We Visited West Bali National Park: Here's Our Complete Guide

West Bali National Park (Taman Nasional Bali Barat) is the island’s only official national park. It sits on the northwestern tip of Bali, around a 4-hour drive from the airport, which is why most tourists never visit.

Unlike most tourists, we’ve visited the national park several times to experience the different activities on offer, and we highly recommend you do too. In this guide, we’ll share everything we’ve learned to help plan your visit.

What Is West Bali National Park?

West Bali National Park covers an area of 190km2 - around 5% of Bali’s total size. It was created to protect endangered species that live in the area, particularly the Bali starling (just 50 left in the wild), Javan rusa deer, and Javan lutung monkeys.

While 80% of the park is on land, the rest extends out into the sea, covering the tiny island of Menjangan and the coral reefs surrounding it.

Some areas of the national park are reserved for conservation and scientific research (known as the core zone), but other sections are open to tourists, offering activities such as snorkelling, diving, trekking, and a handful of luxury resorts set in nature.

Snorkelling trips are the most popular activity in West Bali National Park, and it's no surprise! We’ve visited all of Bali’s top snorkelling spots, and this was by far the best experience, with great visibility and thriving corals full of colourful fish and turtles. More about our experience below.

Entrance Fees

If you’re planning to do any activities in the national park, you’ll need to pay the entrance fee. Here are the latest fees:

Notes:

• The park fee is charged per day, not per activity. If you snorkel in the morning, then trek later, you only pay once for that day. To avoid confusion, we advise booking all your activities with the same operator.
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• You don’t need to pay to visit resorts within the park. The park fee is included in their accommodation rates. Even if you’re just visiting a resort’s restaurant or facilities as an outside guest, you don’t need to pay.

Where To Stay At West Bali National Park?

You can visit West Bali National Park on a day trip from popular tourist destinations in North Bali, such as Lovina or Munduk. However, having done it from Lovina once ourselves, it is a verrry long and tiring day trip.

If your itinerary allows, we'd definitely recommend staying overnight in the area to enjoy all the other things to do in West Bali.

Staying within the park:

Several luxury resorts are located inside the national park boundaries. If you don’t mind spending a little extra, you’ll have an unforgettable stay surrounded by beautiful nature. The best known are The Menjangan Resort, Mimpi Resort, and Menjangan Dynasty Resort.

Staying near the park:

We usually opt to stay in either Pemuteran or Sumberkima, two coastal towns just outside the national park, where your money will go much further.

Our two favourite hotels are the neighbouring Sumberkima Hill Retreat and Sumberkima Resort. From these accommodations, it’s around a 10-minute drive to the snorkelling start point or a 30-minute drive to the main park gate.

Our Favourite Activities in the National Park

1. Menjangan Island Snorkelling

We’ve snorkelled around Menjangan Island twice now, and it's one of our favourite snorkelling experiences in Bali. The visibility is excellent and the underwater life is thriving with many colourful fish enjoying the healthy, protected corals.

Some that we recognised included clownfish (yes, Nemo!), angelfish, and pufferfish. We also came across several turtles, including one that hung around with us for ages while feasting on algae.

The current was a little stronger than in other places like Amed, but there were some weaker swimmers in our group, and the guide was able to support them in the water with life jackets and a safety ring.

Most snorkelling trips follow a similar itinerary, going to two snorkelling spots, then ending with a visit to Menjangan Island itself.

We spent around 45 minutes on the island enjoying our pre-prepared lunch of nasi goreng (fried rice) and searching for the rare Javan rusa deer (also known as Menjangan deer) that live on the island.

The trip price included a return shuttle from our hotel in Sumberkima to the main departure point for the snorkelling trips at Banyuwedang Beach. Our boat also stopped directly at some resorts inside the national park to pick up guests staying there - another perk of staying nearby. You can book trips online here.

2. National Park Land Safari

Our second favourite activity in the national park was going on safari with West Bali Explorer. On our trip, we joined two guides in a cool, converted VW safari van and drove around the park for around three hours.

During the safari, we spotted rusa deer, the smaller barking deer, loads of monkeys, a couple of HUGE monitor lizards, and a variety of birds.

The inner park is one of the best places to see wild monkeys in Bali. The macaques were everywhere and chased our truck along the road, hoping for scraps of food. The endangered black monkeys were shyer and took longer to find. But they are very cute, with glossy fur and a messy human-like fringe around their faces.

We also saw a few temples and took a stroll along the park’s beautiful, untouched white sand beaches, where we spotted macaques digging for crabs and shellfish in the tide pools.

3. Relaxing in Banyuwedang Hot Springs

Located on the seafront and surrounded by thick mangrove forests, Banyuwedang Hot Springs is a fantastic place to enjoy a relaxing soak after exploring the national park. The water wasn’t as sulphury as other hot springs we’ve visited in Bali, and apparently, the waters have healing powers.

With a toasty average temperature of 40°c, Banyuwedang is Bali’s hottest hot spring. If anything, we found it a little too hot in Bali’s mid-day heat. We’d recommend visiting late afternoon or evening instead – it’s open until 9pm.

The hot spring is located close to Banyuwedang Beach (where the snorkelling tours begin). This is an unrestricted part of the park, so you don’t need to pay the park fee to visit. Just bring 45,000 IDR ⓘ in cash to enter the springs.

Lockers, toilets, and showers are available. We’d suggest leaving valuables in a locker (which costs 10,000 IDR) as monkeys are common in the area and they aren't afraid to steal belongings.

4. Climbing Bali Tower Bistro

The Menjangan is one of several luxury resorts inside West Bali National Park. It has several restaurants that outside guests can visit, including the amazing Bali Tower Bistro.

What makes Bali Tower Bistro unique is that it’s housed in an unusual 5-story wooden structure that peaks above the surrounding tree line.

From the top floors, you can enjoy stunning 360° views over the national park. Look out for the swing-style seat on the top floor – this was our favourite spot to enjoy the scenery for a while.

The bistro-style restaurant had a varied menu, including many Indonesian favourites and several Western dishes such as burgers and pasta. Prices are a little expensive compared to elsewhere in the area (165,000 IDR ⓘ for a nasi goreng – ouch!), but you can also visit for coffee or cocktails instead, like we did.

As we mentioned earlier, you don’t need to pay the park entrance fee when visiting the resorts. You’ll just need to pass through the resort’s entrance gate (here) where they’ll issue you with a guest badge.

Other Things To Do

With so many things to do in West Bali National Park, we’ve not yet tried everything. Here’s a quick rundown of the other activities on offer:

Scuba Diving:

We saw so many fish while snorkelling that we didn’t feel the need to go diving as well. But if you decide to go deeper, there are 10 dive spots around Menjangan Island where you can enjoy more diverse underwater life, including garden eels, reef sharks, and even a 19th-century wooden shipwreck. Book a fun dive here.

Trekking:

For those who prefer exploring on foot. Short treks last 2-3 hours, taking you through the jungle and mangroves where you’ll see lizards, birds, and monkeys. Longer treks also go up into the hills, lasting a full day. Trekking info here.

Birdwatching:

The park is home to over 160 bird species, including the critically endangered Bali Starling. Birding tours typically take place in the early morning or late afternoon when the birds are more active. Here’s info from a reputable company (though we haven’t used them).

Mangrove Tours:

You can take a boat trip through the park’s mangroves in Gilimanuk Bay. Trip into here.

Restaurants in West Bali National Park

All three of these restaurants are part of resorts, therefore you don’t need to pay the park entrance fee to visit.

FAQs

Is West Bali National Park worth visiting?

Absolutely, West Bali National Park is definitely worth visiting. It's one of the best things to do in Bali if you want to escape the tourist crowds of the south and see Bali's stunning nature and amazing wildlife in a safe and ethical way.

What animals are in West Bali National Park?

West Bali National Park is best known as one of three places in Bali where you can see the critically endangered Bali Starling in the wild. At last count, just 50 remained in the wild.

The national park is also home to rusa deer, barking deer, banteng (a type of wild cattle), Javan lutung monkeys (also known as black monkeys), long-tailed macaque monkeys, monitor lizards, and wild pigs.