Getting There
Padang -- a large trading town of more than 800,000 people -- is a short plane ride from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Air Asia flies twice daily to/from Kuala Lumpur (KL) and there are mid-day Tiger Air flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays direct from Singapore (SQ). 
Overnight Ferry KM. AMBU-AMBU Cabin* + Speedboat to resort US$75 oneway You arrive at HTs lunchtime Weekly Service (departures at 2000hrs) Departs Arrives 2000 Sun Bungus 0600 MonTuapejat 2000 Mon Tuapejat 0600 Tue Bungus 1st and 4th week of the month Service Departs Arrives 2000 Thu Bungus 0600 Fri Tuapejat 2000 Fri Tuapejat 0600 Sat Bungus Bungus harbor is 20min south of Padang *cabin subject to availability or mat in VIP area SMA Flights MIA(Pad) to Rokot (Ment) Nonsurfer + Speedboat US$100 oneway Surfer with bag + Speedboat US$200 oneway You arrive at HTs lunchtime Departs Arrives 0930 Tue MIA 1015 Tue Rokot 1030 Tue Rokot 1115 Tue MIA 0930 Thu MIA 1015 Thu Rokot 1030 Thu Rokot 1115 Thu MIA 0930 Sat MIA 1015 Sat Rokot 1030 Sat Rokot 1115 Sat MIA READ MORE...... PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR VISA IS VALID FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS AFTER YOUR EXIT DATE AND PLEASE CHECK THAT YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE BLANK PAGE FOR THE VISA - IT TAKES UP AN ENTIRE PAGE AND IF YOU HAVE NO PAGES YOU WILL PAY A LOT OR BE SENT BACK HOME ON THE NEXT FLIGHT OUT. Only 11 countries and territories are still eligible for a "Visa Free" facility, they are: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Chile, Morocco, Peru and Vietnam. All other nationalities must pay for a visa on arrival or arrange for a visa from an Indonesian Embassy or Consulate before arrival. You are strongly urged to seek advice from the nearest Indonesian Embassy or Consulate before departing for Indonesia. The key features of the new visa system regime are as follows:
30 day visa for USD25.00 Payment must be made in US dollars on arrival. It is recommended that travellers have the exact US dollars cash available as not all entry points will have full bank facilities in place until sometime later in the year. READ MORE...... |
Travel Tips
Click here for our detailed page on QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO? Good swells can hit at any time of year and the off-peak season can turn on spectacular days for the unhurried visitor. The most in-demand timeslot is April/May till August/September, which seem to be most consistent for high quality groundswells. WHAT EQUIPMENT SHOULD I TAKE? Boards Most people bring 2-4 boards. (If you fly to Mentawai the limit is 2 boards) You will ride your standard shortboards most of the time but if the swell forecast looks like it will get big, bring something to handle it. Most surfers bring 4 surfboards - two shortboards, one mid sized board for when it gets a little bigger, and one gun for the biggest days. It is smart to bring a replacement for the board you ride most. READ MORE...... Gear When planning a trip to our resort we want you to be as prepared as possible with the bare essentials because it is important when traveling to pack light! The Mentawai Islands will have limited access to surf shops and stores so we have prepared the follow check list for your review bring whatever you need. "Bring what you feel will satisfy your personal needs to make your trip enjoyable" Travel Check List
Surf Related Travel List
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Your Safety & Conduct The Mentawais are in a seismically active area and so it is important to have clear path to high ground. A big earthquake might trigger a tsunami and so we play it safe and suggest you leave your villa and jog to a 50m high hill that lies NE of the resort. The path is marked and being upgraded with help from NGOs in the area. If you are in the water, another option is to paddle out into deep water (15m+) and wait for the all clear. (this is only appropriate at a few breaks so ask our staff) Sensible precautions to avoid exposure to insect life is the main issue. The real risk of catching malaria, dengue fever, hepatitis and other tropical diseases is generally well understood by surf operators but it makes sense to ask for their specific advice . For regular updates on travel disease warnings, see the federal government Center for Disease Control web site (www.cdc.gov) or similar sites such as www.medicineplanet.com. The greatest health risks are injury resulting from surfing accidents, heat stroke and dehydration. A chronic risk is sheer exhaustion from over-surfing -- a real threat for the average surfer, whose general fitness may be OK but not up to eight hours' powering every day. Small cuts and scrapes will rapidly fester in the tropical climate if not treated swiftly and smartly. Wash them right out, clean with antibacterial wash and keep dry using an antibacterial powder. Do the routine after every surf, and you should at least keep infection at bay for the rest of your stay. You should also be prepared for onboard suturing of bigger cuts if necessary (resort staff can assist on request). A few general tips: To combat dehydration and exhaustion, limit your surfing time to mornings and afternoons and cloudy days, stay out of the midday sun, stretch, sleep, drink a lot of water and eat plenty of the available carbohydrates -- rice, noodles and vegetables.
CODE OF CONDUCTHTs Surf Resort wants to give you the best experience possible! Here are tips on etiquette to enjoy life in paradise. .
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND When you arrive we will give you one big bottle of water, please use the permanent marker to write your name on the bottle and refill it in the restaurant free of charge. There is a charge for extra water bottles and we want to reduce our trash disposal at the resort.
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Swell Forecast
CURRENT SWELL FORECAST Good swells can hit at almost any time of year and the low swell season can turn on spectacular days for the unhurried visitor. The best and most in-demand timeslot is April/May till August/September, which seem to be most consistent for high quality groundswells. We recommend Magic Seaweed for swell reports but we have other links that will help you see what is in-coming during your stay. Buoy Weather for virtual buoy reports and free 3 day forecast. 5 day forecast is a subscriber service. Our skippers use this service. Storm Surf for an excellent subscriber service. Wet Sand for a different take on swell and winds iSurfing Links for lots of links to other forecasts Without doubt the most thoroughly publicized, photographed and fought-over surfing area of the past decade, the Mentawai Islands remain a source of intrigue to waveriders worldwide. The Mentawais (pronounced men-TAH-wee) lie off the western coastline of the Indonesian island of Sumatra -- 150 nautical miles southeast of Nias. They consist of four large islands and numerous smaller ones, some charted and some not, strung out along a line from 3.3S/100.5E to 2S/99.5E. The islands are geographically dynamic, some sinking into the ocean, some rising and all of it happening much too quickly for the formation of South Pacific-style coral-limestone atolls. As a result, most good Mentawai waves break close into the islands along shoreline-based, coral-encrusted limestone/sedimentary reefs, with swells being refracted into these reefs by deepwater offshore trenches. Refractions are so extreme that some of the better breaks in the region face almost directly opposite the open-ocean swell angles, with waves wrapping halfway around islands to strike the reefs on the lee side. WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT MENTAWAI SURF? Hundreds of ridable waves dot the islands. Many of them have magic days; many are known to only a handfull of veteran operators. Several are way up in the world-class zone. The general tone is typical Indonesia -- powerful but not bone-snapping, with numerous hollow sections and some lengthy waits between bigger sets -- especially on the dying end of a swell. The islands are outside the southeast trade wind belt and susceptible to fluky, stormy equatorial wind shifts. Oddly enough, this suits the wide variety of reefs and angles; it seems as though no matter what the wind's choosing to do, somewhere's always offshore. Broad exposure to all reaches of the southern Indian Ocean provides the Mentawais with unrivaled swell consistency, well beyond that of Bali. Background pulses keep waves breaking even between the stronger hits, and swells will often arrive over the top of each other in the mid-season boom. Few will push beyond the 6- to 10-foot range, however. Out of the many, a handful of spots have made themselves the focus of most charters, partly due to their quality, partly to consistency and partly to ease of access. Here's a look at four of the hot handful: . READ MORE...... |
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