Yes, everyone who wants to travel in Indonesia needs a visa! Please check what kind of visa fits your visit the best before you enter Indonesia, as you might need to apply for your visa in advance (especially if you want to stay longer).
Most foreigners can buy a visa for 30 days upon arrival (VOA), but this depends on your country of origin. If you want to stay more than 30 days you need to extend your VOA visa at the immigration office. You can go to Mataram (capital city of Lombok) to do this, or we can bring you in contact with a visa agent who handles your extension for you.
Do some research and make sure you get the right visa for your stay, because the Indonesian immigration rules are quite strict if you don’t stick to them.
Lombok is amazing! To mention a few things: outstretched white sandy beaches and a clear blue ocean; traffic jams that are caused by buffalo’s crossing the road; extremely welcoming locals (the 'Sasak' people) who invite you into their homes for a delicious family dinner; pretty spicy food (Lombok literally means ‘chili’ in Sasak language!) ; many different ceremonies full of colour, music, traditional clothes and dances; and so we can continue a little longer. Simply put, Lombok is a hidden paradise where you can still experience authentic Indonesia. Definitely worth a visit!
Kuta is a little surfer town on the south coast of Lombok, Indonesia. Most visitors are surfers, as we have some of the best waves in the world. Kuta has a great balance between local and western places to go to (restaurants/bars/shops etc.), there are beautiful white sandy beaches, cliffs and mountains around and the sunsets are stunning. Even though Kuta is developing a lot, it's still the perfect place for travellers that are looking for both natural landscapes and a wide variety of restaurants and activities.
Most of the inhabitants from Lombok are muslim and pray several times a day. Lombok itself has been known as The Island of Thousand Mosques since the 1970s. Please respect the culture and the mosque and act accordingly.
In Kuta you can wear shorts, no problem! But please don't walk on the streets in your bikini or sunbathe naked, as you are the guest in town. We kindly request you to respect the culture and religion and dress properly. In addition, if you are a woman we do advise you to bring a sarong and t-shirt wherever you go - so you can cover your shoulders and knees if needed (for example when you visit a village).
The Sasak are the inhabitants of Nusa Tenggara Barat (including Lombok). They are predominantly farmers of wet rice, coffee, vegetables (corn, chilis, eggplant and so on), coconuts, bamboo, sugarcane, tobacco and pandanus. Many families still live off farming, and in addition the women weave sarongs. According to the tradition, every woman needs to know how to weave a sarong before she can get married. It's one of the reasons why weaving sarongs is still so important in the culture of the Sasak, and they happily show you how it's done.
Other traditional professions are fishing, playing music at ceremonies and being a buffalo herder.
The people in Lombok speak ‘Bahasa Sasak’. Bahasa Sasak is the language of the Sasak people, and you will hear this language everywhere you go. However, most people do speak Bahasa Indonesia as well (Bahasa Indonesia is spoken all over Indonesia) and in the more touristic areas the locals speak English.
Via Lombok International Airport
Lombok has an international airport (LOP) in Praya, about 30 minutes driving from Kuta. With international flights from, among other, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia and domestic flights from Bali, Sumbawa, Java, Borneo and Sulawesi, Lombok is easily accessible. Airlines operating to Lombok include Garuda Indonesia, AirAsia, CitiLink and Super Air Jet. After arriving at Lombok International Airport (LOP) you can take a taxi to Kuta, or we can organise an airport pick up for you in advance if you want (see next question).
Coming from Bali by boat
In Bali you can arrange transport to Kuta Lombok. Many small tour agencies organise a shuttle service from the place where you stay in Bali to Padangbai. From there they give you a choice:
In Padangbai you take the fast boat, which sails in about 1,5 - 2 hours from Padangbai to Senggigi or in 2 - 2,5 hours from Padangbai to Bangsal. The price and departure time for this trip depends on the fast boat you take. We highly recommend you to book the fast boat with Ekajaya, and we can share the contact details with you if you like. You can choose to book the fast boat separately, or to book the complete trip from the place where you stay in Bali to Kuta Lombok. In the last case, a shuttle bus brings you from Senggigi / Bangsal to Kuta. The drive takes again about 1,5 hour (from Senggigi) or about 2 hours (from Bangsal). If you do prefer to arrange a private car we happily find a driver for you.
In Padangbai you take the ferry to Lembar harbour. The ferry can take up to 6 hours and is a time-consuming journey. We only recommend you to take the ferry if you are planning to bring a car or motorbike to Lombok, as it will take your whole day. In addition, from Lembar harbour there is not always a shuttle bus or taxi leaving to Kuta as this route is mainly being taken by people with their own vehicles. The drive from Lembar to Kuta takes 1,5 hour. Currently this ferry operates every 1,5 - 2,5 hours. Departure times are 6:30, 9:00, 11:30, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 18:00, 19:30, 21:30, 22:30 and continues during the night. Please make sure you are at at the harbour at least 30 minutes in advance as you need to buy a ticket too. The price for the trip depends whether you bring a vehicle or not and the type of vehicle (passenger only/motorbike/vehicle above 500CC e.g. car).
Coming from Gili Trawangan, Gili Air or Gili Meno
In the Gili islands you can book your whole trip to Kuta, Lombok. You can choose to use the public ferry (leaving every hour: 'boat leaves when full') or the fast boat (departure time depends on the company you book with). The boat brings you to the harbour of Bangsal, where a shuttle bus awaits you to bring you to Kuta, or where you can get a taxi to Kuta. If you like to book your transport in advance feel free to contact us, so we can help you to arrange a driver. The drive from Bangsal to Kuta takes about 2 hours.
Yes, of course we can! The airport is about 30 minutes driving from Kuta, and we are happy to organise a pick up for you. Therefor we need to know your name, time of arrival and flight number. An airport pick up costs IDR 175.000, which you can pay to the driver directly.
The transportation is limited. The best way to go around and to explore is to rent a car, motorcycle or bicycle, or to get a driver who brings you somewhere. Public transportation mainly exists in main towns and public taxi’s may only operate in certain areas - Kuta is not one of them. Please also note that the roads in Lombok can sometimes be tricky to drive on, since a lot of them are ‘zig-zags’ or carved around valleys. If you don’t feel comfortable to drive yourself, we advise you to hire a driver. We can always help you finding one!
