Bali Diary 9 | 5 days in the South of Lombok

BaliDiary9. In the end, we decided to stay four nights in Kuta in the south of Lombok. Friends of ours were over the moon with Lombok’s beaches and we needed to see ourselves. We weren’t disappointed. Even though the water is not as crystal clear as on the Gili Islands they’re blue and even better for swimming. You shouldn’t be afraid of the waves, though. Like the South of Bali it is an upcoming surfer paradise. Still, I didn’t try it myself.

// BEACHES. Starting off with the first day we drove through the idyllic landscape to Mawun Beach. It is a beautiful bay with big waves which was so much fun to dive into. The beaches are more quiet than the ones in the South of Bali and were perfect for relaxing.
Selong Belanak was up next and is a longer drive in the same direction as Mawun Beach. If you’ve never surfed before this beach bay we the perfect spot to try it as there are smaller waves to exercise. Many locals offer courses but you can also try it on your own. Looks easier than it is! One highlight was definitely the beautiful black horse galloping on the beach. A smaller bay on the way to Selong Blanak is Mawi. There are no signs for it so it is better to check on the map before. After a bumpy 20 minutes ride down to the bay you may sit down and watch the peaceful waves for a bit. There are not so many people and most of them came to check the waves and left again. The water was crystal clear but too many stones.

On our last day we wanted to explore the east side of Kutas beaches and visited the Tanjung Aan beach. Beautiful white sand beach and perfect for swimming. Unfortunately, we caught a period with a lot of algae but it was nice, though.

// WHERE TO STAY. We stayed at the Bule Homestay which I highly recommend. Bule means tourist in indonesian. The rooms are big and clean and cost 300,000 IDR, around 20€ per night including breakfast. The owner and his family was very nice and gave us recommendations what to do. Apparently motorbikes are likely to be stolen so you should rent them at your hotel. Same price as on Bali and we payed 50,000 IDR – 3€ per day. Only the internet was not working so well but in case you need you can surf really fast at the owner’s restaurant Bule Warung at the Kuta beach. But better be offline on your holiday for a bit.

// EATING. Our homestay was only 3 minutes ride from Kuta and we discovered this great Warung Lalapan Santai on our second day. Since then we were there every night and tried the various Lombok specialities out. Meals cost around 20,000-50,000 IDR and our favorite banana juice only 8,000 IDR – not even 1€. Moreover, the view from the well-known Ashtari restaurant is to be recommended for a nice lunch or to enjoy the sunset from the terrace. The view onto Kuta is amazing. Dishes may be a little bit more pricey here.

More of Bali is coming up!