You have probably heard about Kuta Beach in Bali, but did you know there is also a Kuta on the neighbor island Lombok? Kuta Lombok is the less developed town compared to its famous namesake, with a much more laid back vibe. It is a coastal town in the southern part of Lombok, known for its stunning beaches and excellent surf spots. As Lombok is not as explored as Bali, people choosing to go here are more travelers than tourists, looking for a more relaxed setting. Personally I love this, and Kuta Lombok has one of the best backpacking communities I’ve ever experienced. Also, its geographical location is perfect, allowing you to explore Lombok’s top things to do, everything with Kuta Lombok as your base.
An introduction to Kuta Lombok
I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t that impressed when arriving to Kuta Lombok. The town is built up around a long main street where you’ll find most of the restaurants and shops. This road is where all the traffic is and is therefore not so picturesque and cosy. At the far end of this road you’ll find Kuta Beach and the hostels and hotels are located on side streets running from the main street. The thing about Kuta Lombok is the vibe.
This town grew in my eyes the more time I spent here. First of all, I got to experience the most incredible backpacking community. Kuta Lombok was, compared to many destinations in Bali, not so popular amongst families and tourists in general. Instead, this is where the younger crowd goes on their backpacking trips, to surf and experience Lombok. What makes Kuta Lombok even more special is that its location is the best for exploring what southern Lombok offers. In the surrounding areas you will find the most beautiful waterfalls, white sand beaches and sunset spots. I am therefore below presenting the top things to do in southern Lombok, which can all be done with Kuta Lombok as your base.
Top things to do in and around Kuta Lombok
Explore Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu waterfalls
Two of the most beautiful waterfalls in Lombok are Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu, and what is so great about them is that they are just a short walk from each other.
When you visit these waterfalls, you need to pay an entrance fee. Here you’ll also get the option to pay for a guide. Even though it’s not mandatory to bring a guide, I really recommend you do. I talked to the people working there what they recommended and they were completely honest with that they wanted you to pay for a guide to support the local community and the people living there, since they don’t earn that much. And it cost around 50 000 IDR ($3) which is practically nothing. So support the community, please!
The guide will take you on a walk for about 10 minutes to the first waterfall, Benang Stokel. Here you get to take some pictures and walk out on some rocks to the actual waterfall if you want to.
If you then keep walking for about 20 minutes you will reach the second waterfall, Benang Kelambu. If you want to swim in the waterfall you can do so here, but it’s important to remember that since Lombok is Muslim you are not allowed to wear a bikini. Our guide brought sarongs to us that we could wrap ourselves in before heading into the cascading water.
Surf, surf and surf
Surfing is one of the top things to do around Kuta Lombok and the destination therefore attracts surfers on all levels of expertise. If you don’t know how to surf or want to do lessons, there are several surf schools with their base in Kuta Lombok. I did three intermediate lessons with Heartbeach Lombok Surf School. Some of the most popular breaks around Kuta Lombok are Tanjung Aan, Gerupuk and Are Guling.
Sunset at Merese Hill
Merese Hill, or Bukit Merese, is not only one of the best sunset spots around Kuta Lombok, it is one of the best sunset spots on the entire Lombok island. Locals call this Merisik, which means bare hill. The reason for this is that Merese Hill is completely bare with no trees. The cliffs that make up Merese Hill stretches up to 30 – 50 meters above sea level, giving the people going there an amazing view of the Kuta Lombok bay and the sunset.
We had our driver take us here, parking below the hills. Then we started walking our way up and was met by some ladies selling Bintang beers in coolers. Of course we couldn’t say no to that. With one bottle each we kept climbing up the hills and picked our spot for the sunset. We brought a small speaker to listen to some nice music while opening our beers and watching the sun go down. This place is quite famous in the area so we were not alone, although we had space to ourselves since the hills are so big. It was such a lovely vibe to see all these people taking their scooters and cars to go to this place about 15 minutes from Kuta Lombok, just to watch the sunset. Make sure to not miss a sunset here because this is definitely one of the top things to do around Kuta Lombok.
Secret Gili’s snorkeling tour
Did you know there are some Gili Islands called ”the Secret Gili’s”? These islands are located on the southwestern side of Lombok island and exploring these and going snorkeling is a perfect day trip from Kuta Lombok. It takes about 1.5 hours to get to the harbour from where the little boat departs. The boat ride itself doesn’t take very long. While out at sea we explored three different Gili islands where we snorkeled around the first and the last, and had lunch on the second. We went with Adventure Divers Lombok and I can really recommend them.
Explore Semeti Beach and Mawi Beach
Hop on your scooter and head west because it’s time to explore some of Lombok’s most beautiful and unique beaches. I, together with two guys I met at my hostel did a beach exploring afternoon. It was probably the best afternoon I had while in Lombok. Driving to these beaches is a bit of an adventure. At first you just drive along a normal, paved road for about 20 minutes and with about 2 km left, you turn left on to a gravel road. Even though it’s a relatively short distance left to the beaches, the drive takes about 25 minutes due to the roads being mainly dirt, forcing you to go at low speed. I loved it though, it was such a fun experience (for me who was a passenger princess on the back of a scooter, my friend driving was a bit more nervous).
There will be signs pointing you to Semeti Beach, which will be your first stop. Semeti Beach is a beautiful secluded beach with some rock formations you can climb. Except for some fishermen on these rocks we had the beach entirely to ourselves. This one was a favorite. Dramatic surroundings, kind of reminding about Hawaii scenery.
When you are feeling like continuing to the next beach, you go back for a bit on the gravel road but instead of turning right to head towards the main road, you turn left. You then only need to drive for around 2 minutes before reaching Mawi Beach.
Mawi Beach is divided into two sections. You will arrive to the smaller section. Here there are a few sunbeds and a spot where you can buy fresh coconuts. The other section is hiding behind some cliffs on the right side (facing the ocean). There is a path taking you to this part of Mawi Beach and here it’s completely empty.
Have a beach day at Tanjung Aan or Selong Belanak
Tanjung Aan and Selong Belanak are the two most famous beaches in Lombok and these two are a little bit more developed compared to for example Semeti and Mawi. There are a few restaurants and beach bars along these beaches, making them the perfect destination to spend a few hours tanning and swimming in the turquoise water.
Dance in the sand at the beach bars
There are two beach bars in Kuta Lombok, Rasta Bar and Surfers, taking turn every other day to host the evening party. This is where the town meet at night to dance in the sand. Fridays and Saturdays are the biggest party days and these days the bars usually bring live bands to play the music. I had so much fun in both of these bars, kicking the flipflops off and busting some moves on the dancefloor – which is the beach.
Stay in Gili Air for a few days
The three most famous Gili islands – Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno – are located on the northwest side of the Lombok island. If going to Lombok, staying for a few days in one of these islands is a must. Gili Air is my favorite. It’s a small island with no cars, turquoise water, beautiful beaches and a relaxing vibe. You will find the ultimate guide to Gili Air here.
Head to Seger Beach
Seger Beach is one of the closest beaches to Kuta Lombok, but still one of the less visited. I don’t know why, but it’s good because you will have a lot of space to yourself. It takes about 10 minutes to drive to Seger Beach from Kuta Lombok. You will have to park your scooter or car on a gravel parking lot and walk for about 5 – 10 minutes before reaching the beach. First you’ll have to cross a bridge, then walk up the hill and on the other side of the hill you’ll see the beach. Don’t be surprised if you meet some free walking cows on the way, or maybe even some chickens. There is one beach bar at Seger Beach but otherwise this is a bit remote. If you’re an advanced surfer, the waves here are pretty good!
Try the Kuta Lombok restaurant supply
Even though Kuta Lombok is not as developed as many towns in the neighbor island Bali, there is a large and fun mix of trendy restaurants and local warungs. It’s therefore an experience itself to try as many as possible.
Best restaurants in Kuta Lombok
Below are some of my favorite places to eat in Lombok.
Jiang Nan – This is a Chinese restaurant and my favorite place to eat in Kuta Lombok. I actually went here twice during my stay. The food is absolutely amazing with so much flavor and spices.
Cantina Mexicana – Cantina Mexicana serves some of the best tacos in town. But mainly you head here to get the Latin vibes, with reggaeton music bustling. They sometimes have theme days with special offers. When I went it was buy one margarita and get one taco for free.
Fish Bones – This is a warung, meaning serving typical Indonesian food. What makes Fish Bones special is that they also serve grilled fish. You walk up to the fish table and pick a one of the fishes from the catch of the day and they will grill it up for you.
Mama Pizza – The best pizza in town. Mama Pizza is a concept and they have multiple restaurants, for exampel another one in Gili Air.
KRNK – KRNK focuses on burgers and pizza and is a perfect shack for a dinner with a vibe and easy going atmosphere.
The Mexican in Town – This is the more relaxed Mexican place in Lombok, still serving excellent tacos though.
El Bazar – El Bazar is a Mediterranean restaurant that focuses on smaller dishes and shared dining. The restaurant is really beautiful, but this is also one of the more expensive ones in Kuta Lombok.
Milk Espresso – Milk Espresso is a popular brunch spot and I can highly recommend their smoothie bowls.
Bush Radio – Bush Radio is one of the vibiest brunch spots in Kuta Lombok. I can highly recommend their wraps, they’re amazing.
Terra – Focusing on plant-based food, Terra is an excellent lunch spot. I had a noodle soup here with coconut milk.
How to get around in Lombok
To make the most out of your stay in Lombok it’s advised to rent a scooter. Compared to Bali, the supply of Grab and Gojek is highly limited. You might be able to get a Grab in downtown Kuta Lombok, but as soon as you head outside of town, there are none.
If you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable driving by yourself you can do like me and either ride with some friends (sneaky, right?). You can also book a private driver for your exploring days. Me and two other girls hired a private driver for an entire day taking us to two waterfalls, a beach and a sunset spot and we paid 300 000 IDR ($19) each, that including tip. His name was Hasyim and he has his own transportation firm which you can find here. He also drove me to the airport when I was leaving Lombok.
While in the town of Kuta Lombok, you can easily get around by foot.
Where to stay in Kuta Lombok
For the budget traveler or backpacker, there are multiple hostels to very reasonable prices. Two really good hostels that I can recommend are Botchan Hostel and Kaniu Capsule Hostel.
It is important to know that since Lombok in general is not as developed as Bali, the standards are not as good. Bad water pressure in some showers and flushing in toilets is common, and a steaming hot shower might not be possible at all times.
There are some nice hotels to stay in as well in Kuta Lombok, one of the best being Sima Hotel, located on the main street.
