Best Nusa Penida Snorkeling Tour: An Inside Scoop

My guess is you are probably looking for a Nusa Penida snorkeling tour because of the chance to swim with manta rays!

We were too.

You may not know that there are two areas around Nusa Penida where manta rays can be spotted: Manta Bay and Manta Point.

Manta Bay is closer and you may or may not see mantas.

Manta Point is further out, and you are (almost) guaranteed to see mantas year-round. However, you can only snorkel in this area IF the ocean conditions are favorable.

A lot of the tours will take you to Manta Bay. It’s faster and more convenient.

What I loved about Indo Compass Bali is they always take you to Manta Point AS LONG AS the ocean conditions are favorable. Remember, safety first.

Some tours will have 20+ people crammed on the boat. Ugh. That’s the worst ever.

That means fins in the face and constantly having to readjust your position, so you don’t run into a snorkeler.

Indo Compass Bali takes a max of 13 guests. You can also go private, which is quite pricey if it’s just two of you.

Ideally, we like snorkeling tours with groups of 6-8, but this small (ish) group tour didn’t feel too crowded.

We have been on too many snorkel tours to count, so I can confidently say this was probably one of the nicest tour boats I have been on. I felt very safe as our boat captain navigated the waters.

Other features I appreciated:

• Very spacious
• Comfortable seating
• Mostly shaded (that Bali sun can be brutal!)
• Great speaker system to enjoy some music on your tour
• Bathroom available if needed

Indo Compass Bali is run by locals who truly enjoy working together. Customer service is clearly a priority, and they really do go out of their way to make sure you are happy and having a great experience.

We had an incredible 4-member crew on the day of our tour:

• Wayan: our expert boat captain. Navigating the waters from Sanur, Bali to Nusa Penida can be really tough with the potential of lots of waves. You want someone experienced. Wayan was clearly very experienced, and I felt very safe in his hands.
• Jackie Chan (not his real name, but that’s what Vino called him): very friendly crew member who also aided the captain.
• Gede: one of our professional snorkel guides who made sure we were safe.
• Vino: the most hilarious snorkel guide we have ever had! He could be a comedian as his second job. Vino is also a free diver and has been to 40+ countries! He is very experienced in the water and expertly navigated us through our snorkel spots.

Nusa Penida is popular for a reason.

It’s beautiful.

That means there’s going to be crowds.

What I loved about Indo Compass Bali is they do their best to organize their itinerary to avoid the PEAK crowds.

Alright, now the fun part. Here’s an inside look into one exceptional Nusa Penida day trip! 

The meeting point was at Coco Bistro in Sanur, Bali.

Indo Compass Bali arranged for a driver to pick us up from the hotel. We communicated with them through WhatsApp, so make sure to download an eSIM.

We actually ate dinner at Coco Bistro the night before not realizing this was the meeting point for the tour. Fantastic food by the way. Great wood-fired pizzas and very friendly service.

Shortly after sipping on a morning latte at Coco Bistro, our charismatic guide Vino walked us over to the beach to board a “baby” boat. Don’t worry. This is not your tour boat, lol.

The “baby” boat took us to our actual tour boat, the Sea Dragon.

Note it can get a little bumpy and sunny in the way back. We sat in the middle on the Sea Dragon, which was just right.

We started our journey to Manta Point at Nusa Penida around 8 AM.

My husband and I have had two manta ray experiences: Big Island (night snorkeling in Hawaii) and Bora Bora.

The snorkeling with manta rays at Bora Bora was incredible, but it was a deep snorkel.

What really distinguishes the manta ray experience at Manta Point is it’s a SHALLOW snorkel. If you are a snorkeler, you know how important depth makes a difference!

This manta ray experience was incredibly special! These beautiful majestic animals were so close, you felt like you could reach out and touch them (obviously we didn’t).

And there were so many of them! Everywhere we turned there was a manta ray!

Manta Point must have a lot of plankton because these manta rays were well fed. They were huge!

Honestly, I could have spent hours snorkeling in this incredible pocket of the world.

I didn’t even need to do the rest of the tour at this point. I almost wanted to tell our guide Vino to leave me here and come pick me up at the end.

This snorkeling experience was one of our FAVORITE things to do in Bali!

We even saw an all-black manta ray, which we’d never seen before. Apparently, Indonesia is one of the few places they can be spotted.  

One thing to note though is the ocean conditions at Manta Point can be choppy. This is not the place to learn snorkeling for the first time.

I only recommend snorkeling at this site if you have had some prior snorkeling experience. 

The guides will always read the ocean conditions to make sure you are having a safe experience. They will not go out if they feel it’s unsafe. 

Even though I am an experienced snorkeler and have snorkeled all over the world, I always wear a snorkel vest. The Indo Compass Bali crew provides life jackets for those less confident in the water.

Do not hesitate to use one.

After our magical experience, our trusty Sea Dragon escorted us to the mainland of Nusa Penida around 10 am.

Our group of 13 was divided into several SUVs and transported 45 minutes up the long, windy road to the famous Kelingking Beach viewpoint. If you look closely, it kinda looks like a T-Rex.

This beach has beautiful white sand and turquoise waters. Google Bali, and this postcard photo will likely come up.

FYI, the traffic to this viewpoint is crazy. Lots of Instagrammers. And we even went during the “less” busy time. In the afternoon, the traffic intensifies.

Once we arrived at the top, monkeys greeted us and escorted us to the viewpoint.

If you have a water bottle, they may steel it. Because it’s dusty and dry at the top, these monkeys are thirsty!

Our wonderful guide Vino climbed up a tree to take photos of all the couples in our group in front of the famous viewpoint.

If you take a land tour, you can opt to climb down the vertical cliff staircase to get to the paradise beach. Not for those with a fear of heights!

I was perfectly happy to soak in the view at the top.

After snorkeling with manta rays, we all had worked up an appetite.

Vino arranged a nice leisurely lunch in the shade at a cliffside restaurant called Amarta. It had amazing views overlooking Nusa Lembongan!

And an infinity pool if you wanted to take a quick dip.

Lunch + a drink is included in your tour cost.

I strongly recommend ordering one of the local dishes, fried rice or fried noodles. The fried noodles with chicken satay were delicious. Pass on the pizza. 

After everyone enjoyed a meal together, we did a quick photo at the Gates of Heaven with Mount Agung as the backdrop.

The Balinese are incredible photographers! I need to step up my iPhone photo game.

With full bellies, we were ready for more snorkeling!

The next snorkeling spot was at The Wall, which is only accessible by boat.

This was an easy drift snorkel along a cliff wall.

We were greeted by plenty of tropical fish including Moorish idols, unicornfish, six bar wrasses, sergeant majors, needlefish, butterflyfish, and a turtle.

Expect to see several turtles at Mangrove Point. There were also a few scattered sea anemones and the occasional puffer fish, but you had to dive deep if you wanted to see them.  

We were dropped back off at Coco Bistro in Sanur.

What an incredible day all thanks to the manta rays, Vino, and the amazing Indo Compass Bali crew!

Pick a reef-safe sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours. My favorite is Thinksport. That Bali sun is no joke.

✔️   SUNSHIRT

If you have done snorkeling tours with multiple sites, you know how important it is to wear a rash guard. That sunscreen doesn’t last forever. Here are my favorite sunshirts.

✔️   HAT

No one wants a sunburn. Love my Ponyflo hat, which you can see in my Gates of Heaven photo.

✔️   SWIM LEGGINGS

I realize this is not for everyone, but I love swim leggings too. I hate wearing sticky sunscreen and prefer to wear sun protective clothing instead.

✔️   SNORKEL VEST

Indo Compass Bali provides life jackets, which can be a little cumbersome. I love wearing a snorkel vest because it saves me when I’m tired (like at Manta Point!), and it’s not constraining. Plus, it packs flat. I bring it on all of my “snorkations.”

✔️   SNORKEL MASK & FINS

Indo Compass Bali provides high quality equipment. I love that they thoroughly clean the mask with Baby Shampoo to help prevent fogging. However, there’s nothing better than your own personal well fitted snorkel mask to make your underwater experience magical. We invested in our own personal snorkeling gear years ago.

✔️   BONINE + SEA BAND

Indo Compass Bali does offer a seasickness pill before the trek out. Most of our group took one. Luckily, no one got sick! But those waves out can be rough. We always travel with nondrowsy Bonine for boat tours, which we took about a half hour prior to the trip.

Hubby also wears his seasickness band, which he swears by.

Indo Compass Bali provides water and snorkeling gear.

If you are going to Bali, do not miss snorkeling with manta rays!

As an experienced snorkeler who has snorkeled multiple sites around the world, I can honestly say this experience was quite exceptional.

Book your tour with the experienced team at Indo Compass Bali, and you’re in for a fantastic day trip.

You might get lucky and even see a mola mola (ask Vino to see his incredible video!). Maybe next trip.

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Questions about our Nusa Penida snorkeling tour experience?

Let me know in the comments below!