By Rowan Ellis · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
CV Saka Bali Putu Tour
Lovina/Bali: Sunrise Dolphin Watching, Swimming & Snorkeling
4.7 (3,144) · from $14
Boat tours in Bali are less about one harbor and more about picking a coast: the south has the fast boats to Nusa Penida and the yachts, the north has dolphins and a quiet sunset, and the east has a fishermen’s sail under a volcano. I compared the 12 boat tours in Bali you can book on GetYourGuide right now, from a $14 dolphin trip to a $696 luxury yacht. Everything below comes from the operators’ own listings: prices, ratings, durations, meeting points and what is included. I haven’t been on any of these boats, so my picks rest on that data and the review snippets, not on a personal sailing.
My short answer for a first boat tour in Bali: I’d book the Wonderland Manta Penida 3-spot snorkeling tour at $44, rated 4.6 from 3,303 reviews. If dolphins matter more than reefs, I’d take the Lovina sunrise dolphin trip at $14 (4.7 from 3,144 reviews). Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and the booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page.
Bali boat tours fall into two groups: day trips that cross to an island, and short local outings from one beach. The first group is the more popular kind of boat tour in Bali, and it needs a clear head about timing. The Wonderland Manta Penida trip at $44 leaves from Sanur by fast boat, a crossing the listing puts at about 45 minutes, and then visits Manta Bay, Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay by snorkeling boat. The listing names options of very different lengths: roughly 6 hours for the shared snorkeling, 7.5 with a round-Bali transfer, and 10 to 11.5 hours when a guided land tour of West Nusa Penida (Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong) comes first. In other words, the same booking can mean half a day mostly on the water or a long day with a lot of it on the road.
At the other end, the luxury sunset trip is a private yacht from Serangan Harbour, which the listing puts 5 minutes from Sanur Beach. It sails at 3:00 PM toward Nusa Dua and the Waterblow on the Bukit Peninsula, offers optional watersports at Tanjung Benoa at extra cost, and returns around 7 PM after the sunset at Lagoon Serangan. It costs $696 for the private group and has one review, a 5.0, so there is almost no evidence behind it yet. I’d read it as a charter, not a proven product, and it has more in common with my yacht charter page than with the shared Bali boat tours.
CV Wonderland Manta penida
My pick: The most booked Nusa Penida option: $44, 4.6 from 3,303 reviews. Choose the snorkel-only option if you want most of the day in the water.
RZH Lintas Samudra Emas
My pick: A private four-hour sunset yacht for $696 from Serangan Harbour. Only one review so far, so treat it as a charter.
If you want the Bali boat tours that most travelers choose, look at the south coast and the Nusa islands. The second big day trip after Nusa Penida goes to Nusa Lembongan: the Lembongan Water Sport 3-spot tour costs $47 and has 4.5 from 2,242 reviews. It is a small-group boat tour in Bali that runs 6 to 9.5 hours. The listing says you ride a big aluminum ferry from Sanur Harbour to Nusa Lembongan, which it describes as less bumpy than normal-sized boats, and then snorkel three spots such as Gamat Bay, Crystal Bay and Mangrove Point.
What makes this one different is the extras. The buffet lunch is served near the mangrove forest, and the options add a mangrove tour by kayak or traditional boat, or a 30-minute massage at Karuna Island Spa. Neither is in the snorkeling-only package. Hotel pickup covers Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Sanur, with other areas as paid add-ons, and at the port you look for staff in Lembongan Watersport uniforms or the D’camel sign. Among the boat tours in Bali it is the one I’d pick for a mixed group, because the lunch and the optional mangrove paddle give non-snorkelers something to do.
Lembongan Water Sport
My pick: The Lembongan day: $47, 4.5 from 2,242 reviews, with lunch and an optional mangrove paddle for friends who skip the reef.
Bali boat cruises are rarely cruises in the sense of a big ship; most Bali boat tours are open snorkeling boats with a guide. The second Wonderland Manta Penida listing is the cheaper way to use the same operator: Manta Point and West Coast snorkeling at Nusa Penida for $28, 4.6 from 1,710 reviews, with options from 3 to 9 hours. It is the lowest price I found for a Manta Point trip, and it uses the same snorkeling-boat setup as the $44 trip.
Read the option titles closely on this boat tour in Bali. The listing says West Coast sightseeing, with viewpoints such as coastal cliffs and beaches, is included only in options that say West Coast Tour in the title. Some options start at Penida Port rather than in Bali, so the $28 price does not always include the crossing. It says manta rays are often seen at Manta Point but not guaranteed, and one reviewer called the snorkeling very hectic and said they lost their partner, so stay close to your guide in the busy spots. The same reviewer praised the guide on the land tour.
CV Wonderland Manta penida
My pick: The budget route to Manta Point: $28, 4.6 from 1,710 reviews. Check that your option includes the boat transfer from Bali.
The only dinner boat on my list is the Bali Hai sunset dinner cruise from Benoa, $78, 3 hours, rated 4.5 from 65 reviews. The dinner cruise is the only evening boat tour in Bali with a meal. Hotel pickup and drop-off from selected areas is included, as are a welcome drink with canapes, an international buffet, live music, a cabaret show and DJ music. Alcoholic drinks and souvenir photos are extra. The vessel is either Bali Hai II or Sail Sensations depending on guest numbers, and the route changes with weather: on some evenings the boat goes beyond Benoa Harbour, on others it stays close.
That makes it an evening out more than a sightseeing trip, and I’d book it for a group that wants food and a show without planning transport. The listing gives no start time, so check the date you want. In October the sun sets around 6:13 PM in Bali, and I list every month on my sunset cruise page, which also covers the Lovina and Amed sunset options.
Bali Hai Cruises
My pick: Buffet, live music and a cabaret show for $78, with hotel pickup. A night out, not a sightseeing cruise.
Prices for boat tours in Bali span a factor of nearly 50, from $14 to $696, and the middle is where most people book. Shared day trips to the islands cost $28 to $47. Local trips from Lovina are cheaper, because they are short and run from the beach: the sunrise dolphin trip is $14 and the sunset snorkeling cruise is $18. The Amed jukung sail is $25 for 1.5 hours. Private fishing charters start at $30 and reach $84. The dinner cruise is $78, and the private boats are $496 and $696.
The $14 dolphin trip is the lowest price, and it appears in its own section further down. The second-cheapest is the Lovina sunset boat cruise with coral reef snorkeling at $18, 2 to 6 hours, run by the same operator (CV Saka Bali Putu Tour). It includes the entrance ticket, a traditional boat, a local captain, snorkeling equipment and a life jacket. The price is real, but only 66 people have reviewed it (4.7), and hotel transfers are not included unless you pick that option. Compare that with $44 to $47 for the island trips, which include a boat crossing and three reef stops.
CV Saka Bali Putu Tour
My pick: The second-cheapest trip I found, $18, at 4.7 from 66 reviews. A relaxed north-coast sunset with a snorkel stop.
People searching for fast boat reviews are usually deciding whether the crossing is the unpleasant part of a boat tour in Bali. On my list the only fast-boat product is the Wonderland Manta Penida trip: a speedboat crossing of about 45 minutes, with a score of 4.6 from 3,303 reviews. The snippets I have read praise the organization, the guide, the corals and the turtles. They say nothing about rough water, but I wouldn’t read that as a promise, and the Lembongan listing is explicit that its large ferry is meant to be less bumpy. If you are prone to seasickness, take the ferry-style option or stay with a trip that never leaves the coast.
The fishing charter in this section isn’t a fast-boat trip, and I’m including it because its meeting point is near Padang Bai port, the same port where the Gili fast boats leave. Balitravelescape’s private charter is $55, 5 to 7 hours, rated 4.4 from 20 reviews. The listing includes hotel pickup in a private car with an English-speaking driver, five hours of fishing, a soft drink or water and the port entrance ticket, but no meal. It also says you can take your catch to your hotel for a barbecue. That is a different kind of boat tour in Bali, and I cover it on my fishing charter page.
Balitravelescape
My pick: A private fishing day from Padang Bai: $55, five hours of fishing, car pickup and a soft drink. 4.4 from 20 reviews.
A private boat tour in Bali means one of two things on my list: a fishing boat or a yacht day. The Lovina private fishing tour is the cheap one: $30, 2.5 to 8 hours, 4.3 from 24 reviews, with a traditional fishing boat and a local captain. You fish with hand lines for tuna, mahi-mahi or snapper, and snorkeling is an add-on. A reviewer caught a tuna and said the captain spent a long time helping them chase fish.
At the top end is the Golden Horizon private yacht, $496, 9 to 10 hours, with a 5.0 rating from 2 reviews. It starts at Mertasari Beach in Sanur and visits Manta Point, Gamat Bay and Mangrove Point, serves lunch at a restaurant with an infinity pool, then moves to land for Kelingking Beach with a private driver. The listing gives no split of hours between water and land, so I’d ask the operator before booking if the snorkeling matters most. It includes a GoPro, premium snorkel gear, a crew and the Nusa Penida entrance fees.
CV Saka Bali Putu Tour
My pick: The cheap private boat: $30 in Lovina, hand-line fishing with a local captain. Snorkeling is an optional add-on.
Golden Horizon
My pick: A full private yacht day to Nusa Penida for $496, lunch included. The listing doesn't split hours between water and land.
Dolphin tours in Bali run from Lovina Beach, so they are the northern boat tours in Bali, on the north coast, and the Bali boat tour I found is the best-reviewed of the high-volume trips: the CV Saka Bali Putu Tour sunrise dolphin watching, $14, 4.7 from 3,144 reviews. You board a traditional boat after coffee or tea and snacks at the basecamp, search for wild dolphins at sunrise, and, if the sea allows, swim holding a floating bar attached to the boat. Afterwards you snorkel a nearby coral reef. Equipment, water, a safety briefing and insurance are included, and hotel pickup is optional.
Be realistic about the day. The listing says sightings cannot be guaranteed, that other boats may be around, and that duration with hotel transfers can be longer, which fits the listed range of 2 to 10 hours. Reviewers write about plenty of dolphins and a captain who knew where to look. I’d book this for early risers staying in the north, or anyone who can take a long car ride.
CV Saka Bali Putu Tour
My pick: The best value on the list: $14, 4.7 from 3,144 reviews, dolphins at sunrise plus a reef snorkel.
For anyone typing the short phrase Bali cruises, the closest match among the boat tours in Bali is a private sunrise boat trip rather than a ship. The Balitravelescape trip costs $84, lasts 5 hours, and is rated 5.0, though only 12 people have rated it. It starts with hotel pickup, then 4 to 5 hours of fishing with bait and gear, a soft drink on board, and what the listing calls a panorama of Sanur from the water.
The listing is short and written in uneven English, and it names no meeting point or stops, so I can’t tell you more than what the data says. I’d use it for anglers who want a private boat and a car transfer from Kuta in one price, not as a general sightseeing choice. If you only want to see the coast, the Amed and Lovina trips are cheaper. The listing says East Bali waters hold giant trevally and dogtooth tuna, but I can’t check the catch rates.
Balitravelescape
My pick: A private sunrise fishing trip with car pickup, $84. Perfect score, but only 12 reviews.
None of the 12 boat tours in Bali crosses to Lombok. A Lombok crossing is an ordinary fast-boat ticket, not a tour, and tickets are sold by transport companies such as BlueWater Express, listed at Padang Bai on Google Maps. I don’t compare them because they aren’t tours. The closest thing in my data is the Amed jukung sailing trip, because the east Bali sail looks out toward Lombok’s volcano.
The jukung is a traditional Balinese outrigger boat, and this one is private, run by Amed Sailing for $25, 1.5 hours, rated 4.6 from 12 reviews. The listing offers a sunrise or sunset sail with a fisherman guide. At sunrise it says Mount Rinjani emerges on the horizon, while at sunset Mount Agung is the backdrop. You meet at Warung Ketut on the road to Lipah Beach and contact the operator on WhatsApp. It includes the boat, captain and water, with an optional life jacket, and no food.
AMED SAILING
My pick: A quiet 1.5-hour jukung sail in Amed for $25, with Mount Agung at sunset and Rinjani at sunrise.
What you see on Bali boat tours depends on which coast you pick. The Nusa Penida trips follow a route of cliff beaches and reef bays, and the infographic shows the stops named in the Wonderland Manta Penida listing: a speedboat crossing, then Pasih Uug Beach (Broken Beach), Angel’s Billabong, Kelingking Beach, a local restaurant, Manta Bay, Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay. The land stops sit on the island’s west coast, and the reef stops are where you get in the water.
Stops on the route
The south-coast Bali boat tours from Benoa and Serangan stay in sheltered water and see the Bukit Peninsula, the Waterblow and Lagoon Serangan. The north and east trips show you fishing villages and volcanoes instead: Lovina’s coast with Mount Raung in the distance at sunset, and Amed with Agung and Rinjani. Wildlife is mentioned in several listings: dolphins off Lovina, manta rays at Manta Bay, sea turtles at Crystal Bay and Gamat Bay, and moray eels and parrotfish on the Lembongan reef. For the sea state, BMKG, Indonesia’s meteorological agency, publishes marine weather forecasts.
The harbours cluster on the south-east coast, which makes the departure points for boat tours in Bali easy to compare. On a Bali boat tour from the south, Sanur is the base for the Nusa Penida and Lembongan ferries and the Mertasari yacht. Benoa Harbour, where Bali Hai Cruises is based, is about 3.6 km south-west of the Sanur-side boat companies in a straight line, and the Tanjung Benoa watersports beach is 1.6 km from it. Further south the Waterblow on the Bukit is about 7.6 km from Benoa, and Jimbaran has its own sunset cruise operator, roughly 9.4 km from Sanur. Padang Bai in the east is the port for the fishing charter and the Lombok and Gili fast boats.
Cruise line company
4.6 · 1,078 Google reviews
Jl. Wahana Tirta No.1, Benoa, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80222, Indonesia
Boat tour agency
4.9 · 189 Google reviews
Jl. Ikan Tuna II Jl. Raya Pelabuhan Benoa No.3, Pedungan, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80222, Indonesia
Open in Google Maps
Tour operator
4.9 · 1,378 Google reviews
Jl. Tukad Punggawa No.238, Serangan, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80228, Indonesia
Boat tour agency
4.5 · 79 Google reviews
Melasti Beach, Jl. Tukad Punggawa, Serangan, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80229, Indonesia
Boat tour agency
4.9 · 75 Google reviews
Jimbaran, South Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tourist attraction
4.4
Benoa, South Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali 80363, Indonesia
Tourist attraction
4.3
Jl. Segara Lor, Benoa, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tourist attraction
4.2
FGC7+365, Jl. Bloo Lagoon, Padangbai, Kec. Manggis, Kabupaten Karangasem, Bali 80871, Indonesia
My data splits the 12 Bali boat tours into a handful of types, and four have their own page. Prices are the lowest listed for that type and durations come from the listings. Some trips count in two types, so the numbers overlap.
| Trip type | Price from | Typical duration | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snorkeling tour | $14 | 2 to 11.5 hours | Reef stops at Nusa Penida, Lembongan or Lovina |
| Fishing charter | $30 | 2.5 to 8 hours | Anglers who want a private boat |
| Yacht charter | $496 | 4 to 10 hours | Groups who want a private yacht |
| Sunset cruise | $18 | 1.5 to 6 hours | Couples and groups at dusk, or a dinner show |
| Dolphin watching | $14 | 2 to 10 hours | Early risers on the north coast |
| Island day trip | $28 | 3 to 11.5 hours | Nusa Penida and Lembongan in one day |
Here is how I’d pick among the boat tours in Bali in four questions.
All 12 listings offer a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead, so book early and move the date if the forecast turns. For the country’s wider travel information, the official site is Indonesia Travel. Whichever boat tour in Bali you choose, confirm the meeting point in your voucher, because several of these listings change it by option.
The 8 most-reviewed boat companies on Google Maps in Bali, with what I found about each. Ratings and reviews are Google's.
Cruise agency
4.1 · 2,065 Google reviews
Not in my GetYourGuide comparison: book direct
Tour operator
4.9 · 1,378 Google reviews
2 of the tours I compared · from $28
Cruise line company
4.6 · 1,078 Google reviews
1 of the tours I compared · from $78
Cruise line company
4.5 · 518 Google reviews
1 of the tours I compared · from $78
Boat tour agency
4.2 · 366 Google reviews
Not in my GetYourGuide comparison: book direct
Boat tour agency
3.4 · 287 Google reviews
Not in my GetYourGuide comparison: book direct
Boat tour agency
5.0 · 245 Google reviews
Not in my GetYourGuide comparison: book direct
Boat tour agency
4.9 · 189 Google reviews
Not in my GetYourGuide comparison: book direct
For a first boat tour in Bali I'd book the Wonderland Manta Penida 3-spot snorkeling tour at $44: 4.6 from 3,303 reviews, a 45-minute fast boat from Sanur and three reef stops at Nusa Penida. If you would rather stay on the mainland, the Lovina sunrise dolphin trip at $14 has 4.7 from 3,144 reviews. Both are shared trips with free cancellation.
The 12 boat tours in Bali I compared run from $14 to $696 in US dollars. Shared day trips cost $14 to $47, the Benoa sunset dinner cruise is $78, private fishing charters run $30 to $84, and the two private yachts cost $496 and $696. Check on the booking page whether the price is per person or per boat, because the private options differ.
It depends on the coast. Bali boat tours to Nusa Penida board at Sanur or Mertasari Beach, the dinner cruise at Benoa Harbour, and the luxury sunset yacht at Serangan Harbour. Dolphin and sunset trips start on Lovina Beach in the north, the jukung sail at Lipah Beach in Amed, and one fishing charter near Padang Bai port.
I think so if you like snorkeling, because the two biggest Nusa boat tours in Bali score 4.6 from 3,303 reviews and 4.5 from 2,242. Manta rays are not guaranteed: one listing says they show up on roughly 30% of trips. Pick a snorkel-only option if you want most of the day on the water, since land tour options swap hours at sea for road time.
All 12 Bali boat tours offer a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start. That is useful in Bali because the operators say snorkeling spots, manta sightings and swims depend on weather and sea conditions. Read the cutoff on the trip you book, and ask the operator what happens if the boat cannot sail on the day.
Yes. Among the Bali boat tours, the Bali Hai sunset dinner cruise from Benoa is $78 for 3 hours with a buffet, live music and a cabaret show. Cheaper sunset options are the Lovina cruise at $18 and the Amed jukung sail at $25, while the private Serangan yacht costs $696. My sunset cruise page compares all four with sunset times for every month.
Yes, on the Lovina trips in the north. The sunrise dolphin watching trip costs $14 and has 4.7 from 3,144 reviews, and the listing includes snorkeling and coffee or tea. Sightings cannot be guaranteed because the dolphins are wild, and the operator warns that other boats may be around. Hotel transfers can stretch the day to 10 hours.
Yes, five of the 12 boat tours in Bali are private. The Lovina fishing tour is $30, the Padang Bai fishing charter $55, the sunrise fishing trip from Kuta $84, the Nusa Penida yacht day $496 and the four-hour Serangan sunset yacht $696. Each has a full refund up to 24 hours ahead, so you can compare dates before you commit.