Nusa Lembongan: Unforgettable Diving with Manta Rays, Elusive Sunfish & More

*image: Flickr

Nusa Lembongan, Ceningan and Penida are 3 islands that belong to the Bali region, 30 minutes by speedboat from Sanur, Bali. The top reason to visit the islands is without a doubt the diving. There are many dive centres on the 3 islands, visiting the beautiful dive sites these islands have to offer. Alternatively, you can do day trips with one of the many dive centres in Sanur, but it is nicer to stay on the laid-back islands and fully immerse yourself.

Make sure you choose a reputable dive centre that has a safety first policy. The currents here can be tricky sometimes and is more suitable for experienced divers.

Beginner Divers can have a great time if you plan your trip well. For easier diving conditions, try to avoid planning your trip just after full moon or new moon, as these are periods of stronger currents.

The elusive Sunfish | *image: Steve Woods

The Nusa islands are well known for the regular sightings of the elusive Sunfish. The actual species we encounter there is Mola Ramsayi, but they are often mistaken as Mola Mola, which in fact are their slightly larger cousins.

Let’s make it simple and just call them Molas!

This huge ugly flat shaped grey fish usually lives in deep water, but they can be spotted on recreational depths when they come up closer to the surface to thermoregulate themselves. This usually happens when the water temperature is the coldest here, between the end of July and the beginning of October.

You can expect a temperature of 16 to 29 °C depending on the day and the dive site. The colder the water, the higher the chances! We usually spot them from 20 metres deep onwards, so if you got your Advanced Open Water certification, you can maximize your chances of meeting one.

Beginners are limited to 12 metres (doing a Discover Scuba Diving with an instructor), Open water certified divers are limited to 18 metres, and Advanced Open water certified divers are limited to 30 metres.

If you are an Open Water Certified Diver, consider taking the Advanced Open Water course while you are here and maximize your chances of meeting the Molas by doing multiple dives!

Here is a quick look at the wonders you can find at Nusa Lembongan

Manta Point

*image: S Kajiura

Manta Point is well known in the whole diving community as THE place to see manta rays in Bali. It is actually a natural cleaning station for them made of limestone outcrop.

Mantas get cleaned from parasites by small fish, such as butterflyfish or cleaner wrasses. Most divers hover next to the main cleaning station, watching from around 10 metres depth the majestic animals having their “bath time.”

However, you can actually meet them all over the dive sites and have a more private encounter.

If manta rays are not around, you can still spot plenty of marine life, including bamboo sharks, hawksbill turtles, spiny lobsters, nudibranchs or even an eagle ray that has made Manta Point its new home these days.

The boat trip to access the dive site can be quite rough, and on days when the waves are too high, it is not even possible to access it.

• Tip: Taking a motion sickness pill is highly recommended if you have a history of seasickness. Many divers discover they can be seasick on a trip the hard way. If in doubt, my advice is to just pop a pill. 🙂

Temperature and visibility are highly variable at Manta Point, and the surge can be quite strong.

Crystal Bay

Go Nudibranch spotting at Crystal Bay | *image: Flickr

Crystal Bay is a well-known dive site in Bali for its Molas cleaning station and the numerous encounters. The bay itself is a huge sandy slope surrounded by 2 beautiful coral gardens. The slope along the huge rock that makes this place so special hosts many species of nudibranchs.

On the other side, however, is a beautiful wall covered in green soft coral.

The currents can be quite tricky. When the tide is going down, it creates a rip current that pushes outside the bay and the possibility of down currents is quite high.

In any case, you might not be able to reach the wall, diving at the bay itself is well worth it.

You might see octopus, cuttlefish, scorpionfish, wobbegongs, sea snakes, moray eels, hawksbill, green turtles and leaf scorpionfish.

The North Coast of Penida

Pura Ped, Pura Mas Gading, Sental, Buyuk, SD, Toyapakeh

*image: Flickr

This more than 10 kilometres long beautiful deep and steep slope is separated into several dive sites. You will drift along with the current enjoying the ever-changing landscape, have chances to meet Molas, or find macro creatures when there are no currents at all.

SD is especially beautiful; the deep part is covered in soft corals, the shallowest part in hard corals. Every single square meter is filled with tons of marine life.

Toyapakeh has a gorgeous wall that turns into a slope and a flat area where you can meet some giant trevallies if you are lucky.

Mangrove

Around Lembongan, it is an almost flat coral garden that hosts giant pufferfish, boxfish, great barracudas, napoleon wrasses, nudibranchs and displays an incredible landscape.

It often is a very fast drift dive. Ever dreamt of flying?

This your best chance!

To sum it all up, I suggest staying on Nusa Lembongan itself and book multiple dive trips to fully appreciate the beauty these islands have to offer. It is also to maximise your chances to meet the Sunfish as well as swimming with the Manta Rays.

• Check out: Simple and flexible travel insurance for your next dive trip
• From the Author: Raja Ampat – The Dive Site That You Might Never Want to Leave

Do note, however, there is a no touching policy of the marine life as well as the cleaning stations. This is to prevent damage as well as reduce disturbance to the area.

Happy Diving!

Cam Cam used to work in Nusa Lembongan as a Diving Instructor for Legend Diving. Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are the author’s and in no way reflect the views and/or opinions of Fat Starfish.

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