Surfing in Lombok - surf spots for every level

Surfing in Lombok is one of the most popular activities on the island. It’s totally understandable when you have so many clear and turquoise water beaches and surf breaks for every level.

Most of the surf spots are very close to Kuta on the south of Lombok. That’s where we based ourselves and moved to different beaches on the scooter.

Luckily, driving in Lombok can’t be compared to crazy busy roads in Bali or Thailand. Lombok is a great place for learning how to drive scooters given its empty roads. Or if you prefer, local drivers can drive you for a very reasonable fee.

We found that surfing in Lombok is a bit trickier than in Nicaragua, for example, our second surfing experience. You shouldn’t just go wherever. Many beaches are shallow with not-so-visible reefs so it’s best to inform yourself about these risky spots before you head out surfing on your own.

Lombok surf spots

This is a breakdown of 5 surf spots of different difficulties in Lombok. Choose one of the surf spots in Lombok that suit your needs and enjoy the day on the waves.

Tanjung Ann, Lombok

(beginners & intermediate)

Tanjung Ann Beach is the most beautiful beach in Lombok (the pictures speak for themselves). And also closest to Kuta, it takes 15 minutes on a scooter to get there. Shaded parking costs 10,000 IDR per scooter and the beach is lined with plenty of warungs (local small restaurants) serving cooked food, fresh fruit salads, and coconuts.

You can either go directly to the beach and rent a surfboard there or go to a surf shop in Kuta and ask about surf lessons. Both Michal and I are beginners so we needed an instructor. There are many surf shops in Kuta, we went with WhatSUP?Lombok and couldn’t be happier with our choice.

One of the owners explained to us why Tanjung Ann is the best beach for beginners and several people we’ve met confirmed the same – unfortunately, Gerupuk (another surf spot described below) is now very overcrowded with some operators who do not follow safety practices for surfing beginners.

This makes surfing there dangerous when too many newbies don’t know what they’re doing and some instructors don’t provide proper guidance.

Read about our surfing experience at Tanjung Ann.

Selong Belanak Beach

(beginners & intermediate)

Selong Belanak Beach is about 45 minutes west of Kuta. It has two entrances. The first one has paid parking (10,000 IDR per scooter) and the second one is mostly used by locals living in the area (free entry). We used the second one to look at the beach and honestly, were horrified. We were stepping on the garbage from the entrance.

If you go through the first entrance, it might be better maintained – it’s where the most tourists go and where all the beach beds and umbrellas are. They do have a white sand beach and turquoise water but the cons (too many people, far from Kuta, garbage) outweigh the pros big time in my opinion.

Gerupuk, Lombok

(beginners, intermediate & advanced)

Many locals told us to try surfing at Gerupuk. That’s probably why so many people go there. Gerupuk surf spot is about 25 minutes ride from Kuta. Surfers can base themselves in Gerupuk village which has homestays, restaurants and surf shops around.

This one isn’t surfing on or near the beach. The boat takes surfers to the bay surrounded by tall rock cliffs (as you can see in the picture) and then takes them back. It’s too far from the shore and there is no beach you can actually paddle into.

The price they offered us in a surf shop was low, around 20 USD for the instructor, boat, and surfboard for 2 hours. This sounded too good to be true and it may mean you get what you pay for – read above in the Tanjung Ann section why this might not be the best choice.

Many surf shops in Kuta take surfers here but after experiencing surfing Tanjung Ann, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. On the other hand, if you’re an experienced surfer, you will enjoy this surf spot.

Mawi Beach

(advanced)

Mawi Beach is 45 minutes west of Kuta (before Selang Belanak Beach). The entrance costs 10,000 IDR per scooter (around 1 USD) and the same entrance is for the gorgeous and quiet Semeti Beach. There is no surf shop on the beach renting surfboards and surfers arrive carrying their surfboards strapped on the side of the scooter.

There are a few warungs to fuel you for your surf session and chill out in the shade between surf breaks. The waves seemed too big and scary for us newbies but experienced surfers were having a great time.

Desert Point, Lombok

(expert)

Desert Point is around 2 hours west of Kuta. Surfers visiting this spot can choose from many accommodation options very close to Desert Point. These guys are on a different level though.

Several online magazines are talking about Desert Point as one of the world’s best surf spots. If tube riding sounds exciting to you, this is the spot you want to get to. Some sources are talking about 20 seconds of tube time on one wave. This would never be a surfing spot for me, but I would definitely like to watch surfers conquering these waves.