Lombok, Indonesia

Bau Nyale, a festival for hunting sea worms in Lombok


Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Lombok is part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is located between Bali to the west and Sumbawa to the east, and separated from them by the Lombok Strait and Alas Strait respectively. Lombok is roughly 70 km across and has a total area of 4,725 sq km (1,825 sq miles).

View of Gunung Rinjani from Gili Air


Seeing the success of tourism in neighbouring Bali, Lombok is now working to develop its tourism potential. The island is pristine, with scenic seaside view, lovely waterfalls, and right at the centre of it all, the mighty Gunung Rinjani, the second tallest volcano in Indonesia.

Lombok is a lot of things that Bali is not. For one, it is predominantly Muslim, so much of the Balinese architecture is missing here. But not entirely, for about 100,000 Balinese Hindus live on the west coast of the island. The architecture of the native Sasak people is distinctly different, and can be seen from the construction of their mosques and lumbung (rice barns).

Visitors come to Lombok for a variety of reasons. Apart from the aforementioned beaches and volcano, it is a great destination for trekking, wind-surfing, diving, snorkelling and game-fishing. The loveliest beaches are on the eastern coast, where you can find sheltered coves and reefs of live corals.

Gili Islands off Lombok

Travel to Lombok

By Plane
You can fly to Lombok from Bali, arriving at Selaparang Airport (AMI) in Mataram, the main town. The flight takes just 20 minutes from Bali. The most reliable airline flying that route is Garuda, which also offers connections with Jakarta and Surabaya.

By Boat
Unless you have plenty of time to kill, this is not an option. The slow ferry from Padang Bai in Bali for Lembar in Lombok. The fare is Rp. 35,000 and the journey takes a full 24 hours. This transport is used mostly by the locals with only an occasional hardy tourist.

Travel within Lombok

The transportation in Lombok is the bemo - minivans modified to carry passengers. You can simply hail one as it passes by. Fares tend to fluctuate and is quite open for negotiation.

Picking fish on the beach at Kuta, Lombok

Places of Interest in Lombok

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