Surfing Waves

Looks like I can get four weeks off starting next week, and my thoughts are about heading towards Indo. The forecasts look good.

I am an advanced beginner, paddling, duck diving, takeoff works. Been to Bali some years ago, and would like to go somewhere a bit more off the beaten track, maybe Sumatra.

Get a motorbike, ride along the coast. Right now I have Banda Aceh in mind or Lampung.

Who has been there, and how is the infrastructure and the surf? Are there easy spots or just all pro/kamikaze/experienced surfers only reef breaks? Just wanted to settle on one area since the distances in Indo plus the road conditions are to be considered.

Any tips and advice? Or other spots in Indo or somewhere on this planet?

Thanks!

Been to Morocco, South Africa, Hawaii, Canary Islands, California, Bali. Somwhere new would be nice.

Nicaragua might fit the off the beaten track theme as well. Any recommendations there?

i think one idea for other place togo for surf only in mentawai,playground area and stay with us the local surf camp.
My place still indonesia,broo still many here spot to surfing....you can contact me!

The Mentawai area particularly the playgrounds area has a wide range of options ranging from Feral single family home stays to high cost resort camps, there are over 30 breaks that change regularly according to tide, swell and wind conditions. Forget a motorbike here you need a boat and an experienced guide, otherwise you will be caught by the vaguaries and confined to one break or maybe two on a single island,
Surf itself ranges from pitching full throated Indonesian barrel fests to mellower breaks. You are are 150 kilometres off the coast of Sumatra, it is not a place for guess work.

Sumatra coast has breaks all along and you can luck in there and do the trip, but once again local knowledge is a essential key,you can access some awesome breaks.

It's a great trip to do, keep your wits about you as well as your manners and respect, learn as much Bahasa Indonesian as you can, then tread lightly.

Thanks for the infos.

The two things that bug me right now: checked wannasurf and most spots seem to on the islands as well as many on the mainland seem to be for pros and experiences surfers. I know the ropes but surf only one time a year so I do not want to get into sketchy shallow reef breaks or the like. Are there mellow spots, especially in Aceh? Wannasurf has no information, though magicseaweed shows some spots.

Also heard that the wind patterns right now are mainly onshore winds. Is it still a good time right now to go to Sumatra/ Aceh/ Lampung?

Thanks! The Bahasa Indonesia dictionary and phrasebook is already in the bag

I find Wanna surf and the seaweed, spot lists a little inaccurate and vary from day to day, Indonesia has few beach break compared to the swag of reef breaks.
This is a silly question but have you looked at the surf map on this site?
There are quite a few good references to Sumatran breaks there.

Not all reef breaks are death slabs some are quite mellow. You just got to find them.

Since we are in the middle of April each week is an improvement in the winds, heading towards the ideal for the southern winter swells .
If you arrive at this stage you will probably have the luck of improving winds and less crowds.
Have a look at Surfing Atlas too.
Log onto the various surf travel companies and dig into their wave descriptions figure out what will work for you.
You will be a better surfer at the end of your trip than at the beginning

If I don´t hospitalize myself on day one, improvement is a given

Anyhow, here as well in the other sources I found there is not much on Aceh except Lhok Nga.

Maybe I just head to Bali for two weeks of warm up and then to Sumatra

It's probably because Bandah Aceh is one of the most politically active provinces in Indonesia, historically the independence against the Dutch and a number of rolling internal reformations of Indonesian politics started there. .There is strong and devout Islamic belief and some radical movements within Indonesian have their base there.
They are also having a challenging time recovering from the Boxing day Tsunami and other earthquakes so there is little time to indulge visiting surfers or put up with the poor behaviour of some surfers.
So the area is slightly out of the main surfing for ease of access and relative safety and night clubbing that many choose to do!
You could try Lombok or even the south west coast of Java

I lived in Jakarta for a year. During my free time I'd ride to Cimaja on the south coast. It took 4/6 hours via Bogor and the fishing town of Pelebuhan Ratu.

The main break here is a right hand point. It's crowded at weekends, almost empty during the week. Along the coast there are several beach breaks which are almost always empty.

I wouldn''t say the surf is the best here but it's adequate. Just get yourself a motorbike for rp50,000 a day, same for your digs, enjoy the surfing, the food and traditional Indonesian culture. You can get a beer here but it's definitely not party city.

If you fancy it fly to Jakarta, train to Bogor then bus to Pelebuhan Ratu is the way to go. Let me know if you want any more info.

Cimaja sounds good. Just arrived in Kuta and somehow I must have forgotten what "ultra crowded" means... So I am going to stay a few days in Bali and then head towards Sumatra, would definitely make a stop in Cimaja. Traditional Indonesian Culture, food and uncrowded surf sounds good.

Are the beach breaks you are talking about far away from Cimaja or it it more like a short motobike ride? Do you have some more specific info on these breaks? And is it as easy to find a place to sleep like in Bali? Maybe you go a good place there you could recommend? Any info would be appreciated.

BTW: Heat- and humidity struck right now so I forgot my password and had to create a new account

No worries. The beach breaks are within 20 minutes on a motorbike. Basically the road between Pelebuhan Ratu and Cimaja follows the coastline. Much of it is pounding, closing out stuff but there are spots where you can find an edge to a wave. There's another right hand point break just out of Pelebuhan Ratu where I've only seen 1 surfer, in the half a dozen or so times I've been there. Then past Cimaja, going west, 15 mins or so takes you to sunset beach which has been poor when I've been there (October/ March), but might well be better at this time of the year.

I can't remember the name of the place I stayed at but it's right in Cimaja, on the right as you come from PBR, just past the main point break and a handy 7/11. There's a handful of other places and unless you roll up during Indonesian holidays; you'll have no problem finding somewhere to stay.

To give you an idea of the vibe, there might be a dozen or 20 other surfers there at any one time. Everyone is friendly, not like in Kuta. The local surfers are friendly and not clanny or think they own the beach. Can get a bit busy with Japs from Jakarta at weekends, but there you go.

If there's anything else I can help you with let me know. I'm going there myself in June, can't wait!

Australia is more dominant than any other place because of its favorable climatic conditions surrounded by hill with greenery across it and surfing competition organized at every time one should enjoy a lot of fun there with surfing workouts

Try a fifteen year drought, followed by bush fires ,floods cyclones . Eddyjas = clueless troll!

Go in the Philippines Siargao Island.... It s the best... Good waves, good vibes,.... Waves from beginner to the faumus Cloud 9..
Check the cheap accommodation in : http://www.kermitsiargao.com

bro i would recomend u come visit my country Peru and discovered many places free off people surfing along and visit our inca ruins if u dont have time an this trip may be next time but im here to help u my email address is djpika.chu@hotmail.com

Is this a right place for beginners because i am a beginner surfboards and i want a safe place where i can board safely and some should there to help me...

digital i hope u intertested to visit peru we have many places so beautiful for begginers easy ride with sand no rockie beaches

jaffa1949 wrote:The Mentawai area particularly the playgrounds area has a wide range of options ranging from Feral single family home stays to high cost resort camps, there are over 30 breaks that change regularly according to tide, swell and wind conditions. Forget a motorbike here you need a boat and an experienced guide, otherwise you will be caught by the vaguaries and confined to one break or maybe two on a single island,
Surf itself ranges from pitching full throated Indonesian barrel fests to mellower breaks. You are are 150 kilometres off the coast of Sumatra, it is not a place for guess work.

Sumatra coast has breaks all along and you can luck in there and do the trip, but once again local knowledge is a essential key,you can access some awesome breaks.

It's a great trip to do, keep your wits about you as well as your manners and respect, learn as much Bahasa Indonesian as you can, then tread lightly.

I just started looking for budget accomodation in the Mentawai area but so far found mostly surf camps who only do like 10 day all in packages or so ... I was hoping more for like 10$ room with fan or homestay is fine as wel ... would you know some places or could you point me in the right direction ... thanks.

The Mentawai island are 150 nautical miles off the south of Sumatra. It is a serious sea crossing, and can be rough enough to cancel bifg ferries and t]as most resorts run a high speed boat to their resorts.
Ok Feral camps can do short stay around thy have a few issues you might want to factor in.
There are at least 30 different breaks in the playground area, some homestays have one break or maybe two within walking distance on their small island. Some of the better breaks may not be accessible and crossing to them in the homestays canoe may be dangerous.
Camps ( reputable ones ) include transfers to breaks suiting your standard hand often have a medical facility of sorts and other amenities/. really if you were going to make the journey you would realyl need the time there to get the benefit.
feral Pros you get live with and island family, all the rice fish and coconut food you can eat, most likely no beer, no medical facilities a higher risk of malaria dengue or typhoid, showers and sanitation at third world level. At $10 per day probably no or limited electricity and you would pay petrol money for each boat ride, your call but the people are so poor your haggling over a dollar saving would be insulting.
It's adventure at the pointy end. But from my point of view not a recommended one

hey
I have been to Banda Aceh surfing and it's pretty undiscovered but lovely. It's a lot more mellow than people realise. The Tsunami damage is still visible everywhere. It's has raised the reef but also produced a great many beachbreaks. It's empty - not may surfers make it there, some really fun beach breaks and lots of reef around for all levels. And cheap, basic places to stay. $10 per day gets you a long way there. I would definetely go. Highly recommended. Not for partying or any of that but a good fun surf trip and the people are awesomely welcoming. Just take all you need as you can't buy anything. I would advise against Mentawais as a beginner/intermediate. Not worth it unless you are really into living in the same conditions with locals if you are ona budget. Keep ot for later when you can ride and appreciate the quality of the waves. Mentawai on a budget doesn't work well. The other area that might suit you is Krui in South Sumatra.
Do not rely on website for surfspots, they got them on there when everyone starts going.
Go to Aceh and you won't be disappointed.