Nusa Ceningan: A Complete Guide to the Smallest Nusa Island

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Nusa Ceningan: A Complete Guide to the Smallest Nusa Island

Nusa Ceningan: A Complete Guide to the Smallest Nusa Island

Nusa Ceningan is the smallest of the three Nusa islands, located a 45 minute ferry ride away from Bali. We recently got back from spending another few amazing days on the Nusas and came back with a pretty shocking realisation: Nusa Ceningan is now our favorite of the three!

Le Pirate beach club ceningan
The incredible pool at Le Pirate resort on Nusa Ceningan

In this travel guide, we let you in on our favorite things to do on Nusa Ceningan!

How to get to Nusa Ceningan

The fastest and most effective way of getting to Nusa Ceningan is on a fast boat from Sanur or Serangan on Bali. Although it isn’t the cheapest option, Blue Water Express is the best and safest service we’ve used to get the the Nusa islands.

The boat we took was beautiful and the customer service was impeccable. The price includes pickup and drop off to your hotel in Bali.

You can often find discount codes on their Instagram account, we found a code for 50% off! At full price, the return journey costs around 800K IDR per person.

Blue Water Express
The Blue Water Express boat to Nusa Ceningan

Blue Water will drop you off at the port on Nusa Lembongan. They will then drive you to the iconic Yellow bridge which connects the Lembongan with Ceningan islands. From the bridge, we requested a pickup in advance from our hotel on Ceningan.

Click here to travel to Nusa Ceningan and Bali with us in 2020!

mapping expeditions 2020 organized trips in bali

Map of Nusa Ceningan

nusa ceningan map
Map of Nusa Ceningan and our favorite destinations

Things to do on Nusa Ceningan

Blue Lagoon Nusa Ceningan

The blue lagoon is the main attraction on the island and for good reason! This incredible lagoon has some of the most incredible blue water we’ve ever seen.

The cliffs around the lagoon make great vantage points to admire the water. If you’re on your scooter, turn off right before you get to Klyff Club.

Although the cove is rocky and it isn’t the best place for swimming, this Blue Lagoon isn’t just to look at. There are cliff jumps that are clearly identified from multiple different heights. Be sure to bring your water shoes as the rocks will be tough to get up barefoot. Don’t jump in if the swell is too big.

Standing above blue lagoon nusa ceningan
Standing near the cliff jump at the Blue Lagoon, Nusa Ceningan
The blue lagoon on Nusa Ceningan
Beautiful sunny day at the blue lagoon on Nusa Ceningan

The Sand Restaurant and Bar

If you’re looking for a great spot to enjoy a drink, this is the perfect place to do it. The Sand is an open air restaurant that has beautiful, beachy decor along with some really cute swings down by the water. They have happy hour every day at 4 and for those that don’t drink, the coconuts are nice and cold! Make sure you come to The Sand when the tide is high, if not you won’t find any water around the swings.

Interior of The Sand Nusa Ceningan
Inside The Sand, Nusa Ceningan
swing at the sand nusa ceningan
Nusa Ceningan Swing at The Sand Bar
beach swing at the sand restaurant nusa ceningan
Another swing in Nusa Ceningan’s beautiful blue water

Secret Beach Nusa Ceningan

The great thing about Nusa Ceningan is the main attractions are just a few minutes apart! Just a short walk from the Blue Lagoon you’ll find the stairs that lead down to beautiful Secret Beach. Again, do try to come here when the tide is high so you can enjoy the refreshing water. There’s several restaurants around Secret beach which can be a great option for lunch. Not only is the sand lovely, we also loved this beach because it’s free to enjoy!

Note: there are two beaches on Nusa Ceningan called secret beach (original, we know!). The one we visited is the one closest to Mahana point. Click here for the exact location.

girls at secret beach nusa ceningan
Enjoying Secret Beach on Nusa Ceningan
white sand of secret beach
The amazing white sand on secret beach Nusa Ceningan
secret beach nusa ceningan
Bring your sunscreen as you won’t find much shade on secret beach!

Snorkelling Trip to Manta Point

On Nusa Ceningan you’ll see signs for Snorkelling trips everywhere! The main attraction here is swimming with the manta rays at Manta Point. Just make sure to ask around and make sure the Manta Rays are present in the area.

We didn’t book the trip because everyone who was doing it hadn’t seen a single one that week. The mantas are present most of the year though, we were just really unlucky!

Manta Rays Nusa Ceningan

You can easily book these tours through your accommodation or online here!

Le Pirate Beach Club

If you’re looking for where to stay, we highly recommend Le Pirate Beach Club. Although these cute beach huts are tiny, you probably won’t be spending much time in it anyways seeing as you’re on a beautiful tropical island.

Although it’s not the cheapest hotel you can find the island, the rates are very good for the amenities you get!

The pool is incredibly refreshing, the food from the restaurant was consistently good and the staff was super friendly. It also has a good atmosphere for sunset!

le pirate nusa ceningan
The pinterest perfect beach huts at Le Pirate Nusa Ceningan
cute beach huts at le pirate beach club
A perfect tropical stay on Nusa Ceningan
afternoon by the pool at le pirate beach club
Where we spent most of our time at Le Pirate Ceningan

Where to eat on Nusa Ceningan

Be warned, you can’t expect the food on the Nusa islands to be as great as on Bali. However we do find that in general food and drink options on Nusa Ceningan compared with the other Nusa Islands. There’s fresh fish a plenty and some really nice breakfast options as well. Here’s some spots we recommend you try!

smoothie bowls from next level cafe on nusa ceningan

Nusa Ceningan vs Nusa Penida

We realize that it might be surprising to many that Nusa Ceningan is now our favorite Nusa island — especially since we’ve been raving about Nusa Penida since our first visit to Bali in 2017 — but hear us out. Remember most people that visit Bali are short on time and staying for only a few weeks tops.

If you want to make the most of your time, we now feel that Nusa Ceningan offers the best value. You can walk around the island in a day, there are beautiful viewpoints and the water is the clearest you’ll find around Bali.

Although Nusa Penida offers incredible and unique landscapes, the points of interest take much more time to get to. The standard for accommodation on Penida is also the poorest we’ve experienced on Bali and we’ve tried three different guesthouses so far.

Don’t get us wrong, we still feel that Penida is a must see destination. But staying on Nusa Ceningan and doing a day trip to Nusa Penida is what we now consider to be the best option for most people.

incredible cliffside landscape of Nusa Penida Bali
Nusa Penida’s cliffs

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We hoped you enjoyed this Nusa Ceningan travel guide! If you’d like more awesome travel information on Bali, be sure to check out our other free travel guides.

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