Who has made the trip? Was it truly worth all the extra time, expenses, planning, effort, etc. (compared to a trip to Central America)? Did it live up to your expectations, after I assume many years of fantasizing about it? Did you score the best waves of your life? Did the crowds ruin everything? Will I regret it if I don't go while I'm relatively young (32 right now)? Eager to hear any thoughts or stories...

United Airlines' miles system (and Star Alliance) makes super-long trips feasible. I went to South Africa last August and was lately checking Denpasar. Right now, for early April, they can book you for 88K miles round trip (that's what Europe would cost in summer) or a bit under $1000 cash. Orlando-Denpasar tends to be 35 hours. It should be feasible to go via the Pacific one way and the Atlantic the other, just so you can claim to have done the circle. Routes are mostly via Bangkok, which is about the same distance from Florida both ways by air.

Flights can also be booked to Jakarta but then it looks like you have to book to south Sumatra separately (cheap).

Considering that Central America is a lot closer and it's sometimes possible to find flights to California on short notice, for cheap....

I'd recommend doing some travel of any kind at your age. Great beaches are as good an excuse as any. I lived 3 years in Portland, Oregon and almost always went west, not east.

You might possibly think about Australia or New Zealand. Of course the Australians go to Indo, but their country is the only one with a complete inventory of beaches, by Andrew D Short. I picked up a copy of "Beaches of the New South Wales Coast for its introduction chapters. It's about the best short textbook on beaches and waves in existence. Australia's expensive to visit, but it could be interesting to explore with one of Short's books on hand. NZ is beautiful. For a coldwater perspective, subscribe to Derek Morrison's Box of Light emails. derek@boxoflight.com

Edited: 10/07/2020 at 01:30 AM by ww

paging Matt_T...you want to share (or maybe just keep it on the DL)?

Unless you are Kelly Slater you are gonna have to wait.

'The Indonesian government couldn't reopen its doors to foreign travellers until the end of 2020 as we remain a red zone,' I Wayan Koster said in a statement. 'The situation is not conducive to allowing foreign tourists to come to Indonesia, including to Bali.'

Does this youtube channel have you daydreaming daily?

Quite possibly the best YouTube channel, especially if your a goofy footed surfer. No drama, all silence and only perfect waves!

its killing me. Its like watching the food channel on a hunger strike.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

The guy posts videos EVERY single day and the surf never ever gets terrible. I should have went when I had the opportunity. Who knows now.

Go, you can always make more $, you never get more time.

Maybe in the future...

Embassy & Consulates in Indo

There is a higher concentration of world class breaks in Indonesia than anywhere else in the world, especially in the Mentawais. I've definitely experienced the best surf of my life there and would recommend the trip to any hard core surfer. You only live once...go for it.

And do it before you get too old. Yes, you can still surf in your 50's but it is not the same as it once was, trust me.

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I was right.

It's hard to tell when things might open up. A few people might be getting vaccinations by the end of the year, fast and halfway accurate testing is coming, and might really help air travel. Thailand is hesitating about reopening to tourists, important because flights from US and Europe to Indonesia tend to go via Bangkok or Singapore.

How bout the dude that's been "stuck" there during this whole covid era.. I see random surf clips of him on Instagram living the dream!

LMAO

I was 55 and went for three weeks. Water was beautiful, spots were found with good waves nobody out, Prices were cheap. This was 13 years ago. Culture is fascinating.