Overview

Most avid surfers won't even need to read this section, as the Mentawai Islands are to surfers, what paints are to an artist.....  an absolute necessity.  Any surfer who's read a surf mag or watched a surf video will undoubtably have drooled over something from the Mentawai.

The Mentawai Islands are a chain of about seventy islands and islets off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. There are 4 main islands and the rest are small islets.  The islands lie approximately 150 kilometres off the Sumatran coast and are widely known as the KING of surf destinations. They span about 160 kilometres and encompass thousands of wave possibilities, but the 49 named breaks are some of the most famous waves in the world. The islands are fringed with coral barrier reefs which get pounded with swell from the Indian Ocean that infiltrates the little passages, bays, inlets and points to supply waves to each area.

Considered the most consistent area of surf in the world, the Mentawai can get surf year round, but is best from March to November. 

The most popular way to surf the Mentawai Islands is by charter boat, but there are also a couple of great resorts if you are a land lover or travelling with a non surfing partner. Travel to the resorts from Padang is either by overnight ferry (Ambu Ambu) or by their own private speedboats, which cost a bit more but are of much higher standard and are much faster. Boat charters generally depart Padang in the afternoon or evening of the first day and return on the morning of the last day. Most charters can be extended at an additional cost if dates and availability allow; and most boats can do charters to Nias and Telo Islands for just the cost of the fuel surcharge.

The Perfect Wave has the largest number of charter boats to choose from.  The best option is to get together a group of your mates and we have boats that can cater for groups from 5 surfers right up to 14.  Alternatively if you can’t get a group together, The Perfect Wave can match you up with other small groups or singles to make a charter.

Surf Breaks

From North to South (main surf spots):

• Burgerworld - This is a mushy pointbreak righthander. Can offer barrels at times, but usually long rippable walls with many cutback sections.
• E-Bay - This is a hollow left that barrels off the take-off with a short wall down the line. A great option when a lot of swell is hitting.
• Pit Stops - This is the right off the peak at E-Bay. A playful right that can offer some cover-ups off the take-off, but mostly a high performance wave with air sections at the end. Ends in a sandy channel.
• Bank Vaults - A heavy righthander that barrels and spits. Usually larger than most spots in the area. Watch out for clean-up sets.
• Nipussi - A shorter right that breaks down the point from Bank Vaults. Definitely fun and rippable. Usually has fairly deep water from the takeoff to the inside. Ends in a riptide that sucks all the water back out to sea. A good option when there’s not much swell, and usually the most consistent spot in the area.
• Hideaways - A very hollow left that can be very shallow at low tides. The waves come out of deep water, then unload on a shallow section of reef before barreling towards the channel.
• No Kanduis - A long barrelling left that wraps around a small island. Usually very sectiony, but can line up on the largest of swells. Many barrels on offer, but usually only makeable for one or two sections before closing out.
• Four Bobs - This is a small peak for when there is heaps of swell, or guys looking for a mellower option. Mainly a right with a short barrel off the takeoff, but quickly dies off into the channel. There’s an even shorter left, but usually not worth the effort.
• Rifles - One of the best waves in the Mentawais. A very long righthander that wraps around the other side of the same island as No Kanduis. Rarely makeable from start to finish, but even just from section to section you can get rides up to 100 yards or longer. Nice and hollow once it’s a few feet overhead, but usually more sectiony at smaller sizes.
• Icelands - Another consistent lefthander for when the swell is smaller. Usually always has some rideable surf, even when other breaks are flat.
• Telescopes - A perfect wrapping left reef. Long walls wrap around the reef with very few sections on larger days. Mostly breaks in pretty deep water, but it can get heavy and shallow on the inside on bigger days.
• Scarecrows - Breaks off of an island just south of Telescopes. Good lefts but a bit more or less predictable and shifty. It’s a short, wedgy wave that works best on a dropping high tide.
• Bintangs - A short and hollow right across the channel from Lance’s Left. As the wave approaches the reef, the bottom drops out before barreling towards the channel.
• Lance’s Left - Long left walls wrap down the point before hitting the last section, which is the main take-off area. Great hollow section after the take-off. A gun helps on the larger days.
• Hollow Trees (HT’s or Lance’s Right) - A great righthander that has been all over the surf mags and videos over the last decade. The main takeoff spot is up the point where most of the waves start barrelling and peel flawlessly down the reef. On larger swells it can be very shifty and hard to read. It can shift more to the end bowl where it can break, reform, then bowl again into the channel. The inside is very shallow and is often referred to as the “surgeon’s table” due to the many reef-cuts doled out to travelling surfers.
• Macaronis - One of the most perfect waves in the world. A very hollow wave with many shallow spots. Lefts start from way up the point, then gradually slow down as it approaches the channel. The further up the point you paddle, the faster it barrels when you take off. After the initial barrel ride, this wave offers one of the most rippable walls for any maneuvers you can think of.
• Rags Left - A great lefthander that can hold the biggest swells. It is very hollow and can often dish out some of the heaviest hold-downs in the island chain. Usually a bit more water moving around so a larger board can be useful.
• Rags Right - A shorter, hollow right on the southern end of Rags Island. Similar to HT’s only a little shorter, but just as good. It can be fickle, but it’s one of the best rights in the islands.
• Thunders - Another large left that picks up and can hold the biggest swells. It’s a top to bottom wave on the outside, that gets a bit mellower on the inside section. Another wave that usually has a lot of water moving, so a bigger board can come in handy.
• The Hole - Another very hollow left off a small island in the southern end of the Mentawais. Starts barrelling off the takeoff, but never really stops until a closeout section at the end of the reef. Definitely not a place to straighten out at.

There are quite a few more waves out in the islands that work on different swells and tides.

Season & Weather

The Mentawai Islands have consistently high temperatures and humidity, with barely any change in temperature year round due to it’s close  proximity to the Equator. The dry season is from about March to September, and the wet season is from about October to February, but even during the dry season, you will often find there are short bursts of thunderstorms, but they generally don't last long and are more often at night.

The main surf season in the Ments is from March to November.  This is when the low pressure systems off Antarctica push ground swells for thousands of miles towards the equator.  The Roaring 40's coming south-west across the Indian Ocean creates the swell that the Mentawai are directly exposed to. Even during the off season when the trade winds switch to west and north-west, you can still find some great, fun waves as the swells can still be quite regular.

The winds are variable throughout most of the year. May to September generally sees the better easterly tradewinds which work well on the main breaks.  March, April, September & October typiocally experience light winds and glassy conditions.

Water temperature is fairly constant at about 27-28C.