Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan
Nusa Lembongan is the easiest of the Nusa islands to settle into: about 30 minutes from Sanur, with white-sand bays, beach clubs and a better choice of places to stay than Nusa Penida. Nusa Ceningan, smaller still, is joined to it by the Yellow Bridge, which you cross on foot.
What is here
Mangrove forest lines Lembongan's north-east shore, and local boatmen pole flat punts through its channels. In the shallows between the two islands, families farm seaweed on the low tides. On Ceningan, the Blue Lagoon is a cove of deep water under low cliffs. Devil's Tear, on Lembongan's south-west coast, is where the swell bursts up through the rocks in spray.
A base for Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is about 15 minutes away by boat. When the few high-end villas on Nusa Penida are full, Lembongan makes a comfortable base, and our five-day trip spends two nights on each island.