Indonesia
Surfing in Indonesia
The surf-rich countries of Indonesia, Australia and North America’s USA/Canada have been designated as Continents and their constituent states treated as countries.
Ask any knowledgeable surfer where the best waves in the world can be found and the answer is invariably Indonesia. This populous country of 270M souls, spread over 17,000 islands and speaking some 700 languages is ideally situated to trap all the swell pouring into the Indian Ocean, meaning year-round waves arriving at some of the most famous spots on planet surf. Think Uluwatu on Bali, G-Land on Java, Desert Point Lombok and the myriad of world-class waves found off the coast of Sumatra in the Mentawai Islands.
A tropical surfing paradise also requires friendly wind patterns and Indonesia manages to duck the strong Asian monsoon winds, while enjoying weak katabatic winds around the equator, or seasonal trade winds that blow offshore on many swell-exposed coasts. This serendipity has not gone unnoticed and Bali has become one of the world’s most densely crowded surf zones with a large local contingent sharing with both global tourists and expats. From this central hub, surfers are striking out by car, bike or boat, searching for a little bit of paradise that has yet to be discovered, in this vast, warm water playground.
Indonesia surf map
Wind, swell & tides for Indonesia
Indian Ocean
The SW-facing shores of Indonesia are at the end of the perfect propagation path for Roaring Forties swells. These low pressure systems endlessly circle the Southern Ocean, serving up an almost constant supply of organised, long-period swell that arrives at equatorial latitudes without too much decay and usually stays within a 30º angle, either side of due SW. The occasional Bay of Bengal cyclone swell can hit Sumatra and the even rarer Timor Sea storm, below Nusa Tenggara can bring SE swell in the wet season, but these are anomalies compared to the year-round SW swell.
The bulk of the archipelago is beyond the influence of the SW/NE monsoon winds that are so prevalent in the western Indian Ocean and on the sub-continent. The seasonal trade winds are reliable and blow from the SE during the dry season from April to Oct, grooming the lefts on the western coasts of many islands throughout Nusa Tenggara and Bali. Then the NW wet season winds leave south and east-facing coasts clean from Dec to March. Winds are far less predictable in the northern equatorial regions where Sumatra and its many offshore archipelagos benefit from weaker, wavering wind directions and lots more glassy conditions in the doldrums where the trade winds have less influence.
Feeder currents from the South China Sea and the Timor Sea head west to mix into the Equatorial Counter Current and the South Equatorial Current, which flows westward back to Africa and the Agulhas. Tides are predominantly semi-diurnal odd with an average micro-tidal range of 0.8-1.2m, but there are exceptions like Sumbawa is diurnal and Sumba heights can be double the normal height.
Pacific Ocean
Pacific Indonesia is an often overlooked region, despite benefitting from consistent swell while the Indian Ocean is at its sleepiest. The monsoonal pattern of NE winds from November to March brings moderate-sized, shorter-period windswell to the Maluku and West Papua island chains. The vagaries of bathymetry and refraction mean good waves can appear on unlikely islands and coastlines in this vast, undeveloped region.
Winds are usually NW-NE onshore for the exposed spots, but are often light and variable.
Tides are similar to the Indian Ocean side, showing a mix of semi-diurnal even/odd, with a rise and fall of around a metre.
Library
Helpful surf travel videos and articles featuring Indonesia.
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