Surftrip (October & November) - Sri Lanka or Indonesia?

[middleWave]

i was in your position 8 years ago, and now i'm a regular in indo. i think bali would be a better choice than sri lanka - its just more consistent and the island has plenty to offer. kuta can be very crowded, and often closes out, but there are plenty of breaks up the beach, especially to the north. if you like volleyball and some nightlife, that would be a good place to stay for a week. you could also check out playgrounds on nusa lembongan which is a very fun wave that goes left and right. these days i avoid bali like the plague because of the crowds. i'm more keen on java to be honest. it's a lot more boring but very cheap. i know of a good left hand point/reef that handles plenty of size, is a bit wonky, but otherwise offers some very long rides and is ridiculously uncrowded. if you're comfortable in bigger waves, a good swimmer, and curious about this spot, hit me up by PM.

[jaffa1949]

Bjorn , here is the reply I promised to your PM .
The idea behind replying on the open forum, is to give information to people who might have similar questions to you.
Answering questions that are similar on the open forum gives the moderators and fellow forumites a chance to refer you to previous threads and their own experiences. A tag team on your behalf.
Singly it would be extremely tedious to answer the same question over and over without help!

End of reason.

Now the information is pretty much what you have been given

Bali is a pointed island, all the water flows down hill to the sea dry season stream beds are rubbish dumps, to b flushed to the sea. Sewerage systems are doubtful and prone to fail in the wet season discharging to the sea.
Mosquito borne diseases peak, malaria, dengue, encephalitis , typhoid , cholera while not from mosquitos increases exponentially .
Septic infection of cuts , ears eyes and nose can be caught in the near shore sea water.

Rafts of discarded plastic drift on the currents the current also takes in the industrial effluent of Java.
There are pictures of guys surfing barrels with a mega load of this going over their heads.
Every drain on every road is heading to where you might surf

Next about the surf, it will be less crowded because of these conditions .
The east Coast of Bali becomes the dominant area, in the Lombok Strait, Nusa Dua, Sanur and other spots, the wind are more favourable but the breaks are less suited to a beginner, offshore on reef, heavy breaking and risky of strong currents.
Winds differ from the high surf season
The standard south coast beaches still break but have a shorter wind window for favourable conditions.

The most hygienic thing yo could do might be your passion for volleyball .

There are lots of swimming pools in the whole range of hotels, some of the pool hygiene is very suspect.

Nasty picture....... Yep, Slightly less as you go east across the archipelago , less population but more mosquito disease.
Indonesian is a country emerging from being a third world economy, infrastructure in community health is pretty ad hoc.

Kuta and volleyball yep plenty of that, quite a few hotels have their own courts.

You can still have a good time

Hope that helps

[nikka]

Hi guys,
I am also on the same decision between the two. So I want to go End of September for 3 weeks.
I have already been twice to Indo (Bali & Lombok) and really liked the clean powerful waves, but I also struggle with the crowds. As I get outpaddled and outpositioned. I am still an intermediate surfer, surfing for 15 years but only 1-2 times a year in the ocean (for 1-3 weeks each). I can do turns as I practise almost every weekend in summer on a standing artificial wave a lot, but I am not that good at reading the ocean and getting the position and timing right. I manage to catch waves, when it's less crowded and conditions are forgiving though. That's why I am seeking an uncrowded place with medium high (1- 1,5m) clean waves. I have a shortboard (5.10') for bigger days and a Mid length (6.7') for the smaller waves. I thought about some new place in Indo (there are 2.000 islands) that is less crowded and where I can surf with only max 5 other people in the lineup, but that still has some nice infrastructure. Does this exist? Or would Be Sri Lanka better for me? And where in Sri Lanka end of September to Mid Oktober?

Thank you
Nikka

[jaffa1949]

Hi Nikka, good question Sri Lanka between May and October on the SW side has issues with the monsoons from the west and North West meaning wind pushed swell and predominantly onshore winds, Heading down to the Welligama and the bottom western end of the islancan give you some spots that may clean up in the morning a little sketchy for constant surf , the SE side Aragam Bay and other spots the westerly monsoon is offside so well groomed waves of smaller size. A good option.

Indo is alway crowded but the further out you go the less so but often inhabited by more capable surfers.

In Lombok i would consider the Gerupuk and Ekas end with the surf camps in Gerupuk and Heaven on the Planet in Ekas as good option there are some boats calling in and some a cross the bay day trips to inside Ekas but there is a period when the day trippers haven‘t arrive or have left to go home.
September October is shoulder season and the swells are usually small, winds are a little fickle but have quiet times.
If you want to go further a field you could head to Rote and Nemberala , quite a few places to stay and choose from.
Mostly one wave TLand which has enough separate breaks on smaller days to thin the crowd, left hander Quit an epic journey to get there but worth it.

I am curious Nikka, I surf a standing wave in Ebensee Austria, where is your wave?

[nikka]

When I was on Lombok, Gerupuk, DonDon and Ekas have been my go-to places, but they got crowded now as well. That's why I am looking for less crowded places. I surf the standing wave in Langenfeld, this is between Düsseldorf and Köln, in a platform in a lake, very nice.

BTW alternatively I thought about Philippines? Any good surfing there or better Sri Lanka or Indo?

[jaffa1949]

Sadly you are right Nikka, Ekas was a favourite as was Nusa Lembongan, an expensive end of Indonesia is Sumatran surf areas and a bit cheaper Krui, and the western end of Java, and above that it is nice the playgrounds area of the Mentawais. It was much easier when I lived in Australia to go to Indonesia . An option to consider is Taiwan, I think Dubai Airlines do that, some seriously good surf all your levels.
Philippines I don‘t know much about so hopefully someone else can advise you.

Just thought I‘d post a recent picture of the river wave in Ebensee, adjustable and river flow powered, beyond the eisbach and München and further than sSalzburg in Salzkammergut Ober Österreich Prost

[nikka]

Oh so Sumatra is expensive? I thought prices are more or less similar across Indonesia. So what exactly is expensive and what means expensive in terms of prices? Because I thought about Sumatra or the famous Mentawais - it's said that this is one of the best surf spots in the world. But I assume therefore it's also crowded and maybe also more for some pros? And I also think for the Mentawais you need someone Tod rive you out by boat. Anyone else with some experiences of Indo vs Sri Lanka?

[jaffa1949]

Hi Nikka, the mentawais are all island resort stays if you want to access multiple surf breaks but include boat transfers between breaks. ferry out to the islands the playgrounds area has a number of softer breaks Top end resorts like Kandui resort and villas Aloita, , Hideaways Botik Resort, are up there Kandui came in at $5000 US dollars for 10 days but was all inclusive,You need to Include internal flights to Padang from Bali or Jakarta.

There are homestay and smaller options in the Mentawais but don‘t offer as many wave options and you have to do the 150 kilometers ferry ride out to the islands, Ebay is a place to stay with some lighter waves nearby.

If you stay on the Sumatran mainland there is the Krui stretch which has multiple camps and resorts and is cheaper, all these are less crowded than the Bali Lombok areas.

A really good way to search is google surf camps ( insert area) and do a comparison that is often how I choose when scouting a new area place to go!
Java too has some resorts and camps other than GLand

Sri Lanka is much as I said and most likely a cheaper option , it is a little disturbed with some economic worries around fuel and supplies, Colombo to beach areas may be fuel costly again check out the googled surf camps.
Cheap and great food especially curries!

[surfabcon]

As for splitting your time between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, you're right that flights and travel logistics could eat into your budget and time. It might be more practical to focus on one destination. But I'll give you 3 options to choose from.

Bali, Indonesia - During October, you can find mellow waves in spots like Kuta Beach or Canggu. As November comes around, you could try more challenging breaks like Uluwatu or Padang Padang.

Siargao, Philippines - Siargao is known for its friendly and consistent waves. Spots like Cloud 9 provide suitable waves for improving your skills, and the atmosphere is quite laid-back.

Lisbon, Portugal - Spots like Ericeira and Cascais have consistent waves and a supportive surf community.

[nikka]

Thank you guys I now decided to go to SriLanka, as something new in Indonesia would be quite adventurous or expensive and Sri Lanka sounds to be more mellow (not to bad now after I had a surf accident with a rip contusion) and also not crowded, so good package.Philippines then maybe next time

[jaffa1949]

Have a great trip, Nikka, come back safe and well surfed out……. Share your experiences where you stayed and what was good and any thing that wasn‘t so good. recommendations by our forumites are better advertising than self praising by resorts. :
Enjoy a great combination of a Sri lankan beer and a good curry. Do a tour of a Buddhist Temple so different from Hindu Bali

[Geezer]

Thank you guys I now decided to go to SriLanka, as something new in Indonesia would be quite adventurous or expensive and Sri Lanka sounds to be more mellow (not to bad now after I had a surf accident with a rip contusion) and also not crowded, so good package.Philippines then maybe next time

Good choice; Bali crowds are thicker and greener than ever. Last time out in a set wave there was a collision between two surfers who apparently read the wave, one as a left and the other as a right. The coming together sounded like a home run shot; loud sickening crack of fiberglass colliding at speed. I went in after that.

[surfabcon]

Thank you guys I now decided to go to SriLanka, as something new in Indonesia would be quite adventurous or expensive and Sri Lanka sounds to be more mellow (not to bad now after I had a surf accident with a rip contusion) and also not crowded, so good package.Philippines then maybe next time

Nice choice! Yup, try the Philippines next time, particularly Siargao. Enjoy!