Surfing in Lombok

Labuan Bajo to Lombok

Travelling to Lombok was one of my highlights when visiting Indonesia. I planned the entire trip to be a holiday rather than one of my usual travel experience, but I started to miss travelling a little. Travelling these 24 hours allowed me to meet a French girl who told me about her hitch-hike experience in Indonesia (making me reminiscing about Iran), mingling a bit with the locals, and chatting with a group of US guys about their experience in Indonesia.

My trip from Labuan Bajo to Lombok took 24 hours and included two boats and various busses. It is easy to buy the entire trip in one of the travel agency bureaus in Labuan Bajo, but you might save a bit of money if you buy the tickets directly at the harbour. The 24 hours trip from Labuan Bajo to Lombok cost roughly 22 Euros. It’s almost impossible to get lost on the way as the busses and ferries are all well-connected. The only problem is getting to Keota (Kuta) once you arrive in Lombok. At the end, I paid almost 12 Euro for the last 45 minutes of the ride because it was the only bus that offered me a ride.

Surfing in Lombok

Since I was on holidays, I decided to treat myself a bit and went to stay at Bombora Bungalows. One of the pricier options in Kuta, but all worth the money. The bungalows are nice and spacious, the staff is super friendly, and they rent scooters for a good price. The place is owned by the same guy who runs the surfschool isurflombok: Risman is probably the best surf teacher in Lombok.

Risman did not stop at teaching me how to catch the waves, but also taught me how to read them, where to catch them, and what to consider in and out of the water before starting the session. He does not settle for average and pushes you to the limits, but at the end this is what will take you to the next level. For me, the next level is still a beginners level, but I went surfing almost every day for 6 days straight and I feel to have taken a big step forward. Even a sinusitis could not stop me from getting in the water, although it took its toll on the flight back to Jakarta and Germany.

After one month of scuba diving, travelling, and surfing in Indonesia, it was time to head back to Germany to start a new chapter in my life…