We have all fallen in love with Sumbawa (Lakey Peak) – it has the feeling of the Bali of old and took me back to my first trip to Bali in 1984.
We fly from Denpasar with Melpati Airlines to Bema Sumbowa, or you could use Garuda Airlines. You can only take 3 boards each into Sumbowa, be careful with the size of your Board bags as they have a limit of how many they will take due to weight. We paid 250,000 for 5 boards each way. Then you have to pay 30,000 per person tax each way and the return transfer to Aman Gati is $100 per car. My suggestion is to get to the airport not 1, but 2 hours prior to departure to ensure your boards go with you. You don’t want to have booked a 5 day stay and your boards turn up on day 3. It didn’t happen to us ,but did to other Aussie travellers.
We stayed at Aman Gati Hotel, (book online) right on the beach at Lakey. If travelling with the family or teens, this is the best spot to stay. Rooms start at $60, includes breakfast and are basic, but clean. Or the Blue house, which is my pick for next trip right on the beach and is self contained. There is a variety of accommodation levels. Aman Gati has a pool, but be prepared to sometimes share it with the locals as they pay security 5000 / 50 cents to use it, mainly on a Sunday. The rest of the accommodation at Lakey is basic.
The village of Lakey is basically the beach front, Warungs are scattered along the beach and offer some of the best food I have ever eaten. My favourite being Lakey Beach Inn, owned by a French man. The staff are wonderful and the Mexican food was just the best. It’s happy hour here most nights at 6.30pm. At 7am every morning the Lakey staff film the surfers at whatever break is the fav of the day, at 7pm that night it is screened so you can see yourself surfing, the kids just loved it.
Fatimas was great and has a pool table. Purma was quaint for a quick bite to eat and Bulumba was also a favourite lunch spot and had a small supermarket. The food at Aman Gati was also very very good and we enjoyed many pool side lunches here. A lot of people book the 5 day package to Aman Gati. I have been asked more than once since our return, was there enough for me to do whilst the family was surfing. The answer is Yes. I took this opportunity to really relax, I did my morning exercises in the pool then basically read a book.
As we only stayed for 5 days this trip but plan the next to stay longer I look forward to doing the Don Poo Markets, Japanese Caves, Hot Springs and a Boat trip.
Surfing with 10 breaks to choose from. It cost 50,000 $5 to get a motobike ride out to these breaks, or negotiate a price for 5 days. Yes, you can hire bikes but it is common knowledge in Lakey that one scratch and you will be paying the bike off. The locals who drive you to the breaks also look after your gear. Don’t take any valuables with you, if you do take a camera – get them to take some photos.
Breaks include – Cobblestones (left and right), Lakey Pike, Lakey Peak, Numgas, Perascopes Left, Perascopes Right, Nunga Doros.
