Early Season Telos
Hard to go wrong in the Telos. Very early season should see lower numbers in the water too.
You'll always find some sort of wave around the Telos with the many setups there, especially if you're not looking for bigger waves you will be more than happy and less crew around as Ben mentioned.
Impossible too predict weather in the Telos it's unlike many areas of Indonesia that have a predicable dry and wet season.
In regard to weather its a full lucky dip any time of year most of the time its sunny with the odd storm, but any time of year you can get crazy tropical storms with lots of rain that can set in for long periods..
My observations if storms come in from the south they often come and go within 24 hours often just a few hours, if come in from the West or North West they are very hard to predict and it can blow strong W or NW for days with lots of rain.
Maybe those versus in weather can explain more on why this is?
Even compared to the Mentawais weather seems more unpredictable and the rain sets in for longer periods, I'm guessing it has something to do with being right on the equator?
Interesting ID are there waves that can handle the west/north west wind directions?
i-d - what parts of the year have you observed these kind of storms? equally likely throughout the calendar year? that'll give me second thoughts in that case...
ben and/or cmc - obviously things are always subject to mother nature, but what do you think is a reasonable expectation for first half of march for swell? i've heard i can expect chest-head high or so, but some operators make it sound like the surf is miniscule and to wait for april...
I haven't been there in the offseason but i have been there pretty much every month between March and November and it can happen anytime, you can also go for a month and not get storms that set in, i do bookings for a budget accomodation option there so i am in contact with my local friend pretty much daily and he often tells me when storms are set in as he often ask me to check the forecast for him often wants to know when storms are predicted to clear. (although i think any forecast on winds or weather is not that reliable )
Consistency in March as really just comes down to pot luck and the year but yeah April is a much safer bet than March, and chances of good consistent swell increase all the way through to July August then chances start decreasing after that..
PS. Even if you look at the forecast this week today and tomorrow there is bad weather predicted then next day clearing (but as said not always that reliable ) https://www.swellnet.com/reports/indonesia/sumatra/telos/forecast
Hi popwar, you've probably searched the related threads but I'm suspecting crowds will be very good in April, ie very few if any charter boats, so you'll just be surfing amongst the land camp guests and cooperation between the two main operators is good.
Saying the early season is uncrowded is probably the reason the early season is not uncrowded.
Maybe a few less charter boats running, but most run almost year round now.
Like with swell you can get lucky or unlucky with crowds.
Plenty more than two operators up there too.
thanks indo-dreaming. in your experience, what's a "typical" march or april like? couldn't tell from your post whether you've been in march and november or just everything in between, so you may just be able to comment on april. a few places have openings late april - would around head high still be a reasonable expectation or will it really start to have jacked up by then?
Fair cop @carpetman, based on 1 trip in June 2016 and second hand feedback that the charter boats only 'flood in' in peak season. Probably getting worse by the year as well.
Re weather, in said period I got roughly 3 days of non stop rain and the rest was fine with the odd shower. Rarely full blue bird though.
Agree with Carpetman just because it's early season doesn't mean it will be uncrowded it's changing fast up there and other areas of Indonesia, crowds are really hard to predict it can change so much with just how many or what type of guest are booked in, or how many charter boats are floating about.
One day uncrowded next day three resort boats and a charter boat on the one break, with little reason or logic why the change?...
I think I've been up there both in March and November both quite a while ago though but to be honest i can't remember what it was like it's all just a blur, best to just check out some old surf reports from resorts at that time of year.
Even in season a lot of days are around head high, most spots don't get the full brunt of swell like other areas of Indonesia it's only really the peak days of a good swell where it will get solid or big..
hey all,
considering going on a trip to a nice resort/camp in indonesia for a big upcoming birthday. am targeting the telos since i'm looking for more "user-friendly" and crowd-free waves. i would likely be going in march or perhaps early april due to my personal schedule. been in contact with a few places like pinnacles and latitude zero who say march will have good weather (for the missus to sunbathe) and mellower, but still decent waves. wanted to see if any of you guys had been in the area around a similar time and could shed some light on that? for what it's worth, i'm certainly not a charger and would be very happy with chest - head high days, cooperating winds, and relatively sunny skies, but just don't want to get skunked completely since we'd be coming from the states and spending a nice chunk of change.
appreciate any advice!