Lembongan Island Beaches 🧜‍♀️ Popular is not always Best

Lembongan Island Beaches 🧜‍♀️ Popular is not always Best

Lembongan Island, located off the coast of Bali, is known for its pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters, attracting countless tourists every year. While some beaches on the island have gained immense popularity and are often overcrowded, it’s important to remember that popular doesn’t always equate to the best.

In this article, we’ll explore some lesser-known beaches on Lembongan Island that are just as beautiful and offer a more peaceful and authentic experience.

For the first 4 days of our 2-week trip to Indonesia we enjoyed the peace and culture of Ubud in Bali. Since Ubud is a good way inland from the coast, we made sure our accommodation featured a decent pool (actually a small private pool) to freshen up after a day in the heat. Following our transfer south to the islands, we were therefore keen to find out what the Lembongan beaches had to offer.

Before diving in, it’s worth noting that there are only a couple of ATM machines on the island. Since credit card payments aren’t accepted everywhere, you might want to fill up your stash of cash before leaving Bali!

Lembongan Island Beaches

Due to the topography of the island, the beach areas accessible by foot are on the north, west and south coasts. The east and north-east facing coastlines are overgrown by mangroves and are inaccessible by foot.

Working your way down anti-clockwise from north to south, the largest and most popular beaches are as follows:

♦  Mangrove Point on the far north-east
♦  Lighthouse Beach at the top of the Jungut Batu stretch
♦  Jungut Batu is the longest beach on the island
♦  Coconut Beach  a cute little hideaway
♦  Tamarind Beach peaceful, but bring along a picnic
♦  Mushroom Beach where you probably arrived
♦  Sunset Beach hidden away behind Devil’s Tear
♦  Dream Beach very popular with the tourists

Mangrove Point

Located on the far north-eastern coast of the island, Mangrove Point is a good 45-minute walk from central Jungut Batu.

Since there are fewer guesthouses in this area, you’ll find plenty of secluded sandy beach spots where you can lay down a towel and take a dip. The shallows go out a good distance, so its safe for swimming.

If you take a mask, there’s not much to see in the shallows. However, if you hire a small boat from one of the locals you can get out to some decent snorkeling areas a little offshore.

This is a good spot to spend the day. There are plenty of small warungs on the beach where you can eat. If you get bored with lying in the sun you can also take one of the boat tours into the Mangrove Forest.

Lighthouse Beach

On the north-western tip of Lembongan island, you’ll find Lighthouse Beach. This is an exposed area of gritty sand with absolutely no shelter from the sun or winds. Great if you really want to get away from everybody else, and are determined to top up your tan.

It’s a good spot for a lighthouse, but we found it just a little too exposed.

Main Stretch – Jungut Batu

Jungut Batu features the longest uninterrupted stretch of sandy beach on the north of the island. The beach runs parallel to the main road where you can find the highest density of Lembongan’s shops, guesthouses and services.

Unsurprisingly, the beach areas here can get quite busy, and there are a lot of boats and moorings you have to walk or swim around. In fact, one of the Fast Boat landings is at the southern end of the beach.

This is a good area if you want to stay close to the shops and guesthouses, and just want to rent a sunbed for the day.

Coconut Beach Song Lampung

Song Lampung is a hidden gem of a beach between Jungut Batu and Tamarind. It’s quite small and easy to miss unless you take our shortcut. It’s handy for keeping an eye on the kids, and there are a few small places where you can get snacks and drinks.

Tamarind Beach

Between Coconut beach and Mushroom beach you can find Tamarind beach, the longest (and narrowest) of the beaches in the south of the island. Tamarind beach is not as busy as the other locations, and is a good place for a swim and chill-out.

The sand is soft and there are some sheltered areas under the trees. If you’re staying a while you should bring along a picnic since there’s nowhere close by to buy anything.

Mushroom Beach

This is probably where you arrived by boat and from where you’ll leave. There’s a lot of boat activity and people coming and going, so its not the most relaxed place to hang your hat. Search for a free square meter of sand, lay down on your towel, close your ears and eyes, and try to imagine you’re somewhere else.

Having said that, the sand here is really nice and soft and the waters are calm. Its also a great place for people-watching (especially watching the new arrivals disembark!).

There are a few good eating places just behind the beach, and of course you can book your return boat ticket from here.

Sandy Bay / Sunset Beach

The name’s a giveaway. This small west-facing beach is very pleasant to visit in the late afternoon or early evening. During the day the sea can be quite rough and the rocks can be a hazard (its not far from Devil’s Tear).

Not the best beach to take the family for a swim, but its a very cool place to relax.

Dream Beach

A beautiful and very popular beach with the tourists – actually a bit too popular. With plentiful facilities, Dream Beach is an ideal place for families. It’s not so appealing if you want a bit of peace and quiet.

This is the last main beach area before you reach the bridge to Nusa Ceningan a kilometer or so further east.

Small Beaches towards Nusa Ceningan

Of course, heading towards Nusa Ceningan you can find plenty of much smaller and completely secluded patches of sand between the rocks. We found a couple of small spots down off the road just before the Suspension Bridge.

If you’d like to do a bit more than lie on the beach or splash about in the waves, you can take one of Lembongan’s full-day organized snorkeling or diving boat tours. Alternatively, take a day off from the beach altogether and soak up some local culture in and around the temples.

All your hotel options in Lembongan

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If you enjoyed Lembongan Island Beaches, check out our Bali & Lembongan 2-island itinerary. You may also like: