Tips for Indonesia from May - Sep 2023
First time in Indo - for an extended trip you really should spend some time in Bali straight up, as it'll set the barometer for the rest of the trip. Nice way to ease yourself into things. And you'll probably meet a few like-minded travellers too.
That’s a big stint in Indo.
Especially for your first time.
Like Ben said I’d base yourself in Bali and do missions from there.
I’m jealous
Well if you’re a goofy head to G-land , you probably won’t want to leave . Dylan shapes or Jim Banks boards are worth a look .
First timer ...Book a week or two with Slim he will get you into the Groove
Also heard he gets you a Good $ Rate for G.Land
https://www.baliwaves.com/
Take your Favorite Board {s] they will be Fine...
Yep, concur with the above comments. Bali good start and can start getting use to the Indo experience. Easy to get boards there now, all the main shapers have things going on, plus lesser known guys. Indo world will open up there and if you are on the spot there are sometimes opportunities to get onto boat trip at heavily discounted rates as they just want to make up numbers. etc.
Cruising Java is a great experience and still a lot of waves there that are not flavour of the month and I would guess not too busy. Great people! Enjoy.
Selamat jalan!!!
Yeah pretty lucky. I’m a healthcare worker and haven’t had a holiday in a few years so build up of a tonne of annual leave so requested it all and got it somehow haha. Thoughts on Lombok around that time of year then aren’t great?
There are breaks in Lombok that will work, for eg , one side of gurpruk will be onshore and the other side will be offshore, also it will be easier to meet people in Lombok as you can share boats etc. You should go to Lombok anyway and check it out, I guess the nightlife is fun…if it doesn’t suit, just fly back to Bali or jet to Lakeys, Krui etc
Going to the Ments want to meet the locals stay at The Shadow great people great vibe they have aircond rooms as well.
Concur with many of the above comments. Stayed with Slim at the start of my first trip to Indo 20+ years ago. A great intro and he will take you to good waves. Then cut loose and forge your own path. Cheap boat trips available from Bali. Spend a few weeks on Nusa Lembongan esp if you don't mind going right. G-land, Lakey, Ments, Nias.... the world is your oyster. Virgin snapped 2 boards of mine on a flight to Bali. Would have taken a 90 keg bloke to jump on them from a height to achieve that. Managed to get a refund after a 3 month fight. That's a rarity though. Highly recommend Jim Banks boards and you could get in touch with him prior and tell him your needs - he could have your quiver ready and waiting on arrival.
If you want to save some coin on your quiver, Bruce does some good boards ..
andy-mac wrote:If you want to save some coin on your quiver, Bruce does some good boards ..
Worth seeing Bruce just for the stories along.
I focus wrote:andy-mac wrote:If you want to save some coin on your quiver, Bruce does some good boards ..
Worth seeing Bruce just for the stories along.
He's got a few. :)
Jim Banks boards are $$$ just as a heads up. Drifter on the road to Ulus sells some near new boards in excellent condition. That might save you a bit of coin. There's also White Monkey nearby which has loads of boards.
I've bought a Dylan (from the Dylan shop) over there. I might have been a bit unlucky but I didn't think the quality was the same as the Oz made Dylan I had before that.
Bnkref wrote:Jim Banks boards are $$$ just as a heads up. Drifter on the road to Ulus sells some near new boards in excellent condition. That might save you a bit of coin. There's also White Monkey nearby which has loads of boards.
I've bought a Dylan (from the Dylan shop) over there. I might have been a bit unlucky but I didn't think the quality was the same as the Oz made Dylan I had before that.
I was riding Bruce's for years, switched to CI when Cutchy took up shaping for them. Every CI board or any of Bruce's always good .... Cannot go wrong.
Been to Bali dozens of times always travelled on staff travel now
lost forever anyway has anybody flown on Batik Air? Are they OK
or just rubbish.PS be pretty difficult to be worse than Shit Star.
evosurfer wrote:Been to Bali dozens of times always travelled on staff travel now
lost forever anyway has anybody flown on Batik Air? Are they OK
or just rubbish.PS be pretty difficult to be worse than Shit Star.
I have flown with them in indo, no issues, a friend has flown twice this year from Brisbane to Bali and no issues. I actually have flown probably 20 times or more with shitstar and besides having flight time rescheduled a few hours , I haven’t had any real problems with them besides shit attitude from staff .
Smile and drink lots of Pocari sweat
You might want extra length and a rounded pin
Take new leggies
Thankyou supafreak I have to scratch the itch going from Sydney early April.
Bakit prices seem good and you have all up 30kg of luggage makes a big difference.
Canggu has more accesible and varied and consistent waves. Start there maybe
evosurfer wrote:Thankyou supafreak I have to scratch the itch going from Sydney early April.
Bakit prices seem good and you have all up 30kg of luggage makes a big difference.
Garuda from Sydney ? I like April , mixed light winds to surf both sides of the Bukit and crowds aren’t as fierce as July August.
Evo do you travel with a Quiver...Take a Gun or have one Stored on the Bukit...?
udo usually have a 7-4 this time probably the biggest will be 6-6 . four boards I will take
5-10, 2x 6-2s because thats the size I ride mostly when its overhead at Ulus and the ones
I normally break and 6-6.I stay at Ulus mainly surf there. Will heavily check charts just
incase I see a really big swell on the charts.
Vince sorry mate Canggu would be pretty much the last place I would stay. Im not cool enough
hip enough alternate enough and I dont go overseas to ride playfull fun beach waves I have a fetish
for reefs.
Towards the end of your trip after you’re more in tune with the waves and if you’re feeling like you want to push your level, I’d highly recommend booking a 9-12 day trip to G-Land. See if you can time it in the week or so before a full moon to get ahead of the crowd. Have a great time mate!
Don't worry about being too organised over there. You can make things happen. Go with the flow. Try to go to some of the quieter areas - Krui, Java etc.
Lombok is very busy in the surf, as is Bali. But both are great for relaxing, eating, drinking and some culture.
Make sure you try to get to a couple of waves with guaranteed barrels. If you are confident on your backhand in the tube then Nias and HT's would be great. For your forehand, probably Macaroni's. It doesn't have to be big. 3-4 foot is fine. I'm sure a few others have some spots to add to the list.
Thanks heaps for the tips so far guys! Really appreciate it.
Evosurfer - Will be my first time surfing reef, which are the more "mellow" reefs if that is even a thing that you recommend. Once I'm more comfortable with the area obviously will branch out.
Denyer - Cheers mate, yeah just going to cruise around. Just trying to get a bit of an idea before I head over of where to stay etc.
Cling ling - cross the heavier waves off your list (eg G-land, a lot of spots in the Ments, Desert Point etc).
Canggu is probably a good spot to start. Beach breaks and a mix of reefs. Then work your way up to the reefs on the Bukit.
The reef waves near the airport (and I think near Slim’s place from Baliwaves.com) are more manageable than spots like Ulus.
Take some Reef Booties ..
Some guys were having problems with wax melting up in the mentawi last year. I took 6 blocks of this stuff and no issues , don’t know if you will find it in tassie though. 
https://eastcoastsurf.com.au/products/balibrewwax
Or Buy Online
As others have said, hook up with Slim at Baliwaves. He will show the ropes and get you into swing of things over there. He will also find waves to suit your ability. I have been staying with him since 2012 and have always scored waves that are perfect for me. Great location and walking distance to access Kuta, Middles and Airport Lefts reefs.
evosurfer wrote:.PS be pretty difficult to be worse than Shit Star.
Used to work for Jetstar in Newcastle airport jet hanger, saw $100 000 parts, rubber turbine seals and blades for turbines and many rubber parts sit outside in shipping containers in 42 degree heat all summer...Thought to myself "why dont we just put layers of plywood and pallets on top of the containers to give some insulation?" Then one day on a flight near Melbourne an engine blew up and they landed the plane with one engine working..
Shit hit the fan and a head engineer i really liked listening and learning from got the sack over it even though he had nothing to do with the fault.
It was the damn parts left outside in containers all summer imo...Anyway good coin at that job but not many people lasted long..Everyone seemed to get the sack or back stabbed and gonskys sooner or later.
As for indo get indo surf lingo by peter Neely and another guide book stormriders guide to Indonesia and the indian ocean..Not the world wide one (as it has less on each country) the one mostly about indian ocean..Great read you will probably want to read it 10 times. and some places mentioned you wouldn't think have waves...Old info but good,Not much info on latest camps but many surf spots all over indo and indian ocean.. indo surf lingo to get some basic lingo happening and how to pronounce letters, vowels etc.Like c is always pronounced cheh, k is usually used instead of c for k sounding letters/words.Anyway have fun.
If Slims place is near the boats to airport reefs and kuta reef then its a good place to get used to indo, not so much crime in that part of southern Kuta.There are some friendly locals in some of the shops near there too where some locals might even offer you their own house for you to rent off them..Just pay a bit more than they pay and you're sweet.Happened to me when hotels were booked out and my friend only charged me about $60 for 3 weeks until i was on the way to outer islands.(she was staying in her bf's apartment).Some places you can rent long term for a lot cheaper than hotel short stay prices.If planning to long stay you should try to make deals.Just if you do and want to pull the pin you might be stuck.
Also despite most guide books and a lot of forecasts saying dry season winds will be SE every day of dry season and west in wet season that isn't true.
Fairly often like at least once a fortnight to once a week in dry season the winds will be monsoon- westerlies to sw and sama sama for monsoon wet season winds- ie sometimes dry season winds will happen in wet season.
Once you get north past the ments/latitude zero/equator into Aceh the season switches, ie wet season is the same time as bali etc's dry season.And vice versa.So unfortunatley a lof of good setups in Aceh are often offshore in Australia's summer months and hardly ever get above 3 foot if glassy or offshore winds are favored.
Ground swell - Cheers mate appreciate all the help. Turns out the surf lingo book is super hard to get hold of. Will keep trying to find a place to get it, hopefully can find it.
I will be staying with Slim for the first couple of weeks while I am there. Keen to get started and some knowledge around indo with it.
Does anyone know any local ments places apart from The Shadow. They are quite booked out for the dates later that I am wanting to do. Would love to help locals than pay bulk to western owned places.
Indo Surf Lingo Ebay - $32.
or
https://www.indosurf.com.au/ebook/ebook-all-indo
indo dreaming is the one to ask about mentawai local owned resorts or even losmens/ shacks that often cater to a very small budget. I wont say here as they often get full quickly with ferals on a shoestring budget but many places in ments have homestays or local run resorts...You used to be able to live with a local at places like HT's and telescopes for a very small price covering their rent and food costs while suporting locals giving them money instead of foreign owned resorts... but isnt poplular amongst locals these days i think as resort owners get the shits with that sort of thing.
cling ling wrote:Ground swell - Cheers mate appreciate all the help. Turns out the surf lingo book is super hard to get hold of. Will keep trying to find a place to get it, hopefully can find it.
I will be staying with Slim for the first couple of weeks while I am there. Keen to get started and some knowledge around indo with it.
Does anyone know any local ments places apart from The Shadow. They are quite booked out for the dates later that I am wanting to do. Would love to help locals than pay bulk to western owned places.
Ya can easily grab this book from Periplus bookshops in Bali.
Bit more detailed than Surf Lingo...
https://www.amazon.com/Surfing-Indonesia-Search-Perfect-Periplus/dp/9625...
Not on a shoe strong budget. lucky enough to be getting annual leave while there travelling, but haven't had annual leave in a few years (cheers to the spicy cough) so built up which is nice. But would rather give back to the locals more and help them out or locally run places.
Yeah will try and get some paper back books as I much rather them than Ebooks. Saves me looking at my phone haha.
Also thanks to everyone so far. Absolute legends! Speaking to bruce about boards currently also. Is it just the CI store in Seminyak you are talking about where that other bloke shapes for them now?
If you have facebook, this guy has a good place near thunders, rags rights and other waves, can travel to maccas and other waves north, even as far south as the hole if you are prepared for the journey...Not pricey and crayfish and pelagic fish most nights and lunches..
Hey Lingy another spot which would suit you is Nemberala on Roti . It's one of the mellower lefts in Indo , easy to get to from Bali and heaps of accomodation options . Not exactly a secret spot these days but is surfable from 2 foot to 20 . def in the intermediate range with a small to medium swell !
cling ling wrote:Also thanks to everyone so far. Absolute legends! Speaking to bruce about boards currently also. Is it just the CI store in Seminyak you are talking about where that other bloke shapes for them now?
CI have a couple shops now , one in Seminyak and one on Bukit.... Maybe also in cangpoo, but I avoid that place. Ha :)
I personally would just take boards from home, much better to have boards you know and love under your feet, if you are only surfing mellower waves/reefs your everyday boards will be fine
Ive done about 30 trips and countless flight's across Indo and post fin systems times only had a the odd occasion where ive had damage and the worse being a crushed rail or tail.
I dont think its luck, i bubble wrap boards in a decent board bag and keep things as light as possible never more than two boards if im really worried like a new board i pool noodle the rails, and if i put anything in with my boards its only soft things to pad the tail, i dont even keep leg ropes on, my theory is you want your boards on top of things and if they do fall off a pile you want them padded enough for it not to matter.
A big heavy coffin full of boards that is hard to lift is always going to end up on the bottom of things.
Agree with everyone on the Bali thing, sure Bali can be crowded and hectic, but Bali is a place all surfers going to Indo should experience just stay away from the big name spots and bukit.
Id save Mentawais for another trip its a big trek from Bali, go explore islands east, again if you avoid big name spots and think outside the box you can get waves without to many people.
Hey guys just trying to find a good travel insurance. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on a few at all? Obviously want a decent one in case something does happen
I've used a few different companies but the only time I had to call on it was while using Cover-More. Can't fault them for what they did to help. When it came time to send them receipts they paid up pronto too.
Covermore is about $6 per day for Full Cover- With $200 Excess
Top Value.
Nomad Travel Insurance have been good in my experience. Will not cover pre-existing conditions however.
CoverMore if you have a pre-existing condition for extra price.
https://www.worldnomads.com/au/travel-insurance?msclkid=d2ae157d40001eb5...
We have an announcement to make!
Introducing Bela Sulu Villas in the Mentawais
We are excited to announce that we've launched our website, now live at belasuluvillas.com. We hope you'll have a moment to take a look.
We offer off-plan villas for sale, as well as stand-alone long-term villa rentals so that you can experience the Mentawai islands as a homeowner.
seaslug been hacked? sounds like a different vibe in this post.
If not and is the real seaslug, good stuff sounds fun.
Just a heads up, any travel insurance company can have trouble organizing a chopper from Bali or Padang if there are too many tourists booking them out. This was the problem with Richard i think his name was who split his pelvis at g-land in 2008- "brand of insurance not posted for legal reasons" couldn't find a chopper that didn't have Japanese tourists flying around in them, so Dr Phil had to drive him to the hospital over the muddy dirt road. Just imagine the PAIN!
seaslug wrote:We have an announcement to make!
Introducing Bela Sulu Villas in the Mentawais
We are excited to announce that we've launched our website, now live at belasuluvillas.com. We hope you'll have a moment to take a look.We offer off-plan villas for sale, as well as stand-alone long-term villa rentals so that you can experience the Mentawai islands as a homeowner.
Able to advise where in the ments these will be built and which breaks nearby/time to get to them?
Says HT's, Nice looking villas though.
Hey everyone, I am looking at travelling to Indo on the above dates. I am travelling solo from Aus. This is going to be my first time in Indo therefore I have not really booked anything as I was trying to get some more information on things prior to doing so. I was wanting to spend some time in Lombok but have had a friend tell me the winds aren't favourable around that time of year there. But I am struggling to find info on this, so wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. I am a goofy footer from Tasmania at an Intermediate level I guess. I was going to buy boards over in Indo as I don't want to lug them all the way from home and trust the airlines not to snap/ding them. I was hoping some legends would be able to help me by linking me to other forums etc which have some tips etc around planning a surf trip while in Indo for that period of time and or the winds. For the last couple of weeks of my trip, I know I really want to do a Ments trip that's about the extent of the planning I have done this far around dates etc as I was just going to cruise around. Keen to experience Indonesian culture and what it has to offer. So keen about missing winter in tassie. First extended trip I have done so excited. Hope some legends can help me out. Cheers!