20 Best Dive Sites Around Nusa Penida (2026)

By Blaise Jaeger /.PADI Master Scuba Diver · Opened Nusa Penida’s first PADI dive centre in 2017 · Updated 30 June 2026

Nusa Penida is the heart of diving in Bali, with more than fifty dive sites packed into a small area — manta cleaning stations, Mola Mola hotspots and spectacular drift dives. Add the wild Gili islets off Padang Bai (a 45-minute boat ride away) and you have one of Indonesia’s most rewarding diving regions.

Marine life ranges from tiny pygmy seahorses and vibrant nudibranchs to reef sharks, eagle rays and the legendary oceanic sunfish, the Mola Mola. Year-round manta ray encounters here are among the most reliable in Indonesia, and rare surprises such as whale sharks occasionally appear in the blue. With warm water, generally excellent visibility and thriving reefs, the diving combines big pelagic action with rich biodiversity.

In this guide we rank 20 best dive sites around Nusa Penida — including Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan and the Gili of Padang Bai — with what makes each one special, what you’ll see, who it suits and how to combine the sites into a realistic dive trip.

This selection is based on hundreds of dives around Nusa Penida since I opened the island’s first PADI dive centre in 2017. I have kept the ranking practical rather than theoretical: these are the sites I would actually recommend depending on your level, the season, the current and what you hope to see.

Best dive sites around Nusa Penida at a glance

If you only have a few dives, this table helps you choose the right sites fast. Conditions always decide the final plan, but these are the sites I usually consider first depending on what a diver wants to see.

How to combine the sites: 1, 2 or 3 diving days

The best dive plan depends on conditions, but the logic is simple: start with the iconic sites, add the north-coast drift dives, then extend to Padang Bai if you have enough time and experience.

Nusa Penida & Nusa Lembongan (pelagic paradise)

The most iconic sites: Crystal Bay and Manta Point

Nusa Penida has two world-renowned sites home to its most iconic pelagics: Crystal Bay and Manta Point.

Crystal Bay is renowned for its Mola Mola, seen regularly between July and October. Despite its popularity it remains exceptionally beautiful, and is best explored with a knowledgeable guide. In my experience, timing matters here more than almost anywhere else: at Dune Penida we often beat the crowds by diving it before the Sanur boats arrive, or during their surface interval.

Manta Point features several cleaning stations where manta rays come to rid themselves of parasites — watching these gentle giants circle around you is awe-inspiring. It’s about 45 minutes from the port of Toyapakeh, and we always brief you on the sea conditions before departure, as they can be rough.

Drift dives on the north coast

The north coast offers stunning drift dives across five consecutive sites forming one vast coral plateau: Ped, SD Point, Sental, Buyuk and Tugu drop-off. Drifting with the current, you glide over coral fields from shallow to deep.

• SD Point is often the classic north-coast drift dive: long, colourful and accessible when the current is manageable.
• Ped and Sental are excellent for turtles, schooling fish and relaxed reef cruising in the right conditions.
• Buyuk and Tugu can become faster and more exciting, with better chances of larger fish in the blue.

Expect sea turtles, tuna and barracuda; the area is also home to white-tip sharks, and if you’re lucky a Mola Mola. On rare occasions, whale sharks and even a great white have been sighted.

East coast: wild, rarely dived & full of surprises

On the east coast of Nusa Penida, diving turns wilder and more exploratory, far from the busier west. Exposed to open-ocean conditions and shifting currents, these sites are dived less often and best suited to confident divers after vibrant reefs, rich macro life and the chance of pelagics from the blue.

Malibu and Karang Sari are two standouts: Malibu combines a sheltered creek with exposed walls (calm exploration plus blue-water excitement), while Karang Sari is a colourful wall right in front of one of Nusa Penida’s most sacred coastal temples.

The Nusa Penida – Nusa Ceningan channel

The channel between Nusa Penida, Ceningan and Lembongan is full of superb dives — strong currents bring abundant marine life.

Toyapakeh, just below the Adiwana Warnakali dive resort, is an explosion of colour on a coral plateau — excellent for macro and busy with schooling fish. Gamat Bay is a vast shallow plateau flanked by two rocky points, home to nudibranchs, turtles, morays and marbled rays — and a popular Mola Mola spot. I usually recommend this area when divers want a mix of reef colour, macro life and the possibility of bigger surprises.

For experienced divers we recommend two more: Amok, a technical dive with incredible colours and diverse fauna, and Ceningan Wall, a colourful wall that always holds surprises in the blue.

Nusa Lembongan dive sites

The north coast of Nusa Lembongan has two great sites. Mangrove, near the mangrove area, is famed for its diversity — coral fish, crocodile fish, reef sharks and turtles. Blue Corner takes you into the blue with sharks, eagle rays and playful pelagics in strong currents — and, if you’re lucky, the elusive Mola Mola.

Batu Bolong, south-west coast

We love exploring the cliffs for new sites — join us for a three-dive day and we may take you to a hidden gem. But one we must mention is Batu Bolong: a legendary site with a thriving ecosystem and the chance of sharks, rays and sunfish — the Dune Penida team even saw a whale shark there on 5 March 2023.

Padang Bai and the small Gilis

Join Dune and explore three enchanting islets off Candidasa — the Gili of Padang Bai, just a 45-minute boat ride from Nusa Penida. At Gili Biaha, a nursery of white-tip sharks. At Gili Tepekong, the famous “Canyon” where we navigate between the smallest and largest creatures. And Gili Mimpang, where Mola Mola dance in the currents. A convenient, thrilling day-trip extension.

Not sure which sites suit your level?

Roy is an Indonesian dive instructor at Dune Penida who knows the daily conditions, currents and marine life around Nusa Penida. Tell him your certification level, experience and dates, and he’ll help you choose the right sites.

Ask Roy on WhatsApp

About this guide

This guide was created by Blaise Jaeger together with Roy, dive instructor at Dune Penida and underwater photographer. Blaise is a PADI Master Scuba Diver with more than 700 logged dives, including hundreds around Nusa Penida since first discovering the island in 2015 and opening Nusa Penida’s first PADI dive centre in 2017.

Roy has been diving around Nusa Penida for many years and contributes local knowledge, seasonal observations and underwater photography to many of the guides published on this website. He also contributed many of the photographs featured in this article.

Together, our goal is simple: to provide accurate, experience-based information that helps divers safely discover the exceptional marine life and dive sites of Nusa Penida.

Keep exploring

Dive deeper into the region’s marine life with our pages on manta rays, Mola Mola, sharks and nudibranchs, or plan the rest of your trip with our complete Nusa Penida travel guide. For the full picture of diving here, see our Nusa Penida diving guide.

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