Indo - August w/ lady and a mate?

Never been yet but check out http://www.momondo.com/ for tickets, maybe you'll even find something cheaper. Last year I got Bangkok RT for $1200 CAD (1month in advance), Indonesia could be even cheaper

 

a discount airline would probably consciously paint a target on your board bag.
do your absolute best to get it in writing (i know, i know….) before the money
changes hands.

 

no chicks!

 

The spot.
http://www.balanganseaviewbungalow.com/

 

canggu and Ulu are where you want to stay. Several great places in both. Use those as your "base camps" if you're only there for a week or two, and although we didn't do boat trip when we went, I'm glad we didn't. 12 dudes on a boat for 10 days?

 

Ment. boat trip with girl that doesn't surf (even if she is cool) is recipe for disaster. She will be bored on the boat with nothing to do. Poor food, extreme heat, medicore accomodations...it's gonna create problems for you- trust me. Plus what you spend on a week long boat trip plus the travel to get to the boat you could spend a month plus in Bali. You can take side small boat trips from Bali for one or two day adventures to Lombok, Gillis (no surf there though), Lembongan. If you can handle critical, large lefts you can take trips to G land and Desert Point (probably best left in the world) too right from Bali
Stay down on the Bukit in Bali, you got like 6 breaks there, Ulus, Bingin etc...and also up at Canguu...hr ride up to Keramas. About as epic as it gets
August is peak season in Indo. You won't find a weak wave anywhere really. Then again, you will also find crowds...many with very good, agro Aussies and absolutely ripping local Balinese. Don't be surprised if it's head high to DOH every day, even at Balangan, with some days much, much bigger. Enjoy

 

Note to self... Plan surf trip to Bali next August... That was #1 on my travel list and at one point I promised myself a trip there, with the boys before I got married and had a kid. Now Im married with a 2 year old and don't see being able to drag them out to Bali with me. Its a crying shame. My boys in San Diego used to go out there every august. They would come back drained, burnt and stoked out of their minds. They would complain about the cold CA water and the small surf when it was Head high for weeks after their trips until they came back to reality.

 

Nothing weak about Balangan. You asked for a mellow crowd suggestion and that's what you got. Balangan is the fastest wave I've ever surfed (I've got plenty of time to correct that). Ulus is clearly a way more quality break but you'll have to do your share of hassling.

 

great thread, Indo is on my list, just havent made it there yet, the more info the better, keep it coming.

specifically looking for wave reports, entry-exit, takeoff, where does wave end, etc.... first hand accounts. I have read a lot already (stormrider guide, wannasurf, surfline, etc) so looking for peoples experiences, if you care to share

 

Go to Sumbawa Hands down!! Peak season and rarely crowded. Everyone else has great suggestions and tips but they are not accounting for the "uncrowded" part of your question. There are so many goods waves in Sumbawa: Lackey peak, Periscopes, Yo-Yo's, Supersuck, Scar reef, and many more for you to find. Ditch your lady friend for this trip! Your going to be getting barreled for sure with minimal crowds in Sumbawa. All these waves are very heavy with the exception of Yo-Yo's and break on razor sharp coral with no beginner spots for your woman.

 

You will get a huge pat on the back from me if you can pull that off. a "Gift for her" for graduating is a surf trip to Bali for you. Man, that is all time.

But seriously, I can't complain. I dragged my girlfriend, now wife to San Diego for 10 years, where I made her take photos of me all the time, clock countless hours of boring video camera work, dragged her to Mexico practically every week. She can surf, after I dragged her into the ocean about 100 times... But all in all, I dont have many should/woulda/couldas, cause surfing empty point and reefs breaks all over mexico for years and years during large swell events filled up my stoke tank for quite some time...

But I am a goofy footer, and Bali, the land of the lefts has always been a dream for me... Get on it while the getting is good. And all surfing aside, just be respectful and it could be a trip that you both really enjoy. Its like when I take the wife to Hawaii. Pick a spot each day, surf it for an hour or two... early... then go hang out with the lady the rest of the day. Go to the waterfalls. Hike. Snorkel... There will be plenty to do and explore out in Indo, so that will be dope... The boat trip with the lady sounds like a disaster though.... Just my thoughts.

The tides don't really matter in the part of Indo you are talking about. I mean, to an extent, so just get your surfing done early and entertain the lady the rest of the day. If its EPIC, get in a second session.

 

Yeah, and another thing... Not familiar with the OP personally, so I hope your skill level is on par or you could be in for some eye openers. I see that you are from Brooklyn. I hope you are a seasoned vet, because going to Bali in peak swell season, looking for the gnarliest breaks is great if you know what you are doing, but if not, it could be pretty fu**ing dangerous...

Not insinuating anything... just saying. Be careful what you wish for... I have heard a ton of people talk about how they wish it was DOH all the time, then that one DOH day comes to their local break and they dont want anything to do with it. Looks easy, looks fun... Not so much if you dont know what you are doing.

But with that being said, ive never really met a beginner that was planning a Bali trip... so i guess you must be legit enough.

 

Enjoying stealing some of the info on this thread. Heading to Indo for 2 months in June. First two weeks solo then the wifey is meeting me for the rest of the trip after she is done with a trip in Costa Rica. It's gonna be mad! Sumbawa is sounding solid

 

Yeah, there are plenty of Right Handers. It depends on where you go. Unless its a slab reef point, a lot of the spots will go right. Its just that the way the setup is, there are a ton of good lefts there. But if you are looking for barrels... I wouldn't be too concerned about what waves are where. Find a resort or a spot that will fit what you and your girl are looking for and go from there. If you are there for weeks or a month, you will be able to go all over the place and explore. You will find a good wave that suits you and probably surf there a lot of the time. That usually what I do when im traveling. I like to try different spots, but once you find that shoe that fits and you get good on it, you go back to it.

As far as entertaining your girl... Thats a tough one. I would never recommend sending her out in the city alone or put her in a taxi and send her off anywhere. I would treat Bali like Mexico and I would be very careful about the lady... Make sure to stay in a place that has a pool, nice amenities and sutff for chicks. Cause reading a book or a kindle on the beach for 6 hours aint gonna work...

Like I said, its a surf trip I know, but dont over do it. Because like everyone else said, if you are all about staying in the water for 8 hours, don't bring your girl. Point blank. When I wanted to do an all day session, I just wouldnt bring her. An hour or 2 behind a camera is one thing, all day is another.

If you want to get on boats and score perfect waves all day and thats about it. That just aint gonna work with the lady. Again, I am not Mr. Indo either, im just sharing friendly travel advice from a surf nut who has dragged his lady all over the place... Its about balance though. I mean, I have been in remote places in Mexico and had to run in from the surf because I saw random people start walking down the beach. My girl is alone with a purse and a video camera. You just gotta look out and be careful. I would just run out on the sand and sit with her until the people would pass. But when you are out exploring, you never know who or what you are gonna get into. And the last thing you need is having some sh** happen to your lady...

And as the HIV and the traveling surfers stuff, thats wild. I know many-a-travelers that go all over the world and as far as I know they don't bareback Thai hookers.... I mean, I have had buddies do the Adalidas thing down in TJ and slapped them (with a glove on) when they told me... But surf trips arent about the girls. So, i dont know what your lady is reading about all these man-whore surfers.... Ya never know what happens behind the scenes of a surf video, but like I said, ive never heard of this problem of STD contracting surf travel. Thailand and that whole region do statistically have some health issues, especially STDs. So, dont bang strange hookers, or double bag it if you do.

 

so...you want us to list ways your gf can entertain herself while you surf......hmmmm......Paging yankee, paging yankee!