Which Trip and Flights make sense

Discussion in 'Surf Travel' started by delawaredell, Jun 21, 2012.

  1. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    My buddy and I are throwing around a couple ideas for our surf trip in April 2013. We are going through tons of scenarios for our trip, which will be just over two weeks. We have a week of timeshare to mess with if we want, and we are thinking of doing a boat trip for the other week.
    Places that at the top of the list right now:
    Metawais for a week on a boat, then Bali for a week in condo
    Morocco and south Africa
    Tavarua and main Fiji or Samoa

    Have considered Micro, Philippines, Maldives, Australia...
    Trying to stay away from Central America as we can get there easy enough any other time.

    If you have any recommendations on Airlines and boat trips, etc, I'd appreciate the info. We are leaning towards the Metawais/Bali, but are also thinking that we are in our late 20's and pretty soon we will likely be married with kids, so lets have some fun and go somewhere that we don't have to worry about that sh*t yet. So maybe some other place that is less family friendly is where we should go.

    Thanks
     
  2. cresto4

    cresto4 Well-Known Member

    460
    Aug 19, 2010

  3. Dawn_Patrol

    Dawn_Patrol Well-Known Member

    433
    Jan 26, 2007
    I cant even figure out what this means!? Spending a week on a boat in the Ments and then another week in Bali is TOO family friendly a place for your surf trip???
     
  4. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    It seems like bali is place I would take my family someday. It's pretty touristy and safe to travel. It's not that it's TOO family friendly, rather I'm asking is there someplace that I should definitely go to now before i have a family in the next 5 years. There will likely be other surf trips before I have a family, but I don't want to be taking my kids to bad places.
    Never been there, so maybe my perception of it being a safe resort area is wrong
     
  5. Dawn_Patrol

    Dawn_Patrol Well-Known Member

    433
    Jan 26, 2007
    ah..got it.

    Ments/Bali = dream trip.

    but i see your point...you might not take the wife and kids to Morocco or Namibia
     
  6. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    Precisely.

    but anyway, does anyone have any knowledge on any of these places regarding best locations for flights, layovers, surf boats they recommend, etc. We are in the newark de area so are fine with Dulles, Regan, BWI, Phil, JFK, etc.
     
  7. Sandbar18

    Sandbar18 Well-Known Member

    144
    Nov 22, 2009
    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....
     
  8. brek

    brek Well-Known Member

    430
    Jun 17, 2008
    being married and having kids is going to make it much harder to go anywhere. Just pick the place you want to go most and go. Have the biggest adventure with the best surf you can. You don't know where you'll be in a few years, so don't plan this trip as though you'll soon be taking the wife and kids to Bali, no problem (although, much easier if money isn't an issue).
     
  9. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    Ding ding ding, we have a winner!
     
  10. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    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.
     
  11. brek

    brek Well-Known Member

    430
    Jun 17, 2008
    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.
     
  12. Sandbar18

    Sandbar18 Well-Known Member

    144
    Nov 22, 2009
    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...
     
  13. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    bump, anyone have experience with any of the flights there? (Morocco, Bali, South africa,???)
     
  14. SJerzSrfr

    SJerzSrfr Well-Known Member

    327
    Mar 2, 2010
    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
     
  15. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    Thanks man this is the kind of feed back i was looking for. I'll pm you in a sec.
     
  16. Mitchell

    Mitchell Well-Known Member

    Jan 5, 2009
    +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.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  17. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    anyone else have thoughts/stories/pictures that we can wax our longboards with?
     
  18. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    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!!
     
  19. Stranded in Smithfield

    Stranded in Smithfield Well-Known Member

    514
    Jan 15, 2010
  20. shoreboy

    shoreboy Member

    10
    Jul 11, 2012
    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.