Lombok, Indonesia: A Forgotten Paradise? (page 5 of 5)

Uh... not sure I get the whole "promo good deal" thing, or who has space on your site and eco-friendly ideas 🤪

For my part, I’m just inviting Toshi to check out your travel journals on Lombok—they make me want to go, or go back!

Maybe it’s still too soon to understand—I’ll just make myself a "Lombok Kopi" 😉

Hey .....

Last trip in October 2003 to Lombok, Flores, and crossing Sumbawa ..... I’m heading back at the end of the year for a third time just so Citoyendumonde doesn’t become more famous than me out there ....... 😉

Some excerpts from my travel journal back then here ....... http://asiedusudest.net/indonesie-f20/indonesie-les-petites-iles-de-la-sonde-partie-i-t40.htm

You’re gonna love it (with your trip ....) .....

Thanks to you, THESAMY (and a few others), for this concrete info on Lombok. We’re heading there for 3 weeks in June, arriving and departing from BALI. Our plan is to focus on TREKKING on the volcano slopes and through the rice terraces—just a little sea time (not too much) to relax! Our goals (yes, yes 😉): hiking up Rinjani, a few days in central BALI (we’ve been before, a long time ago...), and a quick trip to JAVA for Bromo and the sulfur-lake volcano. Your posts were super helpful for Lombok and Bali (Ubud), but do you have any tips for getting to Java (round trip) without losing too much time? Should we book through an agency, or is it easy to do on our own? Thanks in advance! H.

Well, both Bali and Lombok have direct flights to Java (Yogyakarta or Jakarta, your choice), and you can book online http://www.lionair.co.id

Thanks for your reply! But what I’d really like to know: is it very complicated to get to KAWA IJEN from Denpasar using local transport? Is it better to go through an agency, and if so, what’s the price range? The DPS-Surabaya flight doesn’t seem like the simplest option!

Kawa is in East Java, I think. Easy: you take the ferry from Gilimanuk (West Bali), the ferry crossing is really short! And you can keep your same scooter... so it's super easy to reach Kawa even if it's "supplied by crows" 😉 In your case, flying is unnecessary: Bali as a central point, hop left for Kawa, hop right for Rinjani... goodbye taxis and buses, hello time and money saved...

THANKS 😏

Mount Rinjani is a "physical" trek but, in my opinion, not inaccessible. I’d recommend starting from Sembalun Lawang rather than Senaru. My girlfriend is fit but not a big athlete, and she still made it to the top. I won’t lie to you, though—it’s not the case for everyone, the end is steep! But when you’re motivated, you push yourself, and it’s worth it!!! Even today, she’s still really happy she went all out to get there.

All in all, it's just a matter of willpower😉. Like Kintaro saying, "I’ll make it!". For me, though, I’ll wait and see because for Batur, I found it a bit "hard" at the time (not very sporty, climbing at the guide’s pace who’s been doing this twice a day for over 10 years and blazes through the route—not great). But it’s still a really great memory I shared with my sister. Unforgettable sunrise over a sea of clouds! I’ll follow your advice for Sembalun Lawang. And another one about a hotel in Amed—your photos had a lot to do with it. While waiting for late August to finally reach oh-so-dear Lombok, I’m planning my next trip back to my roots in Vietnam😛. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh, nothing like travel to escape into dreams

Alan, I took a while to reply for a few reasons: work last night, and mostly taking the time to read your travel journal 🙂. Is it my love for Indonesia?, my preference—out of the 3 (Java, Bali, Lombok) I visited last year—for Lombok, or that thirst for discovering authentic nature? Maybe a bit of all of that, but what’s certain is you don’t end up in Lombok by chance. I regretted only staying there for 2 days last year. Yeah, I still went to the Gili Islands (the ones in the southwest: Nanggu, Suda, and Tangkong—Trawangan drove us away with its crowds of tourists) and did a loop of the north of the island, coming back via Sembalun and the center. Frustrated I didn’t have enough time to explore the east coast, the south... well, everything, really. Your travel journal, and other info I picked up thanks to VF (thanks again to thesamy and citoyendumonde🙂), will help me plan my comeback to this unforgettable "paradise."

PS: A little tip or opinion—here’s the itinerary for 1 month: Bali=>Lombok=>Sumbawa=>Komodo=>Flores=>Lombok=>Bali, all by 4x4 and ferry. A better idea? Thanks in advance!

Bravo to you for this travel journal! It’s 2010, so I hope this paradise is still forgotten. In any case, thanks to all the info you’ve shared, this little corner of the world won’t be lost to everyone!

If anyone has anything to add, I’m all ears for any tips, no matter what they are.

By the way, I had a question: is a guide really necessary for Rinjani? If I have my tent, my food, my water, and I’m in good physical shape, I shouldn’t run into any problems, right?

Great post, super detailed. Honestly, the spirit of Lombok you describe is still very much alive, even if the island has evolved a bit since then.

I’ll just add a few more up-to-date notes:

Kuta Lombok has really developed (especially with the MotoGP circuit), but it’s still chill. There are way more cafés, nice guesthouses, and the roads to the beaches (Tanjung Aan, Mawun, Selong Belanak) are much better now. It’s clearly the most convenient base these days. For a more natural and authentic vibe, Tetebatu has become a great alternative: rice fields, waterfalls, views of Rinjani, and much quieter. Transportation is still a bit of a hassle without a vehicle. Scooters are more common now, but a car is still ideal for exploring comfortably, especially in the south or east. Safety in South Kuta has improved a lot. You still need to be careful (like anywhere), but it’s far from the old "risky area" reputation. The Gilis are still stunning, even if the coral remains fragile. Gili Air and Gili Meno are still the best spots for seeing turtles. To get to Sumbawa/Komodo: there are more options now (boats, flights), but it’s still Indonesia… so leave some wiggle room for timing.