We are thinking of going to Bali in late october, but someone suggested that Lomboc is much nicer. They recommended the Novotel resort. Any one gone here? How was it and how exactly did you get there? Did you fly from Bali? In addition, my husband surfs. Will there be any in October, and is is accessible from land (vs a boat ride?) <BR>Thanks for your help. <BR>

We were on Lombok in November & visited a beautiful, white beach in front of the hotel. The design was in Sassak. It looked lovely from the outside. We did not go in, as we were on a day tour. We flew on a plane called Mark, guess it is a Merpati--small, well piloted. We visited a village of Sassak people & enjoyed our trip. Sorry, we don't know about the diving there, but hope this helps. Dode

Lombok is one of my favourite holiday destinations. My family and me went there several times except the last two years. <BR>First time we went there I booked the "best" hotel described in the travel book. Now we always take Indonesian run accomodation. I loved the Pondok Senggigi with the friendly staff and the nice garden although you have to cross the road to come to the beach. If you want to get into contact with Indonesian people prefer the private Indonesian hotels to the bigger hotels. <BR>We either fly from Bali by Merpati (you can fax them to book the flight in advance and pay it when you arrive at Bali)or take a direct flight By Singapore Airlines (Germany -Lombok). <BR>If you decide to land first in Bali you have to spend 1 night there. Just for spending the night and to wait for your connection flight to Lombok Poppies Cottages in Kuta is nice. <BR>Sabine

I had a friend go surf lomboc a few years back. Check here in a few days and I'll try to find our how it was.

Spent 2 months in Indonesia in '97. I don't remember Lombok as being a surfing mecca, by any means. Lombok is much quieter than the main tourist area of Kuta on Bali. My suggestion would be to go to both if you have time, BUT I would personally get out of Kuta right away. Go north even just a ways, and it is a bit more sane. We did a kind of circle of the island, with favorites being places such as Ubud (our hotel was $8US per night, including breakfast for 2 served to us on our patio), Lovina in the North of Bali, Tulamben, etc. And yes, there was a ferry service running from someplace on the East coast (have to check my notes) to Lombok but we rode bikes over to check it out, and promptly opted to fly! That said, Lombok was a great experience as well, but for more variety, Bali is great.

I've been to Bali & Lombok the past three summers. Great places. I prefer Lombok for relaxing, snorkeling, there is some surf in the southern end near Kuta (yes, Lombok has a Kuta, too) and Novotel is close to those southern surfing beaches and I stayed there in 1999. Senggigi has alot of nice hotels and the locals on the beach are easier to mingle with than at Novotel. It's poorer in the south part of the island so one is always being pursued to buy coconuts, weavings, shells, etc. on the beach as the people are desperate for income. At Sengiggi that's not been my experience. If you plan on going may I reccommend Classic Tours as a local travel agency that can handle all your arrangements. You can contact me directly for more details and input.