Bali or Lombok? Why Not Both? A Surf Trip from Canggu to Kuta Lombok
If you're planning a surf trip to Indonesia, sooner or later you'll probably face the question: Bali or Lombok?
Our answer might be slightly biased, but it's also very simple.
Why choose?
Bali and Lombok sit next to each other, separated by the Lombok Strait, but a surf trip on each island can feel surprisingly different. In Canggu, you can wake up, walk or ride down to Batu Bolong and be surrounded by surf culture before you've properly finished your first coffee. In Kuta Lombok, the town is more of a base. You wake up, check the conditions, put the boards in the car and head along the south coast towards spots such as Tanjung Aan or Gerupuk.
One isn't necessarily better than the other. That's exactly why combining them is so much fun.
If you have enough time in Indonesia, spending part of your trip in Canggu, Bali and part in Kuta, Lombok gives you two different versions of Indonesian surf life without having to travel halfway across the country to find them.
And getting from one to the other is easier than you might think.
Two islands, two very different surf bases
Let's start in Bali.
Canggu barely needs an introduction anymore. What was once an area dominated by rice fields and village life has become one of Bali's busiest international destinations. Surfing is still woven right through it. At Batu Bolong, boards are being carried towards the ocean from early morning until sunset, with beginners, local surfers, longboarders and travellers all sharing the water.
One of the biggest advantages of staying in Canggu is convenience. You can sleep close to the beach, surf Batu Bolong in the morning and spend the rest of the day without needing to travel very far at all. If you're learning to surf, Batu Bolong can offer approachable conditions when the swell, tide and wind line up for your level.
Kuta Lombok works differently.
The town itself isn't where most people paddle out. Instead, Kuta is the starting point for exploring South Lombok's coastline. Tanjung Aan is around 15 minutes away, Gerupuk lies further east and there are other surf areas scattered along the coast. That means a Lombok surf morning often begins with a drive rather than a walk to the beach.
At Tanjung Aan, the experience changes again. The main surf break sits offshore, so instead of simply walking into the water with your board, we take a local boat out to the waves. At Gerupuk, boats are also a normal part of reaching several of the breaks inside and around the bay.
If Bali introduces you to the rhythm of a busy surf town, Lombok gives you more of the feeling of going somewhere to surf.
We like both.
That's one of the reasons Surf With Aldo now has a location in each.
So how do you actually get from Bali to Lombok?
You have three main choices: fly, take a fast boat or use the public ferry.
The distance between the islands looks tiny on a map, but don't make the mistake of comparing only the actual crossing times. Where you start in Bali and where you want to end up in Lombok matter just as much.
If you're travelling from Canggu to Kuta Lombok, this is especially important.
Flying from Bali to Lombok
The flight from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to Lombok International Airport (LOP) is remarkably short, usually around half an hour in the air. Once you land in Lombok, Kuta is also conveniently located in the south of the island, roughly a 30-minute drive from the airport.
For someone travelling specifically from Canggu to Kuta Lombok, flying can therefore make a lot of sense. You have to get from Canggu to the airport and allow time for check-in, of course, but you arrive on the right side of Lombok.
That last part is easy to overlook.
A fast boat might sound more direct because you're simply crossing the water between two neighbouring islands. But many fast boats arrive at Bangsal in North Lombok. If Kuta is your destination, you then still have a substantial drive across the island. Current route guides estimate Bangsal to Kuta at roughly two to two-and-a-half hours by road.
Lombok Airport, by comparison, is practically on Kuta's doorstep.
So don't compare 30-minute flight versus two-hour boat.
Compare the whole journey from your bed in Canggu to your bed in Kuta Lombok.
That's the time that actually matters.
Taking the fast boat from Bali to Lombok
There is something appealing about travelling between islands by boat. You leave Bali behind, cross the Lombok Strait and arrive on another island without ever entering an airport.
Fast boats leave from several harbours in Bali, with Padang Bai being one of the most common departure points for Lombok and the Gili Islands. Depending on the route, operator, stops and sea conditions, the crossing itself generally takes somewhere around one-and-a-half to three hours.
If you're staying in Canggu, however, remember that Padang Bai is on Bali's east coast. Current travel guides put the drive from Canggu to Padang Bai at around two hours in normal daytime traffic, sometimes longer when traffic is heavy.
Then there is the Lombok side.
Bangsal is convenient if you're travelling to the Gili Islands or North Lombok. It is considerably less convenient if your surf trip continues in Kuta on the south coast.
That doesn't make the fast boat a bad option. Far from it. If you want to include Gili Air, Gili Trawangan or Gili Meno between your Bali and Lombok surf stays, the boat suddenly becomes extremely logical because many services travel through the Gilis before reaching mainland Lombok.
The important thing is to look at the entire route rather than booking whatever says “Bali to Lombok” in the biggest letters.
Indonesia has a talent for making two places that look very close on Google Maps take considerably longer to connect than expected.
Consider that part of the adventure.
And then there's the public ferry
If you're travelling slowly, watching your budget or bringing a vehicle between the islands, there is another option.
The public ferry connects Padang Bai in Bali with Lembar in Lombok. The crossing itself generally takes around four to five hours, although loading, waiting and sea conditions can make the overall journey longer.
It's not the glamorous option and it isn't the fastest. But that's not really what the public ferry is for.
The advantage for some travellers is that ferries can carry vehicles and Lembar is on Lombok's southwest side, making it geographically more convenient for South Lombok than arriving at Bangsal in the north.
If you're backpacking through Indonesia without a strict schedule, it can be an experience in itself. If you only have seven days and want to spend as many of them as possible in the water, we'd probably spend less time proving how adventurous we are and more time surfing.
Travelling between Bali and Lombok with a surfboard
Now we get to the part that matters to surfers.
A surfboard isn't exactly hand luggage.
If you're flying, check the airline's current sports-equipment policy before booking your ticket, not when you're standing at the airport with a seven-foot board bag. Airlines operating domestic Indonesian routes have different limits, fees and maximum board lengths, and those policies can change.
Fast boats require some planning too. Surfboards are often accepted, but some operators charge an additional board fee or require oversized luggage to be declared in advance. Boards may be stacked with other luggage or carried in exposed storage areas, so a decent padded board bag is worth having. If you travel with removable fins, taking them out before a crossing also removes one very easy way to damage your board.
And here's perhaps the most useful Surf With Aldo tip in this entire article:
If you're coming to Bali and Lombok to learn to surf, you probably don't need to travel with a surfboard at all.
For our lessons, your surf equipment is provided. That means you can surf with us at Batu Bolong in Canggu, travel to Lombok with an ordinary suitcase or backpack and have another board waiting when you surf Tanjung Aan.
No oversized luggage.
No arguing about board fees at the harbour.
No watching your beloved surfboard disappear underneath six suitcases and wondering whether you'll ever see the nose intact again.
Sometimes travelling lighter really is better.
Should you stay in Canggu or Kuta Lombok?
If you have enough time, stay in both.
Not because we're trying to avoid answering the question, but because they genuinely offer different experiences.
Choose Canggu if you like having surfing integrated into everything around you. Batu Bolong is right there, there is a huge surf community and you can combine surfing with everything else Canggu has become known for. It's busy, energetic and extremely convenient.
Choose Kuta Lombok if you like the idea of waking up and heading out to find your surf for the day. The town gives you access to a whole stretch of South Lombok coastline rather than one beach directly in front of you. The roads take you through hills and villages towards different bays, and at spots such as Tanjung Aan the journey continues by boat once you've reached the beach.
Canggu feels like living next to the surf. Kuta Lombok feels more like heading out for a surf adventure. You might discover that you strongly prefer one. You might also discover that you don't want to choose.
How long should you spend on each island?
There is no perfect formula, but we wouldn't recommend trying to squeeze Canggu and Kuta Lombok into a frantic long weekend.
Every transfer day is still a transfer day, even when the flight itself only takes half an hour.
If surfing is an important part of your trip, give yourself enough time for the ocean not to cooperate with your schedule. Conditions change. You might have a brilliant session and immediately want another one. You might also arrive on a day when waiting until tomorrow gives you a much better experience.
For a longer Indonesia holiday, something like several days in Canggu followed by several days in Kuta Lombok makes much more sense than trying to tick both islands off as quickly as possible.
Surfing isn't sightseeing. You can't reserve the ocean for 9:30 on Tuesday because you're flying somewhere else after lunch. Give it a little room.
Why does Surf With Aldo have two locations?
Surf With Aldo started in Bali, and Canggu remains an important part of who we are. Batu Bolong is where we have taught countless first waves, helped progressing surfers build confidence and spent more hours watching the tide than we'd probably like to calculate.
Lombok gives us something different.
With Kuta as a base and Tanjung Aan as our main surf location, we can offer another kind of Indonesian surf experience. There is the drive to the beach, the boat out to the break, the green South Lombok coastline and the possibility of moving between different surf areas when conditions call for it.
We didn't want the two locations to feel identical.
They aren't. That's the point.
You can surf with us in Canggu, continue your journey east and meet Surf With Aldo again in Kuta Lombok. Same focus on personal coaching and choosing conditions that suit your level, but a completely different setting.
And somewhere between the black sand of Batu Bolong and the turquoise bay at Tanjung Aan, you'll probably start to understand why one surf trip to Indonesia rarely feels like enough.
Bali first or Lombok first?
Either works.
If Bali is where your international flight arrives, starting in Canggu and travelling east to Lombok is the obvious route. It also creates a nice progression: begin with the energy of Canggu, then move towards the more spread-out coastline of South Lombok.
But there is no surf rule saying you have to do it that way.
Lombok International Airport also receives domestic and international services, so depending on the rest of your trip, you may arrive in Lombok first and finish in Bali. Whichever direction you travel, don't plan every hour before you arrive.
Leave some space for a second surf.
For the beach you weren't planning to visit.
For the boat that leaves a little later than expected.
For the local warung where lunch somehow turns into the rest of the afternoon.
That's Indonesia.
Some planning helps. A little flexibility helps even more.
Surf with us in Bali and Lombok
Surf With Aldo offers surf lessons for beginners through advanced surfers in Canggu, Bali and Kuta, Lombok.
In Canggu, our lessons are centred around Batu Bolong. In Lombok, Tanjung Aan is our main surf location, with the boat ride to the offshore surf spot already included in the lesson price. Surf equipment is provided at both locations, so you don't need to carry your own board between the islands just to surf with us.
Start in Bali. Continue to Lombok. Or do it the other way around. Just make sure you leave enough time to surf.
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