Surfing – Grupuk, South Lombok, Indonesia

Grupuk, sometimes spelt Gerupuk, is a small village located on the South Coast of Lombok, Indonesia near Kuta. Just to clarify this is Kuta in Lombok not the much more famous Kuta in Bali. However, if you are more interested in surfing in Bali please check out these 6 Bali surf camps.

Want to know more about Kuta? Check out exploring Kuta, Lombok in 72 hours. 

An hour and a half to two hour drive from our villa in Senggigi is this picturesque little spot. Grupuk is home to a break known as Don-Don, which is suitable for all levels of surfing and is one of the best surfing spots in Indonesia. It is a right and left handed break within the bay and I have been lucky to surf here twice. As a novice surfer I have always felt safe and always managed to stand up while surfing this break. I must thank the locals of Grupuk for this. Don-Don is a small break situated in narrow channel and is therefore great for beginners because it is a small paddle out of the break into calm water. Therefore you are not constantly smashed with waves trying to situate yourself back ready to surf. If you require a break or want to do some relaxing the is easily achievable by staying in the calm water.

For $30AU we each got surfboard hire, rashie hire, a local boat out to the break and an instructor one between two. The reasoning for one instructor between two was while one took off surfing the break the next could paddle in to have their turn while the other was paddling back. The instructor stayed within the break to help you with when to paddle and would also give you a helpful nudge to help catch the wave. As most of us had either never surfed before or were only essentially beginners we were riding the kitchen benches of surfboards. This was excellent because that meant that every single one of us managed to stand up for a least one ride, which was exhilarating. We were lucky enough to be out on the break for over an hour and a half and by the end of this session we were exhausted. Paddling back after each wave was exhausting and I have a new found respect for surfers who manage to do this day in day out.

The first time I surfed Don-Don, January 2014, it was quite busy with many beginners. This caused a few dramas because you always needed to be weary of surfers hitting you or yourself running into others. While when we went just recently in April 2015 there was next to no one out there and by the end it was just our group on the break, which made the day even better.

For anyone who would love to learn to surf or is an avid surfer I would recommend you visit the amazing island of Lombok. I may have only surfed this one break but I have also seen many experienced surfers surf this break also. Not to mention the plethora of other surfing options particularly on the south coast of Lombok around the Kuta area.

More interested in kite surfing instead? Check out this Sports & Outdoors Guide to Lombok

Any comments or feedback welcome.

Thanks – Lauren