The Volterre Guide to Cliff Jumping in Bali
On a quest to catch some butterflies in our stomachs on the "Island of the Gods," Bali, we grabbed our Uluwatu shades and hopped on a few boats, scooters and cars to seek the best cliff jumping in Bali.
Of course, you'll need some essentials for an active day in Bali, like the Uluwatus, named after the surf town in the south of Bali.
These lightweight frames fold flat and fit in any day trip bag, or even pocket - cuz no cliff jumper wants to be weighed down. Before heading over to these less-central jump spots, stock up on swimwear from some Bali-based bikinis and surf shops in Canggu and Seminyak, like Thaikila Swim.
As it turns out, the best spots for cliff jumping are a ways away from these shopping areas - you'll need to take a car to Uluwatu and a ferry over to the best spots, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan. These are two beautiful, less populated islands next to Bali and home to some of the best snorkeling, scuba diving, and manta-ray swimming adventures in the area.
We'll give you our list in order from smallest to tallest. The best place we found for cliff jumping here was by far the highest cliff jumping spot we've ever seen or experienced, so read on to see what it is!
1. Tanah Lot
This is actually a sea temple that gets a lot of traffic from sightseers, so we're not sure how people pull off cliff jumping here, but it has been done.
2. Mahana Point
Right near Blue Lagoon on Nusa Ceningan, this is a vetted cliff jumping spot over the deep blue Indian Ocean.
3. Jimbaran Bay
If you don't want to venture too far from the resorts, this is a spot near some of the luxurious spots in Uluwatu like Rock Bar, El Kabron, and Ayana Resort & Spa.
4. Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon off of Nusa Ceningan is the best known spot for cliff jumping, but whether it's safe or not depends on the time of year and the tide.
5. The coast of Nusa Lembongan
We aren't sure where exactly this was, but it seems to be known spot amongst people who live on Nusa Lembongan. We suggest going to a tour boat and taking a snorkeling trip off of the coast of Nusa Lembongan and asking your guide to take you to the "highest cliff jumping" that they know of (which is exactly what we did).
There are two spots to jump off of here, the taller one being a precarious uphill-sloped piece of wood. Our tour guide told us that "very sometimes" did people ever jump from this one. If you think it looks like NBD, try saying that from the view from the top!