Sumbawa Surfing & Travel Guide – ALL Spots, Surf Lodges + More
Sumbawa surfing is pretty cracking, with two coastlines that offer up some seriously good quality. This is a land of hollow reef breaks and one particuularly amazing A-frame, without the booming crowds that plague other corners of Indonesia.
An island of two halves that offers up some of the best surf breaks in Indonesia – no joke – Sumbawa is unsurprisingly entering the radar of boarders from all over. It spreads west from Lombok is a weird mass of volcanic ridges and deep jungles, opening up perfectly onto the SW swell channels; the same swell channels that power Bali’s Bukit and Desert Point.
That means consistency, but it also means adventure.
This isle is nowhere near as explored as its compadres to the west. Line ups are almost always just a handful of people and there are days when you’ll score barrels and A-frames entirely to yourself.
As we said, this is an isle of two halves: East and west.
The first bunch of breaks – that’s the western breaks – faces Lombok across the strait. They are predominantly upper-intermediate+ stuff, forming tight barrels and air-giving wedges over jagged reef and coral shelves. It’s not a playground by any means.
The east is probably a touch more forgiving but still makes the headlines for Lakey Peak, a big, frothing A-frame wave that has rights and lefts for rippers. It’s the region that’s taken the lead here and is home to most of the best surf hotels and surf resorts.
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>>This is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Indonesia
Sumbawa surfing at a glance
- Great for experts
- Quality breaks without the line ups
- Almost everything is hollow!
- Not great on wet season SE swells
- Dangerously shallow reefs
Where is Sumbawa?
Sumbawa is the next island over from much-visited Lombok. In fact, it’s a mere nine miles at the shortest point from Lombok to Sumbawa’s western coast, which is why ferries run the route so often (see below for more info on those).
That also makes it the second island over from Bali (and everyone of you knows where Bali is by now, right?).
It’s longer and more strangely shaped than its neighbor, running for over 100 miles to connect up with the East Nusa Tenggara.
How to get to Sumbawa?
Getting here isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it’s hardly impossible. Most people fly but some will go for the more adventurous route that involves a ferry from Lombok.
Our two cents: If you want to surf the breaks of eastern Sumbawa then fly – the arrival airport (Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport BMU) is located MUCH closer to spots like Lakey Peak and Periscopes and can help you dodge a pretty hefty overland trip from the port. For surfing the western breaks, the ferry is a better choice, good fun, affordable and means no long drive from airport to the waves out west.
We’d highly reccomend pre-booking flights. They’re run by tiny airports like Wings Air, who don’t have the best online booking systems. Thankfully, 12Go can come to the rescue. They let you reserve in advance and list most of the short-haul connections to Sumbawa from Lombok and Bali. You can search here…
The ferries from Lombok to Sumbawa go from Kayangan Port to Poto Tano and cannot be pre-booked. Turn up and pay for whatever fare suits you. Last time we went it was something around 500k IDR for a car and 60k for a motorbike.
Sumbawa surf spots
The best way to talk about the Sumbawa surfing is to divide them into east and west. It’s not that both sides of the island are overly different. They aren’t.
Both are actually mainly upper intermediate to expert waves and have similar swell windows.
It’s more that each surf area is quite far from each other to the point that going from one to the other would be like going from one island to the next.
Western Sumbawa surfing
Western Sumbawa is a real frontier of surf. It’s been discovered but it’s still possible to rock up to a spinning left at YoYos and find only like 2-10 people out. You don’t get that in the Ments!
This is the more challenging side of the island too. It’s really for very good intermediates and up. The waves are badly connected to infrastructure, they’re technical, and break predominantly on very shallow reef.
You’ll need a scooter or a car to get around for sure.
Northern Rights
Probably the least forgiving wave on the whole island and not really worth it in our opinion, Northern Rights opens in a wide bay more than half the way up the western shoreline.
It’s a decent wave when there’s a dead-on SW pushing through and not a blink of wind. Any compromises on that and the wave will play havoc, get super strange, and be very eager to dump on the reef shelf.
Downtowns
Downtowns is one of the swell hoovers on this side of the island. It gets action when some of the other breaks – Scar Reef, Super Suck – that are probably slightly better quality struggle to work.
There are one or two take off points but the best puts you on a fat right shoulder that quickly forms into something a little more hollow. Intermediates often love it but it can be too big during the peak of the dry season.
Scar Reef
Goofies come here to finesse the art of the backdoor entry at this hollow reef break on the western side of Sumbawa. It’s a world-class wave but pretty dangerous on account of how fast it closes the door and how shallow the underlying reefs are. The best days are over 5 foot but below 12 without a touch of wind and with swells lining up in the SW channel.
Super Suck
Super Suck is as hollow as they come. A lippy, narrow barrel forms at the wave, that – just as the name implies – sucks strong off a very shallow reef. Shortboarders with a penchant for finding the pocket will really like it, but it’s nothing more than a grab the rail and hope sometimes.
Nonetheless, vids of pilgrims scoring tubes of 100 meters plus on this break keep the line up strong and it really is pumping when a big SW swell runs into a light E offshore. It’s like the Skeleton Bay of Indo, only not solely for death wishers.
Tropical
In front of the white-sand beach and the low dunes along the western shore of Sumbawa, Tropical forms on the reefs about 100 meters or so from the land. It’s mainly a left hander that does well on medium-sized SW swells in the dry season. Can feel a bit sloppy at times and handles like a beach break when it’s brushed by anything onshore. But the ride can also be long and fast. Best for decent intermediates.
Yo-Yos
Yo-yos isn’t just one but a couple of really powerful Indian Ocean slabs that form where the heavy SW swells hit the western end of Sekongkang Bay. The Wedge (not too much like it’s LA namesake, thank the lord), is a fast-forming rebound wave that gets steep and funnels good surfers into a right shoulder that’s fast enough to offer pretty high air games at the finish.
The Hook is probably the better wave in our opinion. It comes into the middle of the beach and shapes over the reefs on a rising ride. The result is a hollowish right that’s great fun on shoulder- to head-high swells with a morning offshore or dead wind.
Eastern Sumbawa surfing
Eastern Sumbawa is firmly established as the epicenter of the Sumbawa surf scene.
There are two reasons for that. First, it’s the most accessible part of the island, being only two hours-ish drive from the airport in Bima. Second, the breaks here are a little easier than out west, but still quite challenging stuff.
Here they are…
Lakey Peak
We’d say Lakey Peak is the premier wave on the Sumbawa surf line up. It’s an A-frame that barrels over into a neat pipe. Starting with a Supertubos-esque drop into a channel that’s almost identical to the left as it is to the right. But that quickly changes, as the left straightens and narrows to allow surfers to shoot through the backdoor section and onto a shoulder that allows for some top and bottom turns. The right is generally shorter and fast but still a cracking wave. This is expert stuff though, so don’t be tempted if you don’t know what you’re doing!
Where to stay? There’s nowhere that can beat Peak Surf House for proximity to this epic wave and it’s LOVELY stay to boot.
>>We now have complete guide to Lakey Peak
Nungas
Nungas is often called a mini G-Land. It starts as if a point break on the reefs on the eastern end of the Sumbawa south coast, forming a very hollow and steep wave that can run for over 250 meters on the finest days. It’s the sort of place you’d expect to see the pros ripping it up and it really is a quality wave, but does lack some consistency, which is probably the only reason it’s not up there with the crème-de-la-crème of the region.
Periscopes
Periscopes is all about fun. This isn’t a make-the-entry-or-you-die sorta’ wave. It’s wedgy peak with a thin barrel that goes right over a rare deep reef and back out into an easy paddle stream. Works great on SW swells and is a fantastic entry point to more hollow waves for good intermediates looking to make the jump.
When to surf in Sumbawa?
The dry season (May-August) is the peak time to surf in Sumbawa.
You’ve probably seen us mention the dry season a lot here. That’s because it’s the peak time for surfing in Sumbawa. Unlike Bali and Lombok, this island is TOTALLY reliant on clean SW swells to get its reefs and points fired up.
That means there’s not so much action in the wet season, and you really should plan a trip for between June and August if you’re keen to see Sumbawa at its highest quality.
Even more specifically, the best time to surf here is in the early summer, when the E trade winds aren’t so strong and morning sessions can be without a hint of wind at all.
Where to stay when surfing in Sumbawa
Sumbawa isn’t Bali, so there’s no overload of hotels.
Overall, the eastern zone probably has the better hotel options. That’s really just because it’s more popular, more accessible, and has the slightly more famous waves.
However, there’s a growing tranch of very, very nice eco stays and surf lodges in the west of Sumbawa that we now rate as some of the best for flashpacker surfers in the upper intermediate+ range. We’re talking proper jungle cabanas with plush interiors and outdoor showers.
It’s cool stuff. Here’s a look at the best on both sides of the island…
- Kini Resort – Oceanfront Bamboo Eco Lodges [Western Sumbawa] – The sort of hotel that gets on the front cover of a travel brochure, this series of incredibly built bungalows looks over Yo-Yos from above. You get little plunge pools on your private deck. It’s AWESOME.
- Kura Kura House [Western Sumbawa] – A gym, a pool, a sauna, jungle cabanas, as a position right in the midst of the best breaks on the west side of the island make this hands down one of the top surf stays in the region.
- The Peak Surf House [Eastern Sumbawa] – This serene surf house has rooms with a Scandi-Boho edge that actually look over the firing lefts of Lakey Peak.
Need more options? There are plenty on Booking.com, which also has a very nice map feature that lets you see exactly how far each hotel is from specific surf breaks.
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What to do in Sumbawa when you’re not surfing?
Sumbawa is packkkkked with activities that aren’t surfing. From shark diving to rainforest hikes, there’s loads to get through.
Honestly, we put it up there as the most action-packed island in Indo, though you will need to plan your itineraries cleverly, since attractions can be quite spread out and often far from the surf spots.
- Swim with whale sharks – Every diver and thier gran dreams of this. Sumba happens to be the perfect place to do it, and – so we’ve heard – sightings of the mighty beasts (the largest fish in the sea, no less) are much more common here than they are in places like Thailand. A whole day’s tour like this one with Gili Recommended won’t break the bank, either – you’re looking at about $90 per person. Tours take place in Northern Sumbawa near Rak Island, so are better done when you head away from the surf breaks and start exploring the greater island.
- Visit Komodo – As you head further east through this part of Indo, you get closer and closer to the incredible Komodo National Park. Sadly, it actually makes it HARDER to visit Komodo, since hardly any tours will include transport from Sumbawa to Komodo itself, and most flights to Komodo leave from Bali or Lombok. Still, itt’s one of the highlights of the region and a bucket-list toppper for sure, so we’d reccomend tacking on a trip after you’ve done your surfing in Sumbawa. Look for flights here, then got for something like this highly-rated 4-day boat and hotel itinerary, which includes all the major highlights..
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
Been reading your site a lot and I think you have some great insight, so thanks for putting it all together. Question for you: how would you describe an intermediate surfer? I think I’m there, but ideally we’re speaking the same language.
I’m looking at jumping over from Lombok to Sumbawa next week, but you note Tropical and Downtowns are best for intermediates. I’m also with my girlfriend who is definitely a beginner. Heard that Kertasari area or even just north of Supersuck may be good options for us.
Hey – realise this might be a bit late since you were heading over a week ago potentially. Intermedaite surfer in Sumbawa context: Green waves, confident on semi-shallow reefs, can maintain/generate speed for down the line surfing etc. I get what you’re saying since it probably varies to what you get in Europe here, but the main challenge will be handling reef breaks that can get very powerful in the dry season. Right now it’s the end of the dry, so a touch unpredictable. Kertasari could actually be a great option, since it’s tucked up there in the channel and gets more mellow swell on inside breaks. It could def be better pick if your girlfriend is along. I’m no expert in that area myself, but will ask around.
Thanks for the write up. It looks like a little paradise. Are there any spots for poor intermediate/good beginners (“improvers”)?
Hey – great question. We’ve actually been meaning to update this guide with a few more spots, so will hopefully to that soon. There are some other breaks in the Kertasari area that might fit your bill – one long right that works off a pier and another reef break that’s tucked into the south side of the bay. Of course, it’s hard to tell if they will be right for you because the level is very swell dependent, and it’s hard to gauge your skill level exactly. But that’s the area I’d be looking at your level for Sumbawa. Good thing is there are a few nice surf lodges about there too. Happy travels!
Hi thanks for a good website
Just wondering if you know is there any waves near lakey beach over xmas time?
Is there any begginer to intermediate near lakey in December.
Is ther any beach breaks for kids
December is definitely the better season for intermedaite surfers because it tends to be smaller all over the Sumbawa south and west coasts in wet season (Nov-March). The left tends to work better off Lakey itself in the wet season, too – nice for goofies. I’d hesitate to say it’s good for beginners. There is a spot just to the south of Lakey called Cobblestones that tends to be way more mellow – a long right peeler. It’s not a beach break but is where beginners tend to go in this area. Hope that helps. Happy hunting!