Lombok
Bali’s eastern neighbour across the Wallace Line, with a volcano of more than 3,700 metres at its centre, the Gilis off one coast, Mandalika on the other and a runway long enough for any jet.
- Arrival
- Lombok International · LOP
- To the resort
- About 20 minutes to Mandalika by car
- Private jets
- 3,300 m runway, customs on site
- Best time
- June to October
The city
Across the strait from Bali.
Forty kilometres of open water separate Lombok from Bali, and the strait marks the Wallace Line, where Asian fauna gives way to Australasian. Most islanders are Sasak. The south coast runs in white-sand bays from Kuta, where the Mandalika resort area follows the shore for some eight kilometres; the north-west looks out to the three small Gilis.
Rain shapes the year more than heat, which stays at 30 or 31 °C. From June to October Mataram sees under 100 mm a month, with the sea at 27 to 28 °C. The wet season peaks in January, at more than 300 mm.
Arriving
One runway, both kinds of traffic.
Lombok International lies near Praya in the centre-south of the island, some 27 km from Mataram and about twenty minutes from Mandalika. Its runway was lengthened from 2,750 to 3,300 metres in 2021 and 2022, and it is an airport of entry with customs on site.
- Jakarta 1 h 45
- Singapore 2 h 40
- Ho Chi Minh City 3 h 30
- Hong Kong 4 h 50
- Dubai 10 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
June to October.
With 30 to 31 °C in every month, the rain decides. The dry months run from June to October, driest in August; November brings the first heavy rain, and January is the wettest month.
- 30° J 317 28°
- 30° F 254 29°
- 31° M 206 28°
- 31° A 105 29°
- 31° M 101 29°
- 30° J 51 28°
- 30° J 48 27°
- 31° A 34 27°
- 31° S 36 27°
- 31° O 95 28°
- 31° N 150 29°
- 31° D 219 29°
What to see and do
Days in and around Lombok.
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Landmark
Mount Rinjani
Indonesia’s second-highest volcano, with the crater lake of Segara Anak inside its caldera and a national park around it since 1997.
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Landmark
The Gili Islands
Trawangan, Meno and Air, three low islands off the north-west, reached by boat from Bangsal or Teluk Nare.
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Landmark
Kuta and Mandalika
The southern bays, left almost untouched until the international airport opened inland.
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Racing & sport
Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit
Host of MotoGP and World Superbike rounds, the track opens to the public for passenger laps, bike sessions, drift karting and guided visits.
Official site -
Culture
Sade village
Sasak families still live in the bamboo and thatch houses of this village near Kuta, where they weave cloth and show visitors their traditions.
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Culture
Taman Narmada
King Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Karangasem laid out this water garden in 1727, its lake modelled on Segara Anak, with the Shiva temple of Pura Kalasa.
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Culture
Pura Lingsar
Hindus and Wetu Telu Sasak share this temple of 1714 around a sacred spring, and fight the rice cake battle of Perang Topat here each year.
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On the water
Gili Nanggu
Boats from Lembar harbour cross to this small island off the south-west coast for snorkelling and diving.
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On the water
Selong Belanak
With gentle waves along a wide bay, Selong Belanak suits beginners and experienced surfers, and has lessons and boards for hire on the sand.
Where to stay
From Medana to Mandalika.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- The Oberoi Beach Resort, Lombok Thatched pavilions and walled villas on a 24-acre estate with 550 metres of beach, an hour and three-quarters by road from the airport.
- Pullman Lombok Merujani Mandalika Beach Resort Two hundred and fifty-seven rooms in buildings modelled on Sasak shelters, twenty minutes from the runway.
- Hotel Tugu Lombok Thirty-six rooms in a Majapahit-era setting, with a temple some two centuries old in the grounds and one MICHELIN Key.
- Innit Lombok Seven villas raised on stilts after the Sasak granary, a private beach of 300 metres and one MICHELIN Key.
Where to dine
Dinner on the north-west coast.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Indonesia. These are the evening restaurants of The Oberoi and of its neighbour, The Lombok Lodge, at Medana.
- Lumbung Restaurant Signature restaurant, The Oberoi Beach Resort, Lombok Indonesian, Indian and Western The Oberoi, Medana Bay
- Flavors Signature restaurant, The Lombok Lodge International and Asian, set menus The Lombok Lodge, Medana, next to The Oberoi
Elsewhere in Indonesia
More reasons to come.
- Ubud Rice terraces and temples in the hills of Bali.
- Uluwatu Villas on the cliffs above the surf, in the south of Bali.
- Jakarta A sprawling capital of towers, and Java's old port of Batavia.
- Labuan Bajo The gateway to Komodo, its dragons and its islands, best seen from a boat.
- Sumba A wilder island of grasslands and long empty beaches.
Flying to Lombok?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.