indonesia

mac123

hey all, im gonna be in indonesia for 2 months in the summer. has anyone any experience surfing there? im only a beginner but i hope to surf most weekends after easter so hopefully il have improved before i go!
anyway any advice is welcome!!

darrragh

lombok has some beginner friendly waves and bali has kuta beach break.
i was very stressed about all the dangerous heavy indo waves.
but on the right tides most waves are safeish and fun

Gumby

Bali is a terrible destination for beginner sufers.

once kuta gets to 3ft (shoulder high) its capable of snapping a board on a low tide cos its super punchy. When there is any size to kuta it closes out.
kuta is only good for begginers who want to learn in the whitewater. its is always Super crowded and trying to get a wave off the locals there when the surf is pumping is like getting blood from a stone.

try and get comfortable in head high surf. and surf lefts. lots of lefts.
dreamland ( about 30 mins) south of kuta has a fat left on a low tide and an A frame right which is a bit steeper. that left is probably your best bet.

With all due respect, even on the right tides the waves in indo are dangerous. long period swell packs a much bigger punch than the stuff we get here.

wish iw as going ya lucky bastard:mad:

DAVE_K

west java is a good option for waves to suit all abilities (plus its not too crowded).

Nias and the Hinakos are good but if yer not a reasonably good surfer its a waste of time as you'll catch no waves and probably end up on the reef

mac123

some mixed replies there!! but thanks anyway, il try and get as much practice in as i can before i go anyway but im not stupid so i wont be trying to surf anything im not able for over there. hopefully il get up to a reasonable standard when im over there anyway;) the practice will do me good.
anyway cheers for the advice and if you have anything else to tell me about indo feel free:D

justdoit

just a quick word on indo, which is pretty much common sense anyway, and which yiou already seem to know- don't paddle out if the waves are too heavy for you. i went a charter to the mentawaiis with a bunch of surfers a lot better than me and i got worked- broken boards and solid reef scars for my troubles. all that said, it was one of the best trips of my life and a sttep learning curve!

if you are surfing a reef in indo, buy a pair of reef booties- they are thin enough that you hardly feel them, and avoid getting coral infections in your feet...

Gone West

Yeah some of those 19 second 5 foot high waves would snap your board and smack your face MUCH easier than even our regular 12 foot on the face waves at 12 seconds period.

saltrock2007

heya, i went to indo twice, 2 boat trips, and the first thing you want to try and do is surf with people with the same standard as you, that way people won't pushing you into waves that are going to hurt you or your board. If you're a beginner and find lahinch fun, you'll find a spot called madewi on the west side of bali lots of fun. It's really really mellow at most sizes, deep enough and the rip brings you inshore, not out!!I wouldn't advise going on a boat trip if you're begineer necessarily as all the places they bring you to are reef that can get shallow- but as Gumby says, everywhere in Indo can get heavy. Some good training before you go would be to get used to reefs and crowds, because bali (most of all) has them aplenty, esp in high season, but its great fun out there despite so don't let that put you off.