8 of the best places to surf in Indonesia

27.11.2023 - 14:11 / lonelyplanet.com

You can't just say you've surfed Indonesia – it's like saying you've hiked the Himalayas.

Clocking up to 99,082km (61,567 miles) of coastline across an archipelago of 17,508 islands, much of this land is kissed by the consistent swell channels of the Indian Ocean and much of it is fringed by volcanic reefs that help raise barrels, tubes and perfect wedge waves. This is the War and Peace of surfing destinations.

There are some spots that tower above the crowd. Trailblazers discovered the marching left-handers of Bali's Bukit Peninsula in the '70s and the rest is history. Java's G-Land has seen veteran sessions by American pro surfer Kelly Slater and others. But there are also untrodden frontiers of surf yet to be found – under the smoke-belching volcanos of Sumbawa, perhaps, or by the glistening conch beaches of Sumba.

Here's your guide to finding the best waves in Indonesia.

There's always swell in Indonesia, but it's the dry season that magnetizes the surf-mag photographers and the pros. From May to September, the waves originate in the deep southern parts of the Indian Ocean and hit the mainstays of Bali and Java at a neat southwest angle.

That's on target for the cliffs and reefs of the iconic Bukit Peninsula and pretty much the whole archipelago nation beyond, especially when combined with the easterly trade winds offshore. Wet season (October to March) is okay for beginners and intermediates who want a bit of size and sting taken out of the mix.

The name Uluwatu is an Indonesian portmanteau of one word meaning "the end of the land" and another meaning "rock." One glance off the sheer-cut cliffs on the western side of the Bukit Peninsula in southern Bali and you can see how they came to that – the stone lurches 70m (230ft) straight out of the raging Indian Ocean.

Those heavy shoulders of limestone combine with a shallow shelf of reef to give prime geology for making waves, especially between March and September, when the dry-season south-southwesterly swells pump up.

The result? Set after set of 15m-plus (5ft) bombs that crash left and run along the Balinese cliffs. As they go, they offer up five individual surf breaks. The best is certainly Outside Corner, a fat wave with punchy faces that invites turn after turn. Further down is Racetracks, where the H2O speeds into spinning barrels. Most mere mortals will content themselves with spectating from the clifftop bars.

Getting to Uluwatu: Take a 45-minute taxi from the airport in Bali. Then, find your way down the steps to the beach where there's a cave to pass through for the paddle-out point.

Kuta Lombok is the kingpin of a whole region of pretty epic surf. It's entering the limelight more and more lately as the breaks of next-door Bali get busier, but it's