Bali’s quiet
north-west coast.

The jumping-off point is Labuhan Lalang, a jetty on the north-west coast inside West Bali National Park, and it’s about thirty minutes across by outrigger. The drive up is roughly four hours from the airport, three and a half from Ubud, an hour and a half from Lovina. We can arrange the car and meet you at any of them.

The island itself is uninhabited and protected, so there’s nothing on it but a ranger post and a small temple. Everyone stays on the mainland, either inside the national park or along the bay at Pemuteran, and crosses over in the morning.

For the dive trips, yes, and do bring your card. The snorkelling needs no certification and no experience at all. The second site on the snorkel trip is shallow and calm, so it suits anyone comfortable putting their face in the water.

April to November is the dry season and the most settled, though Menjangan is sheltered enough to dive year round. Visibility usually sits between twenty and thirty metres. January and February bring the heaviest rain and the occasional plankton bloom, which can bring it down for a few days.

Everyone entering the park pays a conservation fee, which goes to the park authority and funds the ranger patrols and the starling programme. It’s included in the price of every trip here, so there’s nothing to pay at the gate.

The snorkelling and the dolphin trip both are, and the boats carry child-sized life jackets. Ijen is the exception: it starts at midnight, climbs steeply, and passes through sulphur fumes, so operators in Java generally take twelve and over.

Two nights covers the island and the park comfortably. Three lets you add Lovina or the Biorock reef at Pemuteran. Ijen wants a night either side, because of the midnight start.

Often, though never guaranteed — it’s a wild bird in a wild park. The population is in the low hundreds and West Bali is the only place it has never disappeared from. Early morning is when it moves and calls, which is why the walk starts before dawn.