Mentawais v Krui Which One??

Spencer72's picture
Spencer72 started the topic in Sunday, 13 Nov 2016 at 11:44pm

Hey crew:

Currently in the investigation phase of a 3 week April 2017 trip with my 16 y/o daughter and I. Weighing up between Krui and Mentawai's as the surf trip option. Some specs on us:

From Perth, both natural footers (prefer rights but like cruisy lefts), intermediate (higher end) level, like cruisier waves e.g.. Kuta Reef, Balian, Brawa, etc but open to stepping up a bit more. Not overly keen on spending hours on end in a boat looking for waves but a bit of all options would be good.

Accomodation: mid level budget losmans, food, decent room, not full on party joint but enough for my daughter to have a good time, air con would be cool but not mandatory, mossy net a must (already have dengi fever from last surf trip).

Ive been tossing up between Krui and Mentawais. I was leaning towards Krui but daughter Mentawai. Thought it might be pretty crowded there.

Look forward to your advice gang.

geoffrey's picture
geoffrey's picture
geoffrey Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 at 12:52pm

hey mate, i went to krui in july this year. Havent been to the ments but am going next year and kind of wish i did instead of krui. The camp we stayed in was great, if you do end up going there i would highly recommend them and was always comfortable and well fed there, and always felt safe. that whole coast is an absolute swell magnet so the swells can often be a little more raw than you would expect for indo. the waves are generally pretty heavy. if you ignore the price (krui is proper indo prices not inflated whitey prices) for the effort of the travel it wasnt really worth it. the van ride after the 2 plane trips out to krui is pretty hardcore. the etiquette in the water there was terrible, worst ive come accross bar snapper. cant blame the brazos on this occasion either as it was aussies being the pests. was quite crowded too.
i hadnt been back to indo in about 10 years so maybe its like this everywhere i dont know. oh another thing i didnt love was that it was a decent effort to get from wave to wave. the car trips were 20-30 min minimum and you can drive 2-3 hours to get to some of the waves like jennys and jimmys. did feel like we were spending a long time in the car looking for waves. hope this helped mate the surf side of it mate.

your other points: the camp i stayed in partying wasnt an issue, its pretty simple there and you can have a couple of beers after surf in the arvo/dinner but everyone kept to themselves. most are there to surf.
price: its dirt cheap in krui area

groundswell's picture
groundswell's picture
groundswell Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 at 2:02pm

Alot of people write off Krui and its neighbouring town waves, love or hate it
theres a few reasons for this, a lot of the spots have a little something wrong with them, not enough swell or rock in the wrong place, doesnt tube, swells always the wrong direction etc etc.
when i was there in 2008 i spent 5 months in that town mostly surfing Krui left and rights or ujung bocur.(lots of decent SW swells that year.
All of those are intermediate waves that will get really good but are often either too small at krui breaks (unless its a 2-4metre sw swell with the right tides. arvos seem to producce the goods as the wind helps the swell come in the bay, also mid to low tides for the left there.
At that time of tide its more heavy and pitching so a lot of learners arent charging the mini ramp drops into the tube. its like a fun mini ramp that wave that you probably wont see over 3 foot if it is it starts to get pretty heavy at 3-4 foot + offshore in se trade wind almost daily.
The peak- near secret sumatra camp, really fun looking peak that seems to work a little more often than krui left and right. very short but sweet.
Krui right- hardly anyone surfed this spot when i was there but you could get some fun long tubes if the swells the right direction and the stars align. It might be more crowded now. fun from 1ft to 4 foot. still grinding tubes at 1 foot that wraps in on itstelf on the end bowl like donuts in sumbawa.
if sand has buildt up on the beach it ruins the end section.
The beachy in between krui left and right ive had really good long pits there on a mystery swell and ese winds. its usually crap.
heading south you have mandiri which is kruis south straddy but a bit more "in the right spot at the right time and waiting game etc. needs north or no winds.
theres other beachies between there and ujung bocur but they are my secret and last time i was there locals were living in tents on the beach, made me scared to leave my moterbike alone on the beach.

Ujung bocur is an intermediate wave, heavier than medewi but not really tubing that often, handles the trade wind a little bit but is not fully offshore.
Great wave for getting back to your feet after grinding away at work for 1 year or so and hardly surfing, good for turns, carves no paddle takeoffs etc, good for sussing out stuff you want to try. its often sectiony but on some days its near perfect (without many tubes. it can be great fun at 1-2 foot or great gun wave at 8 foot plus if its not being sectiony.
wai jambu, the areas pipeline, can be a lot longer than pipeline too. not for anyone below intermediate advanced as bombs really bottom out and you have to knife the takeoff in 6-8 foot waves. also breaks and leads you onto sharp rocks if you're not careful.
bali village, lesser surfed spots not many people bother going to, one mini lances left thats kind of hidden and very shallow at hightide. nth to ene winds.or glass.
theres a few secrets in the area i wont describe but one is heavier than wai jambu and uncrowded or empty most days as the drop is big and then in the tube your fins will scrape the reef at the end. My best waves in krui biha were at that spot. similar to speedies but heavier and a smaller swell spot. (2-4ft max and hightides.)
jimmys gets really good but gnarly and jennys is easier going, beautiful scenery up there. lots of waves and less people. you could spend a lot of time exploring that coast north of jimmys.
Lake renoult is good as its a lake, beautuful mountain but a treck to get there. the locals treat you like royalty.No surf though.
there are a lot of secrets and the area gets a lot of 15ft swells each year, which many people head to krui spots for, krui is a bowlier fun but maybe not as perfect as bingin.

FOOD
All the losmons on ujung bocur point (biha) have reasonable food and improving every year, wifi in a few of them now. sometimes the ox steaksis a bit tough with pompous frenchies giving grief to the cooks about the quality of the food. I think the food was great but it might not be for everyone. they probably improved that by now.
Secret sumatra has really good food but not a cheap place to stay at. Theres good food at the markets if you can cook or nasi goreng and satay chicken on the street near the market in krui.

So i just gave a list of some of the better well known spots you will likely head to but there are lots more if you look around some of them are hard to find. Some are right under everyones noses or too gnarly for the beginners and intermediates.

Im thinking about heading back as i miss a few spots and the place isnt that bad outside of june july august.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 at 4:57pm

Mentawai's or Krui a bit like comparing a Porsche with a VW beetle.

Anyway just saw this, not a bad vid

Bonnet. from matt on Vimeo.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 at 5:04pm

6:00 in Honey Smacks, chunky wave.

chin's picture
chin's picture
chin Wednesday, 23 Nov 2016 at 7:25pm

I thought that looked like Nana in the barber shop

nicko74's picture
nicko74's picture
nicko74 Tuesday, 3 Jan 2017 at 10:06pm

filthy clip Indo cheers for sharing! sort of reminds me of speed reef.

swab's picture
swab's picture
swab Wednesday, 4 Jan 2017 at 12:13am

what's with the clickjack bullshit every time I click on a vimeo vid?

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Wednesday, 4 Jan 2017 at 6:51am

Clickjack? Dunno what you mean mate.. can you give more details?