Kuta Beach – Lombok

Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach runs a close second to Gili Trawangan as a party, nightlife and general place to be.

Gemini says – “Kuta has evolved from a sleepy fishing village into a burgeoning tourist hub. For centuries, it was a quiet enclave shaped by the indigenous Sasak people, largely off the radar. However, following Bali’s rise as a global hotspot, Kuta began its gradual emergence, now becoming the main focus of tourism development on the island.

Surfers, from beginners to pros, flock here for the consistent waves, with numerous surf schools and rental shops and a general ‘surf’ vibe around town. Also, the proximity to 4 different surf spots within half an hour drive on the scooter makes.

So far Kuta has managed to retain much of its original charm. Visitors can explore nearby traditional Sasak villages to glimpse into local culture, enjoy fresh seafood at beachside warungs, and unwind in a setting that feels reminiscent of Bali decades ago. This blend of natural allure, active pursuits, and cultural immersion is precisely what draws a growing number of travelers to Kuta Beach Lombok.“

I’ve editing it slightly, but that’s a basic and fairly accurate description of the main Kuta Beach area.

Sasak Village

I went here one afternoon on the scooter after having visited the beach.

You don’t have to pay a specific entry fee, but they do ask for a ‘donation’. For that, depending on what time you arrive, you can get to watch a performance such as the one below, where the participants dress up in authentic gear and fight with authentic wooden swords!

After a few warm up fights, they got into it and really started whacking each other!

There was a winner and the crowd were encouraged to join in.

I managed to sit in on this display. Afterwards you can visit the many shops selling wares at different levels of authenticity.

I bought some coffee. It came from the hills beyond the village, (maybe). There was a lot more textiles and metal, pottery etc they were actually producing in situ.

Prices were variable depending on how hard you wanted to bargain and how much you wanted the item.

Tajuun Aan Beach

I also went to one of the beaches, the most popular one in the Kuta region, it’s called Tajuun Aan beach. It was really clean. The sea was warm. There were plenty of places to grab a drink or some food and relax on a sunlounger or beanbag. If you didn’t want to pay, you could just put your beach towel down on the beach, and there were plenty of people just doing that.

Tajuun Aan also has fairly good surf and there were many learners out in the waves practising their moves.

Whilst driving down to the beach, there were these wild bison on the side of the road. I say wild although, I think they were escorted by a herder.

Bukit Seger

For sunset, I went to Bukit Seger which is a headland overlooking the main beaches and bay area that make up Kuta Beach.

It was fairly steep climb up to the cliff and a bit windy. You could pay 20,000rp to stand on the more touristy area, but I really didn’t see that there was any value in doing that, having done that on a separate night. You’re better not paying. Better value and better view just going from the highest point, which is free.

Here’s the pictures I took from the highest point,

Bars, clubs and eating out in Kuta Beach

Kuta beach is packed with all variety of places to eat, drink, play games, listen to live music, watch telly or bop the night away. Whatever floats your boat, you’re likely to find it here.

Crowd is fairly mixed, young or young looking. Lot’s of surf types and general beach bods and holiday makers.

During the early part of the evening, I would walk around to see if there were any offers on. That might be a particular food offer, or a happy hour with free drinks with food or whatever. Just walk around and get a feel for where was popular and what was available.

Often, the guys would come out from whatever eatery and try and pitch you their wares. When buying fresh fish, this is useful as you’ll get prices on weight and the best products need to be a matter of judgement for you on the condition of the fish and how heavy it is and what price they’re going to offer you.

Other places you’re often just looking at what they’re trying to sell you most, it may be Indonesian, or it may be western or Asian food. Having a look at how many people are in there and the general condition of the place, if the punters look happy and what the prices are like for food and drinks. After a couple of weeks in Bali and Lombok, you’ll be getting a general feel for how much things should cost. Any big variations and you’re going to be asking yourself why? and is this worth it? what extra am I getting.

So the early part of the evening I’d spend scouting around, and if I didn’t know already, finding out what I might want to eat that night and where.

The main places to eat in Kuta beach are all in kind of an L shape, or maybe a bit like a golf club.

There are many bars.

On Saturday and Thurday, the Rasta Bar Reborn is open. In Kuta, that’s probably the main place to get down and party. It’s very big, mostly outdoors or under thatched roofs. They have a fire eater that comes out at around 9.30 to whip the crowds up and get people excited. After that they have a reggae band on, then the DJ takes over and plays a load of dance tunes into the early hours.

It’s pretty good.

Here’s a video.

Other good bars might be Stupid Boss bar opposite Blue Marlin Dive.

Surf lessons

Surfing makes up a big part of what goes on in daytime activities in Kuta. I’d done some surfing whilst I was in Byron Bay in Australia. That was about 2001. So. A long time ago.

I paid about £20 to go for a mornings worth of surfing tuition here in Kuta at beginner level.

We went to another beach Mawun Beach, me and 3 other German girls.

We had to go down on our own scooters, which took around 25 minutes down windy jungle roads, sometimes through the rice paddies, up and down hills…

When we got to the beach, there were a lot of people learning to surf. Before we went out, our instructor gave us our boards and buoyancy aids and did a little practice about what was going to happen.

You basically have to paddle yourself out on the board, turn yourself around, wait for a wave… get a bit of momentum, then jump up onto the board and ride down the wave! What could be simpler, (at 52 years old)?

The girls got the hang of it fairly quickly. I however, was not so quick to recollect my own surf experiences in Australia.

After a while trying to hop up onto the board when the wave came, I felt something go pop under my ribs! It didn’t really hurt badly, more of an ache. But definitely a pain, like a sprain.

A bit of a waste of money really. I just hung out on the beach and watched the other surfers. Still, it was nice enough and I didn’t fell bad about having tried.

Next – Rinjani

I was concerned not to do any serious injury as in the coming days, I would be making the hike up mount Rinjani.

This is Lombok’s highest mountain at around 3,720 metres as well as being partially an active volcano.

By all accounts, it’s not an easy ride, and not something I wanted to jepardise by overdoing it practising my surf skills.