Bali

Wet Season vs Dry Season.

The wet season runs from September to March, the dry from March to September. The wet season corresponds with summer in the southern hemisphere so the surf tends to be smaller and the winds are westerly which blows out may of the world famous breaks (Uluwatu, Bingin, Dreamland, Kuta beach and reef, Canggu). The breaks on the E coast (Sanur, Serangan, Nusa Dua, Padang Galak) are offshore though.

Bali is very very popular with Aussies (who seem to go in the dry season) and Japanese (who seem to go in the wet season). Line ups of over 100 people are not uncommon.

The food is excellent, the accommodation cheap (compared to home, expensive compared to the rest of Indo) and you can get all your western bits and bobs (a touristy nightmare for some, paradise for others). Surfboards are expensive and be careful if you do buy one because the Balinese are expert board repairers and you will never know if you don't look at the stringer carefully. Bring your dinged up travel stick from home. Pretty much everything is focused around Kuta.

Some of the breaks that have not already been extensively written about are as follows:

Padang Galak: A beach on the East coast north of Sanur, best on low tide. Couple of warungs to stash your gear and have lunch. Black sand beach is really hot on the toes after mid-morning. Peaks all over the place. Good break.

Serangan: Reef break. Excellent if very outrageously popular with the Japanese. Two lefts and one right. Often surf here when everywhere else seems flat. On turtle island which is now linked to Bali by a bridge. Unsealed road to the break. Just North of Sanur. We recently found an article in a Japanese surf mag which featured this break which may explain the numbers we found there.

Medewi: A good lefthander which can peel for miles. A good 3hr journey up the West coast. Because the break faces south it picks up more swell than Kuta etc. Staying here and getting a dawn patrol is a good way of getting an uncrowded surf before the Kuta crowd arrives. The beach is a big pile of boulders so take reef boots. Good.

Lombok

Lombok is well worth a visit. The breaks face south, are often sheltered and less croweded than Bali. Much more laid back. Getting an outrigger canoe is the best way of getting to the breaks. You just jump in the water, paddle out and when finished paddle back to the boat. Kuta (on the South coast) is the place to stay for the breaks listed below:

Inside Grupuk: Just East of Kuta. Catch a bemo and then an outrigger canoe. There are a number of locals who will sort this out for you. The boat driver will surf with you and they all rip. The way to go is right but you can go left sometimes. The reef is on the inside of the bay. Good

Outside Grupuk: As inside Grupuk but on the outside of the bay. A really atmospheric (and sometimes intimidating) place as the waves break onto the cliffs and some can be huge. Righthanders only. Good

Air Guling: West of Kuta. A boat ride from Kuta is probably the best way of getting to this break. A reef break that can hold some sizeable waves and the occasional barrel on the shallower inside section. Righthanders only. Very good.

The locals will take you to some 'secret spots' if you pay them but these can often be seen from the coast if you hire bikes.

Ekas: Much less popular than the breaks around Kuta. Bit of a trek though so requires some organizing. Some 45 minutes East of Kuta. Again, requires a boat ride to get to the breaks.