Surf breaks

Surfing is also a popular water activity in Indonesia and the sites are recognised as world class.The well-known spots are mostly located on the southern, Indian Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, the large oceanic surf breaks on southern Java. However, the north coast does not receive the same surf from the Java Sea. Surf breaks can be found all the way along Sumatra, down to Nusa Tenggara, including Aceh, Bali, Banten, Java, Lombok, the Mentawai Islands, and Sumbawa. Although Indonesia has many world-class surfing spots, the majority of surfers are came from abroad, especially Australia and United States. However, the seed of local surfing enthusiast began develop in Bali and West Java's Pelabuhan Ratu and Pangandaran beach, mostly came from nearby cities of Jakarta and Bandung. On Bali, there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali including four on the offshore island of Nusa Lembongan. In Sumbawa, Hu'u and Lakey Beach in Cempi Bay is popular surfing spots among surfing enthusiast. Sumatra is the second island with the most number of surf spots, with 18 altogether. The common time for surfing is around May to September with the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From October to April, winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so the east coast breaks get the offshore winds.

Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the G-Land in the Bay of Grajagan, East Java, and Lagundri Bay at the southern end of Nias island. G-Land was first identified in 1972, when a surfer saw the break from the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8 foot (Hawaiian scale) waves were discovered by surfers at Lagundri Bay in 1975, the island has become famous for surfing worldwide.