Diving Nusa Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan. Island paradise located just South East of Bali, and right next to its big brother, Nusa Penida.

If you're looking to escape the Bintang-singlet-wearing brigade, this might just be your Indonesian island. It's got that laid-back, slower pace that Bali used to be known for, minus the traffic and the touts. And the diving is great too.

Getting Out on the Water

With just a quick walk along the beach, you get to Lembongan Dive Centre. The boat picks you up right outside, and off you go. No long transfers, no faffing around — you can be kitted up and in the water within the hour.

There's a bit to see on the way out, too. You'll pass the floating playground the island's become known for, and the sunken crane sitting just outside the famous 'Shipwrecks' surf spot — an epic right-hander for the more advanced surfer, and a good reminder of how close the dive sites sit to some genuinely world-class waves.

Crystal Bay and the Turtles

One dive site I'd highly recommend is Crystal Bay — technically this is Nusa Penida, not Lembongan, but the boat ride across is short and well worth it. The reef here is incredibly healthy, with hard and soft coral in far better condition than a lot of the more heavily dived sites around Bali. You're likely to see a huge variety of marine life on any given dive, but one thing you're definitely guaranteed to see: turtles. Lots of them, going about their business completely unbothered by a bunch of divers hovering nearby.

Manta Point

If the current and conditions line up, a trip out to Manta Point is not to be missed. It's a cleaning station where reef mantas gather to have parasites picked off by cleaner wrasse, and on a good day you can find yourself surrounded by half a dozen of them gliding slow, effortless circles just metres above the reef. Watching something with a three-metre wingspan move that gracefully never gets old, no matter how many dives you've done.

Mola Mola — the Ocean Sunfish

At around 30 metres is where you'll find the real drawcard: the sunfish, or Mola Mola to the locals. Mola Mola are the heaviest bony fish in the world, and can grow up to 3 metres long and 2 tonnes in weight. They come up from the deep, cold water to these cleaner stations to have their own parasites dealt with, and seeing one materialise out of the blue — this huge, slightly odd-looking, almost prehistoric shape — is one of those dive moments that sticks with you.

It's a cold, deep dive chasing them, and there's no guarantee you'll get lucky on any given day, but when it comes together it's worth every bit of the thermocline shakes.

Between the turtles, the mantas and the chance of a Mola Mola, Nusa Lembongan quietly punches above its weight as a dive destination. If you're heading that way, get in touch with the team at Lembongan Dive Center — they know these sites better than anyone and will get you in the water at the right time for whatever you're chasing.