Snorkeling with Manta Rays on Nusa Penida

A once-in-a-lifetime experience

Snorkeling with Manta Rays is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the best wildlife encounters we’ve had in our lives. The Manta Rays are majestic and friendly animals with a potential wingspan of 6 meters. They are an important part of the marine ecosystem. The gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them, snap some fantastic photos and help to raise awareness about their conservation.

If you love wildlife and nature, snorkeling with manta rays should definitely be on your bucket list. It is an epic and unforgettable experience that will most likely create a core memory!

It’s easy to join one of the tours when already on Nusa Penida, but if you prefer to have the best possible service, we’d recommend booking in advance.

Many ocean lovers wonder where to snorkel with Manta Rays. Snorkeling and freediving with mantas is an unforgettable experience! It is difficult to explain in words the sensations that arise when you glide underwater with these amazing giants.

Where to Snorkel with Manta Rays

There are many locations around the world where you can swim, dive or snorkel with Manta Rays: Maldives, Mexico, Hawaii, Australia, Fiji, Japan, Ecuador, Galapagos, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Micronesia, Mozambique … and, obviously, Indonesia.

In Indonesia alone there are 3 regions where Manta Rays continuously swim every year: Raja Ampat, Komodo and Nusa Penida.

Nusa Penida has 2 main spots for snorkeling with Manta Rays – Manta Bay and Manta Point.

Manta Bay is the closest and most of the snorkeling trips are going there. Usually, it is very chaotic and messy, there are a lot of people and boats. Water is deep, there is always some current. This is the spot they will take you to when you make a booking in person (or via phone) when you’re already on Nusa Penida.

The Manta Point is further away along the coast of the island. It’s a much longer journey but you have more chances to see Mantas and definitely fewer people. This trip and experience are much more recommended. Mantas are more frequently seen here for another reason – it’s their cleaning station. The Manta cleaning station is a large rock coming up to about 5 meters from the surface. Manta Rays will come here to swim around coral heads where cleaner wrasse and other small reef fish clean the big marine animals of bacteria and parasites.

However, one should know that encountering Manta Rays means encountering wildlife in its natural habitat. Therefore, it is never 100% guaranteed that you will swim with mantas.

Is it safe to swim with Manta Rays?

Manta Rays have a long, whip-like tail, just like their sting ray cousins. BUT! They don’t have a poisonous tail stinger like many of their relatives. Manta Rays cannot hurt you. So, there’s nothing to worry about.

However, they are very playful. They will often head straight at you out of curiosity and then dart off to the side at the last moment. It’s a majestic experience, but can also be a little bit intimidating – they are, after all, 5 to 6 meters large. 

Snorkeling with Manta Rays on Nusa Islands

You can find so many different tours online it makes it hard to choose from, especially if you don’t know what exactly you’re looking for (except for Manta Rays, obviously). We’ve made it easier for you – we have personally attended 3 of these tours; one the first time we’ve been here, second time as photographers for one of the tour operators and third time when we took our friends for this epic trip.

• You want to snorkel on Manta Ray Point.
  As mentioned, most tours go to Manta Bay, but Manta Point is more secluded, less crowded with people and way more crowded with Manta Rays. In all this time we only found one great tour that includes everything and goes to Manta Ray Point: Bali: Full-Day Snorkeling Trip to Nusa Penida & Manta Point
  We have done this tour once and … hell, yeah.
• You’re staying in Bali and you only wish to do a Snorkel Tour with Manta Rays.
  We’d recommend this tour: From Bali: Swim with Manta Rays in Nusa Penida
  What’s included: basically everything. Pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Bali (view link for more details), lunch, equipment, return ferry transfer, 3 snorkeling sessions (Manta Bay, Crystal Bay, Mangrove Point) …
• You’re staying in Bali and wish to do a Snorkel Tour with Manta Rays, but also want to see some other epic sites on Nusa Penida.
  We’d recommend this tour: Island Tour and Snorkeling with Manta Rays
  What’s included: basically everything. Pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Bali (view link for more details), equipment, return ferry transfer, 2 snorkeling sessions (Manta Point, Gamat Bay) and visits to Nusa Penida’s epic Kelingking T-Rex Beach, Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong.
• You’re staying in Bali and want a private Snorkeling Tour, but you also want to see something else epic on Nusa Penida … like the fantastic Kelingking Beach.
  We’d recommend this tour: From Bali: Nusa Penida Private Snorkeling Tour with Lunch
  What’s included: basically everything. Pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Bali, lunch, equipment, return private speed boat transfer, 3 snorkeling sessions (Manta Bay, Crystal Bay, Mangrove Point) … and you are alone with your group.
• You’re staying on Nusa Lembongan and want to Snorkel with Manta Rays.
  We’d recommend this tour: From Lembongan: Nusa Penida Snorkeling Day Trip
  What’s included: basically everything. Pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Ceningan (view link for more details), lunch, equipment, return speed boat transfer, 3 snorkeling sessions (Manta Bay, Crystal Bay, Mangrove Point), kayaking.

Manta Rays from Cliff Viewpoints around Nusa Penida

Manta Rays can usually be seen from numerous Cliff Viewpoints around Nusa Penida. You can see them from the coastal cliffs at Broken Beach, from Pererenan Cliff & Seganing Waterfalls, Atuh Beach Viewpoint, Angel’s Billabong, Thousand Islands Viewpoint, Saren Cliff Viewpoint, and many others.

They’re spottable right from the surface as they feed on plankton and jellyfish that has been pushed into the bays by the currents. The currents in Nusa Penida are pretty constant, so the locations of where to find Manta Rays are widely known.

Interesting Facts about (Giant) Manta Rays

• Size: Giant manta rays are the largest species of rays, with a wingspan that can reach up to 9 meters (30 feet). Despite their size, they are often described as floating through the water.
• Weight: They can weigh up to whooping 3,000 kilograms – 3 tons! (approximately 6,600 pounds).
• Diet: Manta Rays are filter feeders. That means they eat large quantities of zooplankton, such as shrimp, krill, and planktonic crabs.
• Habitat: They inhabit the tropical, subtropical, and temperate oceans around the world. They are typically found near the surface or mid-water, but can dive to depths of at least 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) when necessary.
• Social Life: Mantas are known for their curiosity. They will often interact with divers or snorkelers. Generally solitary creatures can also be found in groups, particularly in areas with abundant food or at cleaning stations where small fish remove parasites from their bodies (the Manta Point we talked about in above paragraph).
• Reproduction: Unlike most of their scaled and torpedo-shaped cousins who lay eggs, Mantas only give birth to live babies, called pups, once every two to three years, for up to 40 years. Pups take several years to grow into mature manta rays. That means Mantas have a very low reproduction rate. That makes them particularly vulnerable to threats like overfishing.
• Longevity: The lifespan of a Manta Ray is believed to be about 20 to 25 years, but this could be an underestimate. Many aspects of their lives remain a mystery.
• Threats and Conservation: Major threats to Giant Manta Rays include overfishing, pollution, habitat loss, and entanglement in fishing gear. They are currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Intelligence: Manta Rays are believed to be among the most intelligent of all fish. They have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish, and they have been observed exhibiting complex behaviours such as coordinated and cooperative feeding, recognition of self in mirrors, and even social interactions.
• Scientific Name: The scientific name of the Giant Manta Ray is Mobula birostris.

BEST NUSA PENIDA DAY TOURS FROM BALI

If you are staying in Bali… you can join a group and take a day trip on a speedboat to explore the highlights of Nusa Penida. Trips usually take whole day, but everything is organised. So you can literally wake up in Bali, they pick you up in your accommodation, you grab a speedboat to Nusa Penida, you can snorkel with Manta Rays and visit lots of the amazing beaches and viewpoints … in just one day.

Manta Ray Snorkelling Tour on Nusa Penida (from Bali): Snorkelling with Manta Rays is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one of the best wildlife encounters we’ve had in our lives. The Manta Rays are majestic and friendly animals with a wingspan of 5m. The gentle giants cruise around you while you snorkel amongst them.
This tour includes pick-up and drop-off from your accommodation in Bali and all transports and tickets are included.

Nusa Penida Highlights Tour (from Bali): This tour is the most highly reviewed Nusa Penida tour there is. You’ll visit all the best spots, like Angel’s Billabong, Kelingking (T-Rex) Beach, Broken Beach, Rumah Pohon Treehouse & Thousand Island Viewpoint. Also included is snorkeling at Crystal Bay! It’s a total win and we highly recommend it.

MORE NUSA ISLANDS BLOG POSTS

There are loads of adventurous things to do on Nusa Penida, but we also wrote detailed guides for all of the epic things you can do on Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. You can explore more of our guides by clicking one of the links below.