Day 35-38: Kuta Lombok
Where we stayed: Wave Inn
To get here from Ubud, Bali: the accommodation owner drove us to Padangbai from where we caught the slow ferry (4.5 hours) to Lembar, Lombok. A driver organised through our Kuta accommodation then drove us to Kuta. We booked our ferry from Padang Bai (the port in Bali) to Lembar (the port in Lombok) via 12Go.
Kuta Lombok wasn’t our vibe. There are definitely slices of paradise here, and the surrounding beaches are really the reason to visit, but you don’t need to peel back very far to find a very different story.
The tourist strip is compact and polished, with wood-fired pizzas, tacos, steaks and ice-cold Bintangs. Just metres away, local communities are living in very different circumstances, with rubbish-choked waterways leading towards one of the dirtiest beaches we’ve seen. Further out, luxury villas and apartments are appearing everywhere, while billboards advertise land for sale. One even declares: “You missed out on Canggu. Don’t miss out here.”
Getting around without your own transport isn’t easy either. Grab is banned, there are no buses and you’re left negotiating expensive tourist taxis or hiring a car or scooter.
That said, the beaches are beautiful. Tanjung Aan and Selong Belanak were our favourites, and Selong Belanak is a good place for beginner surfing. Unfortunately the quieter beaches in the region suffer from trash washed up on the beach.
If we came again, we’d base ourselves in Selong Belanak, hire a car, spend a few days surfing and then head north.
