This post covers the second stage of our honeymoon in Bali. If you haven’t already read about our time in Ubud, you can here.

After our retreat in the lush hills of Ubud, this part of our honeymoon was all about sun, sand and sea. Nusa Lembongan is a small island about 30 minutes by boat from Denpasar. The island is relatively undeveloped and there are very few cars. Renown for it’s diving, surfing and crystal clear waters, the island is the laid back destination for those looking for a postcard perfect island stay.

The above photos was taken from our hotel’s bar – but don’t fret if you are not travelling on a honeymoon budget – there are plenty of places to stay and eat on the island with this picture perfect view. Perched up on a rocky cliff above the main ferry landing beach (be ready to roll up your sarong because you have to wade in from the boat) is a strip of restaurants and hotels making up the most touristy section. With this view, it is worth coming here, if only for a drink before heading of to a more remote part of the island.

After arriving in the midday heat, the next stop was the hotel pool and an afternoon snooze in our beautiful air conditioned thatched bungalow.

Scooters are the way to get about the island and we rented one (after loads of hard bargaining) for the day to explore nearby Nusa Ceningan which is joined to it’s larger sibling by a rickety yellow bridge. We took the scenic route over exploring much of Nusa Lembongan as we went. Past the diving end of town and through some local villages, over quiet and uncrowded roads. Seaweed farming is the main industry on the island and the difference between low and high tide was amazing. In the morning, at high tide, the farms were exposed with people out cultivating. By afternoon, the seaweed was mostly covered over by clear aqua water and the place had a completely different feel.

Once on Nusa Ceningan there are a few spots to pull up for a bite to eat, a drink and a swim in a pool which was completely necessary as the day was so hot! We stopped for a morning brew at a popular surf break and watched the waves break on the reef. Our favourite place was Le Pirate Beach Club where we stopped for lunch. The food was good, the drinks were cheap and it had a (little) pool with an amazing view. They also have the cutest little ocean shacks that you can stay in – the shacks come complete with there own hammock!

We spent another day exploring the island on scooter and this time stuck to Nusa Lemongan itself. We went searching for a place called ‘Dream Beach’ and it was amazing. If I were to come back, I would absolutely come here to stay. It was dirt cheap to rent a simple shack right on the beach looking out over the water. Nearby Dream Beach you can look out over the cliffs back towards watch the sun set over the mainland with the locals.

Without a scooter, there was plenty you could see on foot. A walk to nearby bays and beaches was a treat of tropical beauty.

Pretending it wasn’t the last day on the island, we headed off on foot down to the far end of the beach outside our hotel. We walked through the village and down past the diving end of town to a spot where we had the beach all to ourselves. The water was so clear it was hard to see where the ocean began.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for the red eye flight home. With tanned skin and salty hair, it was time to head home to start life as Mr and Mrs.