Ekas Bay, Lombok: Waves, Getting There and Quiet Places to Stay

22 October 202631 October 2026

“Where exactly is Ekas in Lombok, and how do you get there?” “Is there anything to do if you do not surf?” “Should you stay in Kuta or near Ekas itself?” Search for Ekas Bay and you mostly find surf spot write-ups and booking-site lists of hotels. It is hard to find one place that compares the ways in, and the ways to stay.

In short, Ekas Bay is a large inlet in southeast Lombok, and there are two ways to reach it: cross by boat from Awang harbour on the west shore, or drive the long way round the bay. Most surfers stay in Kuta Lombok and come over by boat from Awang for the day. Staying on the east shore, on the Ekas side, puts you close to the waves and away from the crowds, but there are few shops or facilities and every trip takes time.

This article is based only on sources we could open and read: surf guides, Indonesian news reports, a university study and the Ministry of Tourism’s tourism village database (Jadesta). We could not confirm any lodging near Ekas on an official website, so we do not give hotel names or prices. Instead we describe the types of stay and what to check before you book. It is written for people staying in south Lombok who are thinking about a day trip to Ekas, or a few nights there.

As of October 2026

What this article covers

✓Where Ekas Bay is, and how the west and east shores differ
✓Crossing by boat from Awang harbour versus driving round the bay
✓The character of the waves, including Inside and Outside, and the seasons
✓Choosing between a day trip from Kuta and staying on the Ekas side
✓Quiet things to do if you do not surf, and what to know before you go

In short

If the waves are all you want, the usual choice is to stay in Kuta Lombok and take a boat across from Awang harbour for the day. If you want a few quiet days close to the waves, stay on the east shore, on the Ekas side. There are few shops or facilities there and little official information about the lodgings, so ask the lodging directly about transport, meals and payment before you book (October 2026).

Contents

Where is Ekas Bay?

Ekas Bay is an inlet towards the eastern end of Lombok’s south coast. English-language surf guides call it Ekas Bay and Indonesians call it Teluk Ekas, but some sources call the whole bay Awang Bay (Teluk Awang). The Surf Atlas places Ekas on the eastern side of Awang Bay and says the bay is about four miles (about 6.4 km) across at its widest, and that Ekas is roughly eight miles (about 13 km) east of Kuta Lombok.

The two shores belong to different regencies. Awang harbour, on the west shore, is a fishing port in Desa Mertak, Pujut District, Central Lombok (a February 2021 news report posted by the NTB office of Indonesia’s Audit Board). The Ekas side, on the east shore, is in Jerowaru District, East Lombok. A 2018 study by researchers from Universitas Mataram says the village of Ekas Buana was split off from neighbouring Pemongkong in 2011.

According to the same study, the village beach (Pantai Surga) is bound up with fishing, and the study counts about 50 floating huts used to raise grouper and shrimp. Think of Ekas not as a tourist town but as a fishing village and fish-farming bay that happens to have waves.

East of Ekas Bay is the Ekas peninsula, home to the Pink Beach (Tangsi Beach) covered in our Pink Beach guide.

How do you get there: by boat or by road?

There are two main ways. The first is to cross by boat from Awang harbour on the west shore, which most day-tripping surfers do. Our Lombok surf spots guide gives about 40 minutes by car from Kuta Lombok to Awang harbour, then about 30 minutes by boat. The Surf Atlas puts the total, road plus boat, at about an hour. Allow some leeway, as times depend on the road and the sea.

The Surf Atlas describes Awang harbour as a non-commercial port used mainly by local fishermen. In early 2023 it was in poor repair, but boats were still easy to arrange. Surf Indonesia also says you will have no problem finding a boat and captain there. We could not confirm an official boat fare. Before you get on, agree the return fare, how long the boat will wait and where to meet for the trip back.

The second is to drive round the bay to the east shore. Surf Indonesia and Wave Explorers both describe it as a long drive round, used by people staying on the east shore or taking a boat out from the beach there. We found no source giving the driving time from Kuta to the Ekas side. As a rough guide, our Pink Beach guide puts Tangsi Beach, beyond Ekas at the far end of the peninsula, at about 55 km by road from Kuta, or 1.5 to 2.5 hours one way.

Figure: Two ways to Ekas Bay (order of travel, not a map)

Figure based on our surf spots and Pink Beach guides, The Surf Atlas, Surf Indonesia and Wave Explorers (October 2026). Times vary with road and sea conditions.

We could not confirm any public transport. Either way, you will need to arrange a car or a scooter. Surf Indonesia suggests hiring one if you are staying for a while. As detikBali reports, some roads have little street lighting, so if you go by road, plan to arrive while it is still light.

What are the waves like, and when is the season?

The best-known waves in Ekas Bay are Inside, within the bay, and Outside, which breaks under the cliffs at the mouth of the bay. Both are reef breaks.

Inside breaks both left and right. Wave Explorers says the right is steep and runs for more than 100 m, while the left is mellower and longer, running into the channel. Views on difficulty differ: Surf Indonesia rates it for beginners, The Surf Atlas for intermediates. The Surf Atlas also says it needs at least 2 to 3 feet of swell to work well.

Outside breaks under high cliffs about 1.2 km south of Inside (The Surf Atlas says about 4,000 feet) and is bigger than Inside. The Surf Atlas rates it for advanced surfers and Surf Indonesia for intermediates, and sources also disagree on whether it breaks right or left. On tides, Surf Indonesia says Inside works on all tides and Outside is best from mid to high tide, while The Surf Atlas says Inside can be surfed at low tide but does not like a very full tide.

Wave Explorers also describes Rungkang Beach (Pantai Rungkang), near Ekas village, as a beginner spot sheltered from big swells where the waves are always small. It says some of the lodgings on the Ekas side give beginner lessons there.

Figure: The main waves of Ekas Bay at a glance

Figure based on The Surf Atlas, Surf Indonesia, Wave Explorers and our surf spots guide (October 2026). Conditions change a great deal with the day’s swell and tide.

The waves are bigger in the dry season (April to October). The Surf Atlas says bigger sets arrive then and Outside can get very large, and Surf Indonesia gives April to November as the peak swell season, and Rapture Surfcamps gives May to October as the dry season. In the rainy season (November to March) the waves are smaller and softer, and The Surf Atlas says this suits beginners and intermediates, Rapture Surfcamps says beginners, better. Surf Indonesia adds that Ekas generally has surfable waves all year round.

On crowds, The Surf Atlas says the boat ride and the drive from Kuta keep numbers down, making Ekas one of the emptier breaks in south Lombok. Wave Explorers, on the other hand, notes that because so many people come for the day, there are often more people in the water than staying in the village.

Day trip from Kuta, or stay on the Ekas side?

According to Wave Explorers, most surfers visit Ekas as a day trip from Kuta. Indonesian news reports point the same way. detikBali (18 June 2025) reported that tourism operators in Jerowaru, East Lombok, complained that “plenty of guests come here to surf, but few stay the night”, and a local resort manager named poor roads and a lack of street lighting as reasons.

If you stay in Kuta and come for the day, you have far more choice of places to eat and stay, and surf schools are easy to arrange. Our surf spots guide mentions a Kuta surf school whose official website offers a full-day boat trip to Ekas. If you go every day, though, the car and boat time and costs add up. For Kuta itself, see our Kuta Lombok (Mandalika) guide.

If you stay on the Ekas side, you can spend quiet mornings and evenings close to the waves. The Surf Atlas and Surf Indonesia mention surf resorts on the Ekas side that run boats out to the waves, and a hotel with a pool on the cliffs. However, we could not confirm any of them, or their prices, on an official website, so we do not name them here. If you plan to stay, do not decide on booking-site information alone; ask the lodging directly.

The Ministry of Tourism’s Jadesta database lists Jerowaru village in East Lombok (known for mangroves and lobster farming) as a tourism village, along with homestays there (Bale Mangrove Homestay and Olat Homestay). We could not confirm the distance or travel time from Jerowaru village to the beach at Ekas.

What to ask a lodging on the Ekas side before you book

✓Whether they can take you to the waves by boat, and whether that is included in the room rate
✓Whether they offer transfers from the airport or Kuta, and roughly how long it takes
✓Whether meals are served, or there is somewhere nearby to eat
✓Whether payment is cash only, or cards are accepted
✓Power and water, mobile signal and Wi-Fi
✓Whether they can arrange board hire, lessons or kitesurfing

What can you do if you do not surf?

Ekas is not a busy resort area. That also means there are quiet ways to spend the day if you are not going in the waves. These are the ones we could confirm in our sources.

Kitesurfing: A South China Morning Post travel article (we could not confirm its date) says consistent offshore winds blow at Ekas from May to October, the dry season, and that kitesurfing schools there run multi-day courses. Wave Explorers also notes that the bay and the southern beaches are meant to be good for kiting.

Snorkelling: Wave Explorers mentions snorkelling tours to a coral garden in the middle of the bay. We could not confirm prices or how often they run. If you are not a confident swimmer, ask in advance whether you can borrow a life jacket.

Watching village life and the fish farms: The Universitas Mataram study says that on the beach at Ekas Buana you can see the floating huts, boat building, and fish being cut on the beach shelters. Surf Indonesia says you can buy fish or vegetables from locals by the water. When walking through the village, cover up and keep out of the way of the fishermen’s work.

Exploring the southern beaches and headlands: Travelfish (2020) says much of the Ekas peninsula’s south coast has white sand beaches reachable by car or motorbike. Of these, at Sungkun Beach an offshore reef keeps the big waves off the sand, but you need a 4WD in the rainy season. Wave Explorers also suggests riding a scooter round the southern beaches and headlands for the sunset. If you plan to go on to Pink Beach, check the road conditions in our Pink Beach guide. Other beaches in the south are compared in our south Lombok beaches guide.

What should you know before you go?

At Ekas, the boats and tourism businesses are split between the west shore (Central Lombok) and the east shore (East Lombok). detikBali (18 June 2025) reported that the Regent of East Lombok toured the Ekas waters by boat and told a boatman who had brought guests from Central Lombok not to bring guests to the waves unless they stayed in Jerowaru. A video of this spread widely and drew criticism from a member of the national parliament and a tourism association.

Antara (19 December 2025) reported that an integrated service post is being built at Teluk Ekas and that the management of tourism there is being tightened up. The arrangements for crossing by boat from Awang may change, so when you book a boat or a tour, ask first whether there are any separate fees or rules on the Ekas side. We could not confirm what the rules actually are.

Caution

Bring cash: We could not confirm anywhere to withdraw money near Ekas. Get what you need in Kuta or at the airport.
Buy food and gear in Kuta: Wave Explorers says there are few places to eat at Ekas and no surf shops, so buy what you need in Kuta.
Watch the reef: Our surf spots guide lists Ekas Outside among the spots where you need reef boots. The coral gets shallow as the tide drops, so check the tide table before you paddle out.
Outside on big days has strong water movement: Wave Explorers says that on bigger days there is a lot of moving water and it is easy to end up out of position. If it is your first time, do not go out alone; go with a guide.

A note from Sekotong

In Lombok, the distance on the map and the actual travel time often do not match. As we note in our Pink Beach guide, the road towards the Ekas peninsula loses its paving in places as you near the beaches, so it takes longer than the map suggests. On the day you go to Ekas, do not combine it with another area; keep to one area a day, and you will not have to rush back along dark roads. When you hire a boat, write down the return time and meeting place on paper or in a message to avoid any mix-up.

The drawbacks of Ekas Bay, and who it suits

Ekas Bay is not somewhere you just drop in on. Even by boat from Kuta it takes about an hour each way, and by road it takes longer. The Ekas side has few shops or facilities, and there is little official information about the lodgings. The waves vary a lot from day to day, and Outside is for experienced surfers. If you want shopping and places to eat, or want to cut down on travel time, staying in Kuta Lombok will suit you better.

On the other hand, Ekas is worth considering for intermediate surfers who want an uncrowded bay, people who want to practise on the softer waves of the rainy season, kitesurfers looking for dry-season wind, and anyone happy to spend quiet days watching the sea in a fishing village.

If a quiet fishing-village coast is what you are after, Sekotong, in the southwest on the other side of the island, is another option. We are Semelar Beach Village. In a fishing village in Sekotong, we run a beach cafe (SAKURA CAFE, 10:00 to 22:00, closed Mondays), a market and a beach club together with local Sasak people. The village is about 1 hour 10 minutes by car from Lombok International Airport and about 40 minutes from Lembar Port. Our 13 private villas are under construction, and the first is due to be completed in early 2027 (plan as of August 2026). What you can book now is a stay programme of 3 nights to 5 nights (Rp4,800,000 per person, about US$270, including airport transfers, transport during the stay, a guide, a welcome dinner and a massage; flights and accommodation are not included). For more on the area, see our Sekotong complete guide.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I do it as a day trip from Kuta Lombok?

Yes. Crossing by boat from Awang harbour takes about an hour in total, road plus boat (The Surf Atlas), and most surfers who visit Ekas come for the day. Driving round to the east shore takes longer, so leave early.

Q. Can beginners surf at Ekas?

Views on Inside range from beginner to intermediate, and some sources say beginners can manage it on small days or in the rainy season. Wave Explorers names Rungkang Beach, near Ekas village, as a beginner spot. Outside is for experienced surfers. If you are new, go with a surf school or guide.

Q. Is it worth going in the rainy season?

The waves are smaller and softer, which is said to suit beginners and intermediates. But unpaved roads get muddy after rain, and some beaches on the south of the Ekas peninsula need a 4WD (Travelfish). The kitesurfing wind is mainly in the dry season.

Q. Can I combine Ekas and Pink Beach?

Both are in southeast Lombok, and Pink Beach lies at the far end of the Ekas peninsula, east of Ekas Bay. The road to the end of the peninsula is rough and slow, though, so keep it separate from your surf days and plan it for a day with time to spare.

Summary

Ekas Bay is an inlet in southeast Lombok, with Awang harbour (Central Lombok) on the west shore and the Ekas side (East Lombok) on the east. You either cross by boat from Awang or drive the long way round, and most surfers come for the day from Kuta (October 2026).

The best-known waves are Inside, within the bay, and Outside, under the cliffs; they are bigger in the dry season and softer in the rainy season. Staying on the Ekas side is quiet, but there are few shops or facilities and little official information about the lodgings, so ask the lodging directly about boats, meals and payment before you book. When you hire a boat, also agree the fare and return time, and check whether any rules apply on the Ekas side.