Surfing Indonesia
June 2019Kuta, South Lombok
We stayed in the surfer lodge Drop In near Kuta. It turned out to be a great choice, the lodge has nice and clean bungalows, good breakfast and a beautiful tropical garden with lots of spots to hang out and chill after surfing.
It is a 15 minute scooter ride to Gerupuk, where the boats will take you to the surf spots “Outside” (advanced) and the two easier spots “Inside” and “Don Don”. We surfed “Inside”, good for beginners, however, also quite crowded – check Lombok surf map at www.magicseaweed.com.
Don’t forget to stop at Cafe Fin on the way back for a fruit smoothie or a bite to eat.
Kuta is within a ten minute scooter ride and offers dozens of restaurants with all kind of different food, You will find everything from local Gado-Gado to Italian Pizza – and vegetarion/vegan options in most places. We can recommend:
- Lalapan – really simple restaurant with good local food
- Kenza Cafe – trendy place with local food
- Milk Espresso – another trendy restaurant with local and international food
- bamba – elegant restaurant with great choices in nice athmosphere
Medewi, West Bali
After an almost full day transfer to Medewi (West Bali) we spent one night in the Brown Surgar Surf Camp but decided not to stay there and switched to the Kelapa Retreat and Spa a real luxury place. We had a huge room with a private pool – simply amazing, but a 10 minute scooter ride from to surf spot. In general, it might be a good idea to book on short notice, since we got lucky with a 50% deal!
Medewi is a small town, with not too many restaurants and places lodges/hotel, if you want to stay close to the main surf spot. We checked out a few places which we would consider for next time:
- UMADEWI Surf & Suites located on the beach front, just a few steps to surf! Very clean, with a big pool, rooms facing pool or sea (surf break) and a nice restaurant
- Bombora Medewi Wave Lodge also a few steps from the surf sport, it it slightly less luxurious (we haven’t actually seen the rooms), really nice restaurant and a small pool
- Hotel Medewi Beach Inn is a bit further back from the beach, nice and simple hotel with a pool but and a nice restaurant
The surf spot is super nice, you paddle out from the beach. The are stones all over the beach which makes it a little tricky to get out, also you have to watch the tide and check the water depth – we got a few cuts from the rocks, so you need to be careful.
We were super happy with our local surf guide Ali – just contact him via WhatsApp on +62 878 605 887 85 if you need surf lessons in Medewi.
Canggu, Denpasar, East Bali
The last stage of our surf trip was in Canggu the new trendy district of Denpasar. We stayed at the Kima Surf Camp a popular place for surfers in the area.
During the three days in Canggu, a big swell hit the shore and we were not able to surf. Instead, we did some cultural things, such as visiting the town of Ubud with its temples and rice fields.
In general, the area in Denpasar is very busy, super crowded and totally traffic jammed.
Ramadan
During Ramadan, things are a bit more quiet. Usually not a big deal. At the end of Ramadan, there are extensive celebrations – which we enjoyed watching a lot. The next day, everything is closed (e.g. surf instructors don’t work), sometimes two days or even more.
Early Morning Surf Sessions
It is hot in Indonesia, with only small differences between summer and winter.
However you might appreciate a warmer top for the early morning sessions.
Indonesia
Indonesia is huge, countless islands, current population of 270 million people, mostly Moslems. Balis is mixed between Hindus and Moslems.
Waves, wind and rain depends on the seasons, current conditions on www.windy.com.