Nusa Penida Day Trip
Start from$50 / person
View Itinerary
Water Activities
Lovina Dolphin Sunrise Tour
Dolphins at first light, then hot springs and a waterfall on the way home
- Duration
- 15 hours (03:00 pickup)
- Group
- Private car and private jukung boat
- Difficulty
- Easy · gentle walking
- Boat
- Private jukung, not shared
The trip
What You're Signing Up For
Spinner dolphins feed off the black sand coast at Lovina at dawn, and the way you see them is from a jukung, a narrow outrigger canoe with an engine on the back. There are usually a dozen boats out and the crews radio each other when a pod surfaces, so when they move, everyone moves.
It is a wild animal in open water and nobody can promise you a sighting, though the crews out of Lovina find them most mornings. We book a private jukung rather than a shared one, which means the skipper follows the pod at a respectful distance instead of racing to cut it off.
Highlights
Why People Pick This One
- Spinner dolphins offshore at first light
- Your own private jukung, not a shared boat chasing the pod
- Soak at the Banjar hot springs afterwards
- Bali’s Buddhist monastery, which almost nobody visits
- A waterfall and the Beratan lake temple on the way home
- One long day that covers the whole north of the island
Full description
The Whole Thing
Spinner dolphins live off the north coast at Lovina and come to the surface at first light. You go out in a jukung, a small traditional outrigger, and wait for them offshore as the sun comes up behind the mountains.
We book you a private jukung rather than a seat on a shared one, and that is a deliberate choice rather than an upsell.
Lovina's dolphin trips have a reputation, and it is largely deserved: a crowd of boats will sometimes chase a pod hard enough that the animals dive and leave. On a private boat your skipper can hang back, cut the engine and wait, which is both better for the dolphins and, more often than not, better for you.
Nothing is guaranteed. They are wild animals in open water. Sightings are common but there are mornings when the sea is empty, and we would rather say that here than after you have got up at three.
The rest of the day is the reason it is worth the drive. Banjar hot springs are sulphur pools in the jungle a short way inland. Brahmavihara-Arama is Bali's Buddhist monastery, quiet and almost entirely unvisited. Then a waterfall on the road south, and the Beratan lake temple at Bedugul before the descent home.
Fifteen hours from a 03:00 pickup. It is the longest day we run in Bali, and the drive is the reason it costs more than a southern day trip.
Itinerary
The Trip, Stop By Stop
Timings are typical, not fixed. Your guide reshapes the day around your pace and the conditions.
-
6 pickup area options
Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Sanur, Ubud
We collect you from your own accommodation anywhere inside these areas, at no extra cost, so the pickup address is wherever you happen to be staying, not a fixed meeting point. Your driver confirms the exact time by message the evening before.
IncludedYour accommodation -
Board the jukung at Lovina
Life jackets on, out through the shallows in the dark, and the sun comes up behind Mount Agung while you're already on the water.
05:45 -
Dolphin watching
Roughly an hour and a half out. Spinner dolphins travel in pods of anything from five to fifty and they do genuinely spin clear of the water.
06:15 -
Breakfast on the beach
Back to shore for coffee and something to eat while the sand is still cool.
08:00 -
Banjar hot springs
Sulphur pools in the jungle at three temperatures, with carved stone spouts you can sit under. Bring swimwear.
09:30 -
Brahmavihara-Arama
Bali's largest Buddhist monastery, quiet, terraced into the hillside and almost empty compared to anywhere in the south.
11:00 -
Lunch
A warung near Singaraja, usually with the day's catch from the north coast.
12:30 -
Gitgit or Aling-Aling waterfall
Your guide picks based on water level. Aling-Aling has the jump platforms if anyone in the group is that way inclined.
14:00 -
Ulun Danu Beratan
The lake temple at Bedugul on the way south, best in the late afternoon when the tour buses have gone.
16:00 -
Drop-off back at your accommodation
To the same address we collected you from. Somewhere else in the same areas is fine too, just tell us in advance.
Included
Trip stop
Pickup area
Pickup is from your own accommodation inside these areas. Route is indicative, not the exact road taken.
The price covers
What's Included, And What Isn't
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off across South Bali, Ubud and Canggu
- Private air-conditioned car with English-speaking driver-guide
- Private jukung boat with local skipper and life jackets
- Breakfast at Lovina beach
- Entrance fees: hot springs, monastery, waterfall and Ulun Danu Beratan
- Bottled water throughout the day
- Travel insurance
Not included
- Lunch and personal spending
- Waterfall jump or canyoning add-ons at Aling-Aling
- Tips for your driver and boat skipper, appreciated but never expected
Before you book
Who This Trip Isn’t For
We would rather talk you out of the wrong trip than take your money for it. If any of these apply, message us and we’ll suggest something that fits better.
Anyone prone to seasickness
A jukung is small and sits low. Even a modest swell is felt, and there is nowhere to go for two hours.
Anyone who cannot accept a blank morning
Wild dolphins. Some mornings there are none, and there is no refund for the sea being empty.
Anyone who dislikes very long days
Fifteen hours, starting at 03:00. It is the longest trip on the site.
Anyone uncomfortable being lifted into a small boat
Boarding a jukung off the beach is a scramble, and the crew will need to steady you.
Come prepared
What To Bring
A warm layer for the boat
It is dark, damp and moving at 5:45am on open water. Colder than you expect on a tropical island.
Swimwear under your clothes
For the hot springs, and for the waterfall if the water is high enough to swim.
A towel
We keep spares in the car, but bring your own if you like something bigger.
Something to cover your shoulders
Required at the monastery and at Ulun Danu Beratan.
On the trip
What It Looks Like
Tap a photo to enlarge
Before you book
Questions About This Trip
Anything not covered here? Message us. We'd rather answer first than have you book the wrong trip.
Will we definitely see dolphins?
No. They are wild animals in open water and anyone guaranteeing them is not being straight with you. Lovina crews find them most mornings, and if your boat sees nothing at all we'll refund the boat portion of the trip. The rest of the day runs regardless.
Is the dolphin watching ethical?
It can be done badly. A dozen boats chasing one pod is stressful for the animals. We use skippers who hold position and let the pod come past rather than cutting in front of it, and we book a private boat so nobody else in your group is pushing the skipper to get closer.
Is 3am really necessary?
Yes, if you're staying in the south. Lovina is a three-hour drive over the mountains and the dolphins feed at first light. If you'd rather not do it in one day, stay a night in Lovina or Munduk and we'll build it as a two-day trip.
Can we do this as an overnight instead?
That's the version we'd recommend. Sleep in Lovina or Munduk, catch the dolphins with a lie-in by comparison, and see north Bali properly. Tell us and we'll quote it.
Is the jukung safe for children?
Yes, with life jackets, which everyone wears. The boats are stable and stay close to shore. Very young children may find 90 minutes on a small boat long, so tell us their ages and we'll be honest.
Pairs well with
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Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We'll confirm availability, pickup time and the total, usually within the hour.