It’s about the same size as neighbouring Bali, with the same lush green jungles, terraced rice paddies, palm-fringed beaches, volcanoes with lake-filled craters and rich indigenous culture. But unlike Bali, it’s not overburdened by traffic and tourists. Add islets and atolls that wouldn’t look out of place in the Maldives, reefs brimming with turtles, world-class surf breaks and an expanding selection of sophisticated places in which to eat, drink and stay, and you’ll begin to see why Lombok carries water as the first bona fide “new Bali”.
Where to stay
About half an hour’s drive west of Kuta, ground zero of tourism development on Lombok, is a quiet coastal village set on a hill with breathtaking views of Selong Belanak Bay and its reef. There are half a dozen small hotels and villas set on the hill, though no other can hold a candle to Segara Lombok, according to Australian hotelier Steven Moloney, who got married there earlier this year.
“It’s a very small boutique hotel with a chill atmosphere, a special spot with only 10 bungalows made from natural materials like wood, river stones and alang-alang [thatch] roofs, with outdoor bathrooms,” says Moloney, who runs his own boutique property, Rascals, in Kuta. “They are full most of the time, so if you want to stay there in high season, you’ll need to book months in advance.”
