Which Trip and Flights make sense

[brek]

Who is worried about money? Obama said he'd pay for it.
No, we got a year to save up and it will be an awesome trip and it will be worth it. still, cheap beer and women is a plus.

I was talking about money being an issue when you have a wife and kids. Much easier to pay for a trip when it's just you, but multiply that by 3 or 4.....not to mention all of the other fiscal responsibilities you'll likely be carrying. By all means, go nuts now.

[Sandbar18]

So does anyone have any comments on Bali?
Are the waves as perfect as the net would have you believe? I don't mind it being a huge tourist destination, as long as 90% of the people are not american or canadian...

[delawaredell]

bump, anyone have experience with any of the flights there? (Morocco, Bali, South africa,???)

[SJerzSrfr]

Just did the Mentwais this past September.... and i was in the same boat as you (no pun intended)... had to do it before kids.

Anyway, it was the most epic trip of my life and i dont ever see how i could top it. We did the boat trip. most boat trips are 10-12 days depending on the boat. I would highly recommend the boat we were on: Samudra Biru (formerly called The Nusantara).... Sick captain and crew. the food was great. the boat was super reliable and without a doubt the longest best waves of my life. also, it was one of mid range priced boats but with all the power and speed we needed. We booked it through Wavehunters. Sean and Henry at wavehunters are great to work with. We even had one of the guys boardbags not make it on the flight out of NY and those guys somehow worked their magic and got it out to the Mentawais Islands a couple days later.

We surfed all of the main spots there- macaronis, lances left and right, telescopes..... and a bunch of others. some got crowded, others we had for a half day or even a full day with just ourselves and maybe another boat here and there. even with crappy winds, the breaks are still incredible and the waves just lineup forever.

we flew singapore air. epic airline. definitely the best ive ever flown with. free drinks, good food (for airplane food), every seat had its own tv. if you are leaving from bethany, you will fly out of JFK, assuming you go with Singapore Air. You fly JFK to Germany to Singapore to Jakarta to Padang, then take the boat from Padang out to the Ments. A lot of flying, but worth every bit of time and dollar spent. if i could go back tomorrow i would. PM me with any questions

[delawaredell]

Just did the Mentwais this past September.... and i was in the same boat as you (no pun intended)... had to do it before kids.

Anyway, it was the most epic trip of my life and i dont ever see how i could top it. We did the boat trip. most boat trips are 10-12 days depending on the boat. I would highly recommend the boat we were on: Samudra Biru (formerly called The Nusantara).... Sick captain and crew. the food was great. the boat was super reliable and without a doubt the longest best waves of my life. also, it was one of mid range priced boats but with all the power and speed we needed. We booked it through Wavehunters. Sean and Henry at wavehunters are great to work with. We even had one of the guys boardbags not make it on the flight out of NY and those guys somehow worked their magic and got it out to the Mentawais Islands a couple days later.

We surfed all of the main spots there- macaronis, lances left and right, telescopes..... and a bunch of others. some got crowded, others we had for a half day or even a full day with just ourselves and maybe another boat here and there. even with crappy winds, the breaks are still incredible and the waves just lineup forever.

we flew singapore air. epic airline. definitely the best ive ever flown with. free drinks, good food (for airplane food), every seat had its own tv. if you are leaving from bethany, you will fly out of JFK, assuming you go with Singapore Air. You fly JFK to Germany to Singapore to Jakarta to Padang, then take the boat from Padang out to the Ments. A lot of flying, but worth every bit of time and dollar spent. if i could go back tomorrow i would. PM me with any questions

Thanks man this is the kind of feed back i was looking for. I'll pm you in a sec.

[mitchell]

we flew singapore air. epic airline. definitely the best ive ever flown with. free drinks, good food (for airplane food), every seat had its own tv. if you are leaving from bethany, you will fly out of JFK, assuming you go with Singapore Air. You fly JFK to Germany to Singapore to Jakarta to Padang, then take the boat from Padang out to the Ments. A lot of flying, but worth every bit of time and dollar spent. if i could go back tomorrow i would. PM me with any questions

+1 one on Singapore Airlines out of JFK.

We went to Indonesia in 2007 and drove from Delaware to JFK to catch Singapore Air from JFK-Frankfort-Singapore-Indo. Three plane changes was the MINIMUM we could find and without driving to JFK it would have been at least four. $1300 r/t (granted that was 5 years ago)

Indo was the trip of a lifetime. We surfed Nias for three days out of the eleven we were there. Perfection...Five years later i still just go crazy thinking what a beatiful place it was and how much i want to go back.

[delawaredell]

anyone else have thoughts/stories/pictures that we can wax our longboards with?

[delawaredell]

So if we go to Mentawai, is Wavehunters the way to go or is there other charter boats? Should we definitely do a charter boat or consider the resorts also? I'd like to experience some of the culture, food, sights sounds for the hours we arent in the water. If we are on a boat, do you get this luxury? THANKS!!

[Stranded in Smithfield]

+1 Bali +1 Singapore +1 jealous

[shoreboy]

I think what he is seeking is perfect waves, cheap beer, good food, and beautiful, clean, easy women.
I mean...thats what I'm looking for....

This is pretty much the definition of Bali, except it is a little dirty. Just got back and it was fun minus the crowds at every spot. The majority of tourist are Australians since its so close. The night life is insane though. Portugal has by far been my favorite surf trip thus far.