°C (84°F) | 0% | 4% |
Waves: Meteo-France MFWAM wave model, 2022 to 2025 for the strait, ERA5 wave reanalysis, 1991 to 2020 for the south coast; daily highest wave height.
pari ray
Reef mantas use both manta sites through the year. The long-term study behind the figures, over January 2012 to April 2018 (Germanov et al. 2019), reads for May: Present year-round; sightings at Manta Point roughly double in May; courtship peaks in April and May. For December: Present year-round; the north-west monsoon (December to January) limits access to the sites. Sightings are a likelihood built from past records; no listing and no study promises one on a given day.
At Manta Point the study's monthly average of boats is highest from April to October, at 10.9 to 14.0 boats. Codes of conduct for manta encounters in the marine park are voluntary and not strictly enforced, the study states.
For ocean sunfish, the mola, the research gives a season; for September it reads: Most sunfish of the 2019 survey were recorded in September; high occurrence at Crystal Bay, August to October. Manta rays have full protection in Indonesian waters, by decree 4/KEPMEN-KP/2014 of 27 January 2014.
retribusi levy
Two charges sit outside most trip prices: Bali Province's daily marine conservation area ticket, under its Regulation No. 1 of 2024, and Klungkung Regency's island levy, paid once on arrival (the regency's notice).
A few listings name a fee as included; the Viator scuba day lists the marine fee as not included. Ask before you book. The Bali tourist tax page adds the province's own levy.
| Charge | Charged by | Amount | In dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine conservation area ticket, foreign tourist, per day | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 100,000 | about AUD 8, USD 5.5 or GBP 4.1 |
| Marine conservation area ticket, domestic tourist, per day | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 10,000 | about AUD 0.8, USD 0.5 or GBP 0.4 |
| Child rate for the marine ticket | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | none listed | |
| Snorkel set brought in, per day | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | IDR 10,000 / IDR 15,000 (snorkel / scuba) | about AUD 0.8, USD 0.5 or GBP 0.4 |
| Scuba set brought in, per day | Bali Province, Regulation No. 1 of 2024 | about AUD 1.2, USD 0.8 or GBP 0.6 | |
| Island levy, foreign adult, once on entry | Klungkung Regency, 2026 | IDR 25,000 | about AUD 2, USD 1.4 or GBP 1 |
| Island levy, foreign child, once on entry | Klungkung Regency, 2026 | IDR 15,000 | about AUD 1.2, USD 0.8 or GBP 0.6 |
Dollar figures at Bank Indonesia's rates (Australian dollar 13 November 2026, US dollar 12 November 2026). The marine ticket covers Bali's provincial marine conservation areas, the Nusa Penida marine park among them.
laut sea
Currents and beaches. Smartraveller states many beaches in Indonesia are unpatrolled and can be dangerous due to rough seas and strong currents (Australian Government advice, updated 21 October 2026). The snorkel stops here are made from a boat, in open water.
Life jackets. The US CDC advises travellers in Indonesia to swim only in designated areas, obey lifeguards and warning flags, and always wear a life jacket when boating (US CDC travel health advice, reviewed 25 August 2026). Ask for one on the boat.
Children. None of the trips compared here 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.
Insurance. Smartraveller lists scuba diving and snorkelling and boat rides among risky activities in Indonesia and warns travel insurance may not cover them. Read your policy before the trip.
Weather. The north-west monsoon, December to January, brings poor weather that limits access to the manta sites, the 2019 study states. Read each listing's weather terms.
pertanyaan questions
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