Overview:
Lombok is an island to the east of Bali, the indigenous people of Lombok
are the Sasak who have their own language and unique culture. Historically, Lombok was
invaded by the Balinese kingdom who took control of the island in the 1750’s. This was up
until the Sasak royal family made an agreement with the Dutch to concede to their rule in exchange for ousting the Balinese invaders. Lombok is only 36km’s off the coast of Bali however the flora and fauna are noticeably and considerably different from its
eastern neighbouring islands. This is due to what is called the ‘Wallace Line’
which divides Indonesia. On the west of the line the flora and fauna resemble
that of mainland Asia with tropical climate and animals like tigers, elephants,
and bird species and so on. While on the east of the Wallace line the climate
is dryer and the plant and animal life resembles more that of Australia.
Being the closest neighbour to the ever-popular Bali, Lombok only gets a fraction of the tourists. Of those tourists that make it to here
typically stay in the north-west in either the coastal town of Senggigi, or the Gili islands just off the coast. Back in the day the Gili’s were once one of the main
stops of the famed ‘Hippy-Trail’. Since then development has
taken hold on these 3 small islands and is now a destination for tourists
escaping the hustle of Bali. As I mentioned, for most people that visit Lombok tend
to isolate themselves in the north and rarely make the pilgrimage down to the
southern coast probably due distance and the conditions of the road. This is rapidly changing with the new International Airport completed in 2011,
just a short 15 minute drive from the south coastal hub town of Kuta (not to be
confused with the noisy busy Balinese beach which shares the same name). With
the development of the new airport it’s just a matter of time before larger
scale accommodation developments take hold of the south in preparation for the influx of tourists. For the meantime this
part of Lombok still remains relatively quiet with just a handful of
accommodations and tourists facilities scattered around. For people that make
the trip down they get the opportunity to see what Bali might have been like
before it became one the most visited islands in the world.
Late 2011, I organised a trip there with a number of friends. We decided to spend 4 nights and 5 days staying in a hotel on
Kuta. The southern coast of
Lombok is a maze of inlets and headlands with beautiful secluded beaches. The
scenery is seriously spectacular with hills and mountains reaching all the way down to
the coast line painting a picture of a nearly Jurassic park like land scape. In
my point of view, the beaches here top the beaches seen in Bali without even
trying. Like Bali's southern peninsula, the south is now famed and is a widely sought after surfer’s heaven
with a number noteworthy swells. We spent our time exploring the south as much we could and were taken back by relaxed atmosphere and beauty.
It needs to be mention that exploring the south was difficult due to the
conditions of the road in which it would take 30 minutes just to travel 5km.
With that being said, exploring is well worth it - as more often than not will
find yourself alone on one of the gorgeous beaches Lombok has to offer.
Highlights
Kuta-
A coastal
town which is the tourist hub if this area with the majority of accommodations
and restaurants. Kuta beach itself is pretty, but probably the least impressive
of the beaches found on this side of Lombo.
East of
Kuta: Areas listed from distance closest to furthest from Kuta
Novotel
Beach (Putri Nayle) –
The
private beach of the Novotel hotel. A nice beach, made nicer if you pay to use the
hotels facilities.
Tanjung A’an (Serenting) –
A 2.5km long double crescent beach divided by a rock outcrop. A empty
beach with no significant developments and the rock outcrop is a great place to
climb and enjoy the sunsets. The water is deep enough to swim even during low
tides
Tanjung
Ringget-
A significant drive east of from Kuta is Tanjung Ringgit. This point is
famous for old Japanese fortifications erected during WWII on the cliffs facing
the ocean. The drive is a hazardous but if you make it journey the views from
the cliff point are spectacular
West of Kuta: Areas
listed from distance closest to furthest from Kuta
Mawun Beach-
If I was forced to choose the top 3 best beaches Mawun, Selong Balanak
and Mawi beaches would be hard to choose from. Mawun Beach is a horse shoe
shaped beach with no developments near or around the beach.
Selong Belanak-
Is an epic beach which is incredible in length. It’s a gradual
slopping white sand beach surrounded by dramatic scenery of mountains and hills.
There are a number of small developments here, but the size of the beach makes
it so you'll probably never notice. I perfect place to watch the sunset.
Mawi Beach-
Another
one of the better beaches in Lombok. A little past Selong Balanak, its definitely
worth the drive to see it.
Logistics
Get in-
You can catch a flight directly from Jakarta or Bali with daily flight to the
old and the new Airport. If you want to fly into the new airport (closest to
the south) make sure you book a flight to the airport with the code BIL not
AMI.
Get around-
Take a taxi down to Kuta and simply
ask around the restaurants and hotels and you’ll easily be able to rent
a car or motorcycles. Be sure to check the state of the car or motorcycle
before you agree to rent it. The car we rented broke down a number of times. As
I mentioned before, when we made the trip to Lombok the roads were in horrible
shape and slowed us down considerably. With that being said traveling is still
doable, just factor in more time.
Motorcycle Rental: Rp40,000 – Rp60,000 per day
Car Rental: Rp350,000 – Rp450,000 per day
Accommodation:
There are a number of hotels in and around Kuta. We stayed in 3
different hotels in 4 nights so I can’t for the life of me remember the names.
New hotels are popping up all the time and there is a good range from Budget to
Mid-range accommodations. I suggest you jump on the wikitravel page and scroll
down to the ‘sleep’ section for more detailed information.
Karimunjawa is an archipelago 80kms off the
north coast of West Java which is a designated marine national park. 
