by KitesurferAU » Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:20 am
Okay, quick surf trip report:
I've spent 7 days, 3 days in Sumbawa, one day travel between Sumbawa and Bali and two days in Bali. I've decided to go with Surfbali.ru and fully enjoyed it, as they had nice Villa at Canguu and very cheap (40$ per night with surfing lesson/drive to the beach). I can recommend these guys if you want cheap accommodation at Canguu or Kuta and you can travel with the group and surf with them or by yourself.
I've surfed Tropical Left (very good long lefts even with onshore wind), Yo-Yo Hook (one day was massive 6-8 ft, got my leash snapped) and Supersucks (got one first small barrel on a longboard, didn't come out) in Sumbawa. On the Bali Island I went to Batu Balong, Kuta beach and Balangan beach.
Sumbawa breaks were almost empty, especially Tropical as after 9am wind was very strong. I couldn't surf at all on a low tide as it was very shallow and not worth the effort. Sumbawa doesn't have any night club life, you won't find any beer apart in a hotel, so be prepared, this island is for core surfers only. Also two ferry trips will eat your time if you come from Bali Island (14 hours total travel time).
As waves were not so big in Bali, I've enjoyed my time with my longboard. I've got too excited at Kuta sharing waves with beginners and my board got a massive fin cut which was repaired next day for the cheap price of 30AUD.
Crowds were manageable, if you are on longboard and you know what are you doing you can catch all the waves except few being occupied by instructors, locals or friendly/angry ozzies. But most of these guys were riding shortboards, they were not a threat in these small conditions.