Lombok · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Cheaper than Bali, emptier than the Gilis, and built around a scooter and a surfboard.
Kuta Lombok
The south-coast surf village is where the hostels are — a single strip of dorms, warungs and board hire, with the beaches a short ride away.
What a day costs
Dorm 100,000–220,000 IDR, warung food 50,000–120,000 IDR, scooter 70,000–90,000 IDR a day. Around 220,000–430,000 IDR, roughly 14–27 USD.
Getting around cheap
A scooter is close to essential — public bemos are patchy. The Damri bus links the airport to Kuta and Mataram, and fast boats to Bali and the Gilis leave from Bangsal and Teluk Nare.
Free by day
Bukit Merese at sunset, the white sand at Tanjung Aan, the crescent bay at Selong Belanak, and the Sasak villages inland.
Kuta Lombok's main strip
One road of warungs and surf bars where the whole village eats after sunset; hostels run shared dinners and dawn surf runs from here.