Surfing Kuta Lombok

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-10 ft · Crowd 3/5

SW swell, E-SE trades

Mawi is a reef in a horseshoe bay west of Kuta Lombok that picks up every SW swell. It's an A-frame: the left is the main wave, with a steep, wedging drop into a fast wall that barrels on the inside at the right tide. The right is shorter and rampier, and often overlooked.

It's the most powerful wave around Kuta and punishes hesitation. The best range is 3-8ft at mid tide with the dry-season E/SE trades blowing offshore. Above 8ft you need to be very fit.

There's a strong rip along the rocks on the western side. Used carefully, it's the easiest way out; caught in it by accident, it's a problem. The road is better than it used to be and so is the crowd, but dawn is still quiet. Bring water, because the warung isn't always open.

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 1-4 ft · Crowd 2/5

Any S swell, morning glass

Tanjung A'an is a white-sand bay east of Kuta Lombok with very clear water and soft waves breaking over sand and patches of coral in the middle.

The waves are slow and small, from knee to chest high, and it's where most of the south Lombok surf schools bring beginners. It works all year. Mornings are glassy, and the afternoon sea breeze doesn't matter much at this level.

It's 15 minutes from Kuta by scooter. You can rent a soft-top on the beach and eat at the warungs on stilts. Bukit Merese, at the west end of the beach, is a good walk for sunset. Wear sunscreen, because there's little shade in the water.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

S swell, E wind

Seger is a reef just east of Kuta Lombok, a short scooter ride from town. It's a punchy right with a shorter left, with steep takeoffs, quick walls and sometimes a small barrel.

It depends a lot on the tide and swell. Mid tide on a 3-6ft south swell is the best combination, and it can go from flat to good within a couple of hours. Because of that, you'll often share it with only a few regulars.

Take off deep and go straight into the first wall before the inside gets shallow. There are sea urchins on the inside at low tide. The sun comes up behind the peak.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 2-6 ft · Crowd 1/5

S swell, sheltered from trades, mid tide

Inside Ekas is on the sheltered eastern side of Ekas Bay, a huge bay in southeast Lombok. It has slow, walling rights, and lefts on some banks, over forgiving coral. The bay is so big that it rarely feels crowded.

The bay cuts the swell down and cleans it up, so the waves are well shaped but not dangerous. It's very good for intermediates. It works at 2-6ft around mid tide, and it's protected from the wind that blows out the open coast.

You can take a boat from Awang across the bay (arrange it on the beach and share the cost) or drive the long way round to the lodges on the Ekas side. Any board works here.

Right Reef · Best Year-round · 2-5 ft · Crowd 3/5

Any S swell, sheltered bay

Inside Gerupuk (the Bumbang side) is a rolling right over deep, friendly reef inside a huge bay east of Kuta Lombok. It breaks on most days of the year, from waist high to head high, and it's very forgiving.

Boats take you from the jetty in Gerupuk village for a few euros return, drop you at the peak and wait while you surf. Schools bring students of all levels, and the wave sorts people out: learners on the shoulder, intermediates at the peak.

Mornings are glassiest, but the bay is sheltered enough that afternoons are often surfable when the open coast is blown out. It's a good place to work on your turns before trying Mawi or the outer reefs.

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 4-10 ft · Crowd 1/5

S-SW swell, E wind

Outside Ekas is at the mouth of Ekas Bay, on the exposed reef. It's a left that takes the full S/SW swell and turns it into long, jacking walls with hollow sections.

It holds swell well beyond double overhead when the bays around Kuta can't, and rides can link three or four sections. You need a strong paddle and experience on reef. It works at 4-10ft on east winds, best at mid tide.

Boats go from Awang, the same as for the Inside but a longer ride, so the crowd is small. The water behind the peak is deep. Take a step-up. Many people surf the Outside first and then the Inside to finish the day.

Left & Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 3/5

S-SW swell, E wind

Outside Gerupuk, also called Kids Point, is an A-frame on the outer reef at the mouth of Gerupuk Bay. It gets the open-ocean SW swell before the bay softens it. The right is long and runs toward the channel; the left is shorter and punchier.

It works from head high to double overhead. At 4ft it's a fun wave for turns; at 8ft the peaks shift and it gets serious. The dry-season trades clean it up, and mid tide is easiest.

Use the same boats as for the Inside and ask for the Outside. The schools stay in the bay, so the crowd here is intermediates moving up and travelling surfers. Sit wide on the right and use the channel.

Left & Right Reef · Best Year-round · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

S swell, any light wind

Don-Don is a peak in the middle of Gerupuk Bay, between the Inside and the Outside. It's an A-frame over reef that isn't too shallow, with walls in both directions.

It needs a bit more swell than the Inside. When it breaks, you get shoulder-high to overhead waves with room for turns, and it's usually less crowded than the other two peaks.

Like the rest of the bay, it's sheltered from most winds and best at mid tide. A lot of people surf it in the afternoon after a morning at the Outside. Everyday shortboard, or a fish on small days.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 2-6 ft · Crowd 1/5

S swell, E-SE wind

Air Guling is a quiet bay between Kuta Lombok and Mawi, with a right off the eastern point, a left at the western end and shifting beach break in the middle. There are no signs, just one warung, and rarely more than three people out.

It needs a decent S/SW swell, because the angle of the bay filters out small swells. On bigger days most people go to Mawi or take the boats at Gerupuk, and the point here can be overhead with no one on it. Dry-season mornings with E trades are clean, and mid tide covers the inside reef.

Kuta is a 15-minute scooter ride away. Bring water and cash for coconuts at the warung. On its day it's a very good wave.