Nusa Penida private boat trip: mantas, Crystal Bay, safety

A private boat trip to Nusa Penida is a full day at sea with the boat to yourselves: the crossing from Bali, a swim with the manta rays at Manta Point, snorkelling at Crystal Bay, and the way back. FirstBali arranges it on request as Private yacht — full-day island hopping, with crew, guide, snorkelling gear, drinks and snacks included. The operator confirms availability and the amount for your date, and the sea has the final word on the day.

The trip

The full-day yacht heads out to Nusa Penida, the island south-east of Bali, for Manta Point, Crystal Bay, snorkelling and water activities. It is a private charter: your group, the crew and a guide, nobody else on board. The catalogue has two other ways to see the island, if the full day on the yacht is not quite it:

• Manta rays, Nusa Penida — half a day snorkelling where the mantas pass.
• Nusa Penida, full day — the crossing, then the island on foot.

Bali boat trips lists all the charters, from sunset cruises to a fishing day.

Manta Point

The animals at Manta Point are reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi). A peer-reviewed study in Frontiers in Marine Science, built on years of photo-identification at Nusa Penida, found that Manta Point is used mainly for cleaning and courtship: the rays come to have parasites picked off by small fish, and to court. Courtship was seen all year round, peaking in April and May, and sightings at Manta Point roughly doubled in May.

The same researchers note that all fishing is officially prohibited at Manta Point, that the population is under constant pressure from tourism, and that codes of conduct for swimming with mantas are voluntary. That makes the way you swim part of the trip.

Swimming with mantas

The Manta Trust, the conservation charity, publishes a code for swimmers. The core of it:

• Enter the water quietly and calmly, well away from the manta.
• Do not approach. Stay still and let the manta come to you.
• Do not chase a manta as it swims past.
• Do not touch a manta ray.
• Divers: do not block its path when it swims overhead.

Crystal Bay

Crystal Bay is the trip's other snorkelling stop, and it has a side the guide will know well. A diving magazine's site guide describes currents that can be very strong in the area and at the site itself, and the channel between Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan as notorious for strong currents, depending on the tide. It also notes that the water gets considerably colder from June to October, the season when divers come for the ocean sunfish, the mola mola — a scuba dive for experienced divers, not a snorkelling sight.

For snorkellers the rule is simple: get in where the guide says, stay where the guide says, and say so early if anyone in the group is a weak swimmer.

The sea decides

The UK government's travel advice for Indonesia is plain about boats: sea conditions can change rapidly, safety standards vary between providers, and you should check the safety equipment, life jackets first, before you travel. Life jackets that fit children are not always available, so bring your own for small children. The same advice notes that the rainy season usually runs from October to March.

Two official sources sit behind the decision on the day. BMKG, Indonesia's meteorology agency, publishes a marine forecast for the Badung Strait, the water between Bali and Nusa Penida, with waves, wind and currents for the next days. And the Benoa port authority has asked boat operators not to force a departure when the weather is poor.

So build the day with room in it:

• Keep a spare day if the trip matters — a birthday, the one free day of a wedding weekend.
• Never the morning of a flight.
• If the captain says no, it is no. A trip moved is a better story than a rough crossing.

The island levy

Klungkung regency, which governs Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, charges foreign visitors a levy to visit the islands, collected on arrival. Ask the concierge whether it applies to your day when you book.

What to bring

What is on board — crew, guide, snorkelling gear, drinks and snacks — is listed with the trip; the concierge confirms it for your date. The rest is yours:

• Swimwear and a towel.
• Sun protection: a hat that stays on, sunglasses with a strap, a long-sleeved top for snorkelling.
• A light layer for the way back on deck.
• A dry bag for phones and documents.
• Children's life jackets, if you are travelling with small children.
• Your own mask, only if you prefer it to the one on board.

In an emergency in Indonesia, the number is 112.

How to book it

Send the concierge the date, a second date if you have one, how many you are, any children or weak swimmers, and where you are staying so the car to the boat and back can be arranged too — see the transport page. The operator confirms availability and the amount; you decide. The charter is yours once the operator has confirmed it.

Read next: Bali boat trips, the Bali birthday party guide and getting around Bali.