fee to pay
every trip
by jukung
across both spots
Snorkeling Blue Lagoon costs you no park ticket
Snorkeling Blue Lagoon is the trip for people staying near Pemuteran who want good coral without paying to enter West Bali National Park. Both spots sit outside the park, so there is no entrance ticket at all, and the crossings are short enough to reach by traditional jukung.
Snorkeling Blue Lagoon is not a watered down version of the Menjangan trip. The coral at both sites is healthy and busy, and turtles turn up at Putri Menjangan on almost every visit. What you give up is the boat ride out to the island and the beach lunch, not the reef.
No park ticket
Menjangan Island sits inside the national park and charges an entrance fee per person. Both spots on this trip are outside the boundary, so that cost disappears.
Short crossings
Fifteen minutes by jukung to the first spot and ten minutes back from the second. Compare that with thirty minutes each way to Menjangan.
Turtles at Putri Menjangan
The second site sits in the Putri Menjangan mangrove conservation area. Our guides encounter turtles here consistently, trip after trip.
Reef fish at Blue Lagoon
Anemone fish, lionfish, parrotfish, six-barred wrasse, butterflyfish, snapper, grouper and triggerfish are all regular here.
Where you actually snorkel
The snorkeling Blue Lagoon trip leaves from the white sandy beach at Banyuwedang and visits both sites, with 45 minutes to an hour in the water at each.
Putri Menjangan
First stop- Crossing15 minutes by jukung from Banyuwedang
- In the water45 minutes to 1 hour
- SettingPutri Menjangan mangrove conservation area
- Known forTurtles, seen on almost every trip
Vibrant coral and the more reliable of the two sites for turtles. This is the reason most guests book the trip.
Ask about this tripBlue Lagoon
Second stop- LocationAbout 1 km from Plataran Menjangan Resort
- Crossing10 minutes back to Banyuwedang afterwards
- In the water45 minutes to 1 hour
- Known forDense, colourful reef fish
The busier of the two for fish life. Anemone fish, lionfish, parrotfish, wrasse, butterflyfish, snapper, grouper and triggerfish are all regular.
In the rate
Included- TransportFree hotel pick up and drop off in the Pemuteran and Menjangan area
- BoatTraditional jukung to both spots
- GuideSnorkeling guide in the water with you
- GearFull set of snorkeling equipment, plus a towel
- InsuranceIncluded for every guest
- Park feeNone. Both spots are outside the national park
Lunch is not included on this trip, which is one of the differences from the Menjangan day. Bring reef safe sunscreen, a hat and a dry bag for your phone.
What snorkeling Blue Lagoon looks like
Short crossings, healthy reef and no ticket booth. The trade is a shorter day than Menjangan, not a worse one.
The reef
Hard and soft coral
Both spots
Reef fish
Anemone fish to triggerfish
Blue Lagoon
The jukung
Traditional outrigger
From Banyuwedang beach
Which of the two trips you should actually book
Book Menjangan if it is your one snorkeling day in Bali and you want the full thing: the island, the coral wall, the beach lunch and the wild deer. It costs more, partly because the national park charges an entrance fee per person.
Book Blue Lagoon if you are staying locally, want a shorter half day, are watching the budget, or have already done Menjangan and want different reef. Turtle odds at Putri Menjangan are genuinely good. For the full comparison see our Menjangan snorkeling trip, and our permits and fees guide explains how the park ticket works.
How the trip runs
- StartPick up from your hotel, then the white sandy beach at Banyuwedang.
- 15 minJukung across to Putri Menjangan.
- 45-60 minFirst snorkeling session, the turtle spot.
- Short hopMove across to Blue Lagoon, near Plataran Menjangan.
- 45-60 minSecond snorkeling session, the fish spot.
- 10 minBack to Banyuwedang beach, then your hotel.
What you see snorkeling Blue Lagoon
Fourteen things our guides point out while snorkeling Blue Lagoon and Putri Menjangan. Most of this list comes from what we actually see here, but it is wild reef, so nothing is promised.
Nothing matches that search.
Reef fish
8 speciesBigger animals
3 speciesCoral
3 thingsPrefer to go under rather than over? Diving at Pemuteran works the same stretch of coast, also outside the national park.
Common questions
No, and it is worth being clear about. The well known Blue Lagoon is at Padangbai in east Bali. This one is in the north west, about a kilometre from Plataran Menjangan Resort and reached from Banyuwedang. Two different places with the same name.
No. Both spots on this trip sit outside West Bali National Park, so there is no entrance ticket. That is the main reason this trip costs less than the Menjangan day.
Very likely at Putri Menjangan. Our guides encounter them there consistently, which is unusual enough to be worth saying. It is still wild reef, so it is never a guarantee.
Snorkeling Blue Lagoon means shorter crossings, no park fee, no beach lunch and no wild deer. The reef at both spots is genuinely good. Menjangan is the bigger day out, Blue Lagoon is the efficient half day.
A flotation vest is part of the gear and the guide stays in the water with you. Tell us beforehand if anyone in your group is a weak swimmer or has never snorkeled.
No. This trip includes transport, the jukung, a guide, full gear, a towel and insurance, but not a meal. The Menjangan day trip is the one that comes with a picnic lunch on the beach.
