FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (F.A.Q)
Who is INDONESIAN SURFARIS? Why did you start INDONESIAN SURFARIS?
I have been traveling to Indonesia yearly since 1996, spending at least 6 months (and up to 16 months in a row during my longest stay) each year in the country, to explore and discover the wonders of this archipelago that has been blessed by the Gods of Surfing.
I have been living in the country full time since October 2004, and surf on a daily basis.
My main focus has always been to find perfect waves with the least people in the water, except on the classic surf locations where it can be difficult to avoid the other surfers.
The number of visiting surfers in Indonesia has sky-rocketed during the last 10 years, and having the knowledge of the place, to know where and when to surf at the best time of the year, is a key factor in scoring quality uncrowded waves.
I traveled alone during 90 percent of my surf-trips, to assimilate the culture of the country and above all, to meet as many locals as possible (which can be difficult if you travel in a group) and establish strong relationships with them to be able to come back and enjoy my stay in the remote places I have liked the most.
I traveled a couple of times with some close friends as well, bringing them my experience and knowledge of the country, so they could really have a great time, and enjoy their trip to the max.
I created INDONESIAN SURFARIS to keep traveling and live my passion for surfing in Indonesia, but to offer as well the opportunity to some people to discover the beauties of this archipelago that is still a land of adventure to this day, and to allow them to travel to remote locations and places off the beaten track, and it's with great pleasure that INDONESIAN SURFARIS will take care of you, and give you a different experience of the surf-trip in Indonesia that you will not forget.
Why do you want to exploit some of these not-so-famous locations?
INDONESIAN SURFARIS does not exploit locations that are still secret or seldom surfed.
All our trips are going to destinations that have been discovered at least 15 years ago, but rarely surfed for years (depending of the places), because they were remote and kept semi-secret by the hardcore surf-travelers who were enjoying them year after year.
Traveling alone, surfing perfect waves by yourself may sound idyllic but is in fact very boring and stressful, especially if the conditions are heavy and you know that the closest doctor or medical evacuation is miles away, then in those moments you would really like to have 1 or 2 good friends to share the fun with you, believe it or not.
It's to keep a certain quality and spirit of the surf-trip that the groups are limited to a maximum number of 6 people (in Nias, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba and Rote), so everyone can satisfy his/her appetite for perfection and those places stay special.
Why do I need INDONESIAN SURFARIS to travel, I could find these places on my own?
Of course, if you have enough time and patience, you can arrange your own surf-trip. But remember that you will have to deal with a lot of hassles usually encountered in Indonesia (difficult quest for reliable information even if you use a good updated travel guide, transport schedules delayed or even canceled, dealing with touts and scams, and so on...) and you will end up losing your precious time and paying more than if you had trusted us.
I have spent years going through all the hassles so you don't have to, and my goal is to avoid you the same troubles so your journey is a pleasure from start to finish.
Speaking the language, having the knowledge of the place and trustful local contacts, eliminates all the classic problems you can have while traveling in this country, and allows us to get better hotels, reliable transportation and better meals for you.
I am a beginner. Are your products suitable for me?
It's true that most of our trips are for advanced to expert surfers, who are already able to surf the kind of waves you find in Indonesia (powerful, hollow and barreling, breaking above shallow and sharp reef bottoms).
If you can take off in this kind of waves and trim, with a good motivation and a strong commitment, you might in theory be able to surf most of the waves and have fun, but the final decision to surf this conditions is up to you. It can be a great opportunity to push your limits but be aware that the reef is dangerous and can seriously hurt if you get slammed on the bottom.
There's a tailor-made option for you, the Surf School Program with PRO SURF SCHOOL, designed to teach you the basics of surfing in friendly conditions with professional instructors, or to practice and get better in waves more suitable to your level.
INDONESIAN SURFARIS assumes no liability for injury, death or other problems during the practice of surfing in any of its products.
Isn't it dangerous for westerners to travel in Indonesia at the moment?
Honestly, there is absolutely no problem to travel in the country at the moment, and even a few years back it was still safe to travel during the tumultuous political situation of the late 90's- early 2000's.
I went to the province of Aceh in the worst years of the conflict, in Timor back in 1999, and in Nusa Tenggara in 1998 when the foreigners were warned by their embassies not to travel there, had some great surf in all those places and excellent relations with the locals.
Indonesians are pacific people, friendly, open and always curious to meet foreigners, because they are not so used to have contact with westerners except in tourist places like Bali.
The only problems you may encounter are people wanting to talk to you too much and of course negotiating for anything, which is truly a tradition in Indonesia.
By having a positive and respectful attitude toward the people, in and out of the water, it's almost impossible to have any trouble with the locals, but like in any third-world country an incident can always happen, even though the probabilities for such things to happen are extremely small.
Traveling in Indonesia is an adventure that has nothing in common with a surf-trip to Australia, USA or Europe, and that's the way to treat it to really appreciate the country's diversity.
What about the situation concerning bird-flu?
The virus is in Indonesia and there has been some victims among the human population.
But to this day, there's no epidemic outburst in the human population yet, and it's still safe to eat chicken or duck as long as the meat is cooked long enough at high temperature.
Nevertheless, it's best to avoid poultry farms or markets where the animals are still alive.
The bird-flu is present in most of the Asian countries, on the African continent, and in Europe as well, and it becomes very difficult to travel to exotic surf destinations where you can find perfect waves without having birds already infected.
Just remember: It's way more dangerous to cross the road in urban areas or to get on a plane, than getting infected by bird-flu when you are in Indonesia scoring some of the best waves of your life!