Dream Beach is the most popular stretch of sand on the island of Nusa Lembongan. The small bay is enclosed by cliffs on either side and the crystal clear water exposes a nice reef below the surface. Bars and hotels line the beach in what has become a very touristy location. However, it is still worth visiting Dream Beach on Nusa Lembongan, especially with the tips inside this blog post.
Dream Beach on Nusa Lembongan
Dream Beach is one of the most popular destinations on Nusa Lembongan, an island located southeast of Bali, Indonesia. True to its name, Dream Beach offers a picturesque, dream-like landscape with its powdery white sand beach, azure waters, and swaying palm trees.
Adjacent to the beach is Dream Beach Huts, a resort offering traditional-style huts for accommodation, a swimming pool, and a restaurant. The restaurant, facing the ocean, is a great spot to enjoy a meal or a drink while watching the waves or witnessing the stunning sunsets that Nusa Lembongan is known for.
TOP 3 PLACES TO STAY ON LEMBONGAN
I’ve written a massive, detailed guide about the Best Places To Stay on Nusa Lembongan…BUT If you just want me three favorites right now, here they are!
How to get to the Nusa Islands
There are three main options to get to Nusa Penida depending on your budget and how many logistics you want to manage. Here are the three options with the cheapest first:
- Book your ticket: Sanur (Bali) to Nusa Lembongan – Book a regular ferry that leaves from Sanur to Nusa Penida on the reliable website 12go. You then need to moped or taxi across to Nusa Penida via another ferry/boat.
- Book a fast boat: Sanur (Bali) to Nusa Penida – This option is great as you go direct from Bali to Penida without having to stop in Lembongan. This option is only slightly more expensive than stopping in Lembongan. This is my favorite option of the three and can be booked on Klook.
- Book a fast boat with hotel-pick up: Sanur (Bali) to Nusa Penida – This option includes a fast boat from Sanur (Bali) to Nusa Penida but also includes pick up from your hotel in Bali in a van. This option from GetYourGuide is a bit more expensive but takes all the hassle out of the transit from Bali to Nusa Penida.
Tourists at Dream Beach
When you arrive at the car park at Dream Beach you may be a little put-off. Buses full of tourists are coming and going all day. Unfortunately, the beach can often be quite crowded. However, it’s worth enduring the crowds to find a place to hang out down on the beach.
Most of the tourists don’t even go down to the beach. Instead, they line up in the same spot on the cliff and take one photo each before moving across to Devil’s Tears, which is another popular tourist attraction nearby.
Dream Beach: Visitor’s Guide
So how do you enjoy Dream Beach even now that it has become a bit of a tourist hotspot?
- Arrive early in the morning: Tourists generally don’t get out and about until after their hotel breakfast. Before 10 am this beach is much quieter you can explore the bay at your leisure.
- Venture down to the side of the bay: There is one spot that all the tourists seem to love. the part of the coastline in between Devil’s Tears and Dream Beach is a cool little area to explore. Venture along the coast for a couple of minutes and you will find lots of awesome little rocky outcrops for chills and for photos. We even discovered a few spots with deep water below and managed to get some cliff jumping in!
- Explore the caves near the shore: Along the left-hand side of the bay are some cool little caves worth exploring.
- Happy hour: After enjoying the beach there is a nice bar that overlooks the beach. The drinks aren’t cheap but for the view, it’s worth ordering a beer and kicking back to enjoy Dream Beach for what it is.
Dream Beach Bar
Dream Beach Bar is an integral part of the Dream Beach experience on Nusa Lembongan, an island southeast of Bali, Indonesia. With its prime location, the bar overlooks the beautiful Dream Beach and offers stunning panoramic views of the azure ocean.
Whether you want to enjoy a casual lunch, sip on a tropical cocktail, or indulge in a romantic dinner, the Dream Beach Bar serves a variety of local and international cuisines and beverages to cater to diverse tastes.
The bar’s ambience is laid-back and inviting, making it an ideal place to relax after a day of exploring the island. You can lounge on the comfortable seats, listen to chill music, and watch the sunset paint the sky with its vibrant hues.
Moreover, the bar is part of the Dream Beach Huts resort, so if you’re staying there, it’s an added convenience. Even if you’re not, the bar is open to outside guests looking to enjoy a drink or a meal with a view.
Dream Beach Cliff Jumping
When facing out to the ocean from the shore the right-hand side of the bay has a long rocky coastline stretching several hundred meters. If you wander out 2/3 of the way along the coast you will find a bit of a clearing. On a calm day, you can see the water is quite deep here.
We climbed down and did a depth check and found a few deep spots. Once I had given it the all-clear as being safe. Things change underwater daily. Reef shifts, rocks move. Make sure you always do your own checks and don’t blindly follow what you read online.
There was a nice jump about 5-meters high with Dream Beach perfectly in the background. The scramble out wasn’t the safest exit ever with waves crashing into the rocks. You will need to wear shoes or reef shoes to help you climb out as the rocks are quite sharp. Other than the rocks and the necessary depth check it’s quite a fun cliff jump spot and will never be crowded… probably ever.
MORE NUSA ISLANDS BLOG POSTS
There are a ton of epic things to do on Nusa Penida, but I also wrote detailed guides for all of the adventurous things to do on Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan. You can explore more of my guides by clicking one of the links below.
BEST NUSA PENIDA DAY TOURS
If you are staying in Bali.. take a day trip on a speedboat to explore the highlights of Nusa Penida. It takes just 35 minutes to get from Bali to Nusa Penida by speed boat. Yep, in just one day you can snorkel with Manta rays and visit lots of the best beaches and viewpoints.
Manta Ray Snorkeling Tour
Manta Ray Nusa Penida Tour (from Bali): Snorkeling with Manta Rays is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the best wildlife encounters I’ve had in my life. The Manta Rays are majestic and very friendly. With a wingspan of 5m, these gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them. The Nusa Penida Manta Ray Snorkel Tour includes pick up and drop off from your hotel in Bali and all transport and tickets included.
Nusa Penida Highlights Tour
Nusa Penida Highlights Tour: Get picked-up from your Bali hotel, take a 35-minute fast boat to Nusa Penida and then visit the most popular viewpoints, beaches and snorkel spots on the island. This small Nusa Penida Highlights Tour group tour is the most highly reviewed day trip for Nusa Penida Island. You’ll visit all the most popular spots and can request certain viewpoints on your itinerary. Places you will visit are sites like the ones listed below:
- Angel’s Billabong
- Kelingking T-Rex Beach
- Broken Beach
- Rumah Pohon Treehouse
- Snorkeling at Crystal Bay
- Thousand Island Viewpoint
