Lombok is an island full of crazy adventures only an hour flight away from Bali. I visited amazing waterfalls, trekked Mount Rinjani and explored the south coast near Kuta Lombok. I’ve been lucky enough to adventure on Lombok in three separate visits now and have even led an adventure tour of 10 travelers around the island.
I know all of the best places and the logistics about how to reach them all in the right order and with what transport. If you have 4 days to a week scheduled on the island this will be a great Lombok Itinerary to base your adventures from.
In this Lombok itinerary blog post, I will first detail the day-by-day itinerary of what I recommend. Then below that, I will give you detailed information about each activity and location I have listed in the itinerary. That way you can determine if there are any locations you would prefer to skip or some you might decide you simply cannot miss. I’ll also add in some accommodation recommendations for your trip along the way like the places I stayed in Senaru in the north and more.
Lombok Itinerary
DAY 1: Arrive at the airport or port and drive straight to Senaru, which is a mountain village in the north. The best way is to rent a car or hire a taxi at the port or airport. If you make it up there just after lunch that is perfect timing, you will have time to go explore Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep Waterfall.
These two waterfalls are just a short walk from most of the accommodations in Senaru and are both beautiful spots in the Lombok Jungle. It’s a great way to kick off your Lombok Itinerary.
Activities: Sendang Gile, Tiu Kelep Waterfall
Where to stay: Blue Mountain Cottage – Budget (but also value): This is where I stayed. Blue Mountain Cottage was somewhere we just randomly booked but it turned out being really good for a few reasons. The room was very basic but it was comfortable enough with a (once again) basic private bathroom. The accommodation had a restaurant attached, which is always handy and the food was tasty and very cheap.
The location of this place was awesome. You could walk to Tiu Kelep and Sendang Gile waterfall entrance in about ten minutes. We also based ourselves here when we hiked Mount Rinjani. They let us leave our stuff in their office and looked after it. We also booked our Mount Rinjani trekking tour through Blue Mountain Cottage.
DAY 2 & 3: It’s time to start early and get your hiking boots on because Mount Rinjani is the main attraction of Lombok. At 3,726m the summit is an incredible and difficult journey but so rewarding. There are several ways to hike Mount Rinjani and depending on which route is open and which you decide to hike it can take anyway from 2 full days to 4 full days.
Personally, I would choose to do the Hike to the summit and Senaru Crater Rim Camp. This way you get to see it all. If the summit isn’t open then just Senaru Crater Rim. I’ll have all the details about each below the itinerary section of this blog post where I go into depth about each activity.
Options:
Hike to the summit 2 day/1night
Hike just to Senaru Crater Rim 2 day 1/night (Still with views inside the crater)
Hike to the summit + Senaru Crater Rim Camp 3 days/ 2 nights
Hike to the summit + Hot springs and lake + Senaru Crater Rim Camp 4 days/ 3 nights
Where to stay: Tents, food provided as part of your trek fee.
Activity: Hike Mount Rinjani
DAY 4
Your legs are probably pretty sore from hiking Mount Rinjani. Suck it up there’s more to see. Wake up at around 3 am and drive to Senaru on a bike or with your tour guide to the base of Pergasingan Hill. You will then trek to the top of Pergasingan Hill for sunrise, which in my opinion is the best sunrise on Lombok.
I’ve camped up there and you can do that for sure but with just four or five days on Lombok that can chew up a bit of your time. After you get down from Pergasingan Hill don’t head back to Senaru. Continue on down towards the east and make your way to Benang Stokel waterfalls. For just $5 per person, you get entry into a region that has five different waterfalls and they are all massive and truly incredible.
There is even a cliff jump spot here but the depth always changes so be sure to check that first. After Benang Stokel, it is probably the late afternoon. Make your way the final hour down south to your accommodation so you are ready for a few final adventures in the next day or so. The south is a chill coastal area with lots of cafes, bars and restaurants and a surf culture.
Where to stay: Martas Windows – Value/Luxury: This place is incredibly beautiful. Bungalow-style villas surround the modern pool at this amazing property. I love the high roofs in the bungalow villas and how they have made it luxury but with the bamboo vibe. For less than $65 a night you can get yourself what would cost hundreds of dollars in most other countries at Martas Windows.
Boogie Hostel Kuta Lombok – Budget: The Boogie Hostel is everything you ask for in a hostel. It’s super modern and clean, has lots of chill spaces as well as lockers for your gear and blinds for privacy at your dorm. It is just a really relaxing vibe for travelers and only costs $7 a night… with breakfast included.
Activities: Pergasingan Hill Trek for sunrise and Benang Stokel Waterfalls
DAY 5
Day five is a bit of a mixed bag. There are tons of things to do down south and it really depends how many days you have left. If you just have one day left you may want to go surfing and hang out at the beach. If you have multiple days left you can rent a bike and visit some of the cool beaches nearby. There is also a very fun island-hopping trip to the ‘Secret Gili’s’ that I did while based in the south so that is something to consider as well.
Basically, you just need to decide which beach you want to go to and if you will surf, scuba, island-hop or just chill out at the cafes. Make sure you spend sunset at Bukit Merese or as it’s also known ‘Sunset Hill’. It is very close to the hotels in Kuta Lombok and the best viewing spot for sunset over the ocean while you sit on the hilly outcrops.
I’ll list a few options below with the rest of the activity details.
Where to stay: Martas Windows – Value/Luxury: This place is incredibly beautiful. Bungalow-style villas surround the modern pool at this amazing property. I love the high roofs in the bungalow villas and how they have made it luxury but with the bamboo vibe. For less than $65 a night you can get yourself what would cost hundreds of dollars in most other countries at Martas Windows.
Boogie Hostel Kuta Lombok – Budget: The Boogie Hostel is everything you ask for in a hostel. It’s super modern and clean, has lots of chill spaces as well as lockers for your gear and blinds for privacy at your dorm. It is just a really relaxing vibe for travelers and only costs $7 a night… with breakfast included.
Activities: Island-hopping to the Secret Gilis, beach hopping, surfing, scuba-diving
That is the end of the itinerary for five days on Lombok. It’s an adventure and quite tiring but you can always remove a hike or a waterfall to make it less extreme. That is just how I would use five days on Lombok to see the best spots in a short amount of time. I would actually advise two weeks on Lombok to see most of the cool spots at a decent pace.
Below I will post a little a paragraph about each of the activities I have suggested in the Lombok itinerary above so that you can get a better idea about what each trek, island hopping and waterfall is like. Each of the paragraphs has a link to the full blog post I have written about each area. If you do want to see ALL of the things to do on Lombok you can check out my detailed guide: 22 AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN LOMBOK
If you are looking into where exactly you want to stay in each of the regions you visit, I created an in-depth guide with recommendations based on my own personal experience about accommodation options on Lombok that you can check out here: WHERE TO STAY ON LOMBOK: NORTH OR SOUTH REGION
HOW TO GET FROM BALI TO LOMBOK
Senaru is in the North of Lombok. This is a small town most trekkers base themselves in before and after their trekking adventures. I arrived in Lombok via ferry and headed straight north with three other friends. You have a few options from the dock to get to Senaru.
Our taxi cost 400,000 rupiah or $34 USD and wasn’t too bad to split but you could also rent a motorbike at the dock. The airport is further south and the taxi cost our friend 500,000 rupiah to make it up to Senaru.
Book your ferry online now: Ferry from Bali to Lombok
HOW MANY DAYS DO YOU NEED IN LOMBOK
You could honestly spend a month here and not have seen half of the waterfalls or hidden beaches. However, most travelers don’t have a full month on their hands. I stayed on Lombok for ten days and managed to fit in all of the adventures you can find below. The main things to consider is the different regions of Lombok.
I spent time in the north where you will find some awesome waterfalls and base yourself when you trek Mount Rinjani. I then spent a day in central Lombok checking our rice field viewpoints and waterfalls but suggest at least two days for these activities. Finally, if you end up in the south anywhere from three days to a week would be a great amount of time to get a moped and explore up and down the coast. My suggested minimum time to explore Lombok is ten days but three to four weeks would be ideal.
LOMBOK TOURIST SPOTS AND ACTIVITIES
Sendang Gile Waterfall
Sendang Gile was an unexpected addition to our plans. We knew we wanted to visit Tiu Kelep waterfall but on the way discovered that the trail actually takes you to another waterfall. Sendang Gile was an incredible attraction in its own right although it will probably always be outshone by Tiu Kelep, which is around the corner.
Sendang Gile is an epic two-tiered waterfall that booms down into a shallow river. It was definitely one of my favorite, unexpected things to do in Lombok.
Tiu Kelep Waterfall
Tiu Kelep is the most famous waterfall on Lombok. From Sendang Gile you follow the river for fifteen minutes, often walking through the water and making several crossings along the way. You will arrive in an incredible amphitheater with mist blowing everywhere. It is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been and definitely up there with my favorite things to do on Lombok.
Waterfalls pour out of the wall and then a huge diagonal gushing flow pours down with extreme force over the top of them all. Be careful swimming beneath the falls as some people have gotten into trouble being sucked into the extreme pull of the waterfall impact zone.
Organize a tour: Visit both Tiu Kelep Waterfall and Sendang Gile Waterfall on a short trekking tour (Don’t worry this isn’t a long trek). This tour is a great way to see the best attractions the north of Lombok has to offer. You can really pack a lot into one day with the help of your local guide. Click Here to book the top-rated north Lombok tour by booking online.
Book your tour: Trekking tour of Tiu Kelep Waterfall and Sendang Gile Waterfall
Click Here: to read the full blog post about Senaru Sunrise, Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep.
Trekking up Pergasingan Hill
Pergasingan Hill is an epic viewpoint at the top of a steep 1-hour trail in the north of Lombok. The trail is suitable for most hikers and offers some of the best views in all of Lombok! It is best done for sunrise or sunset and you can even camp at the top with the help of a trekking guide.
Pergasingan Hill is in Sembalun, which is right near Mount Rinjani. In fact, you pass by the launch-off spot for the Mount Rinjani Trek and the big volcano looms in the background on the other side of the valley throughout the Pergasingan Hill Trek. It’s important to note that the local name for this trek is called Bukit Pergasingan, which means Pergansingan Hill.
The trek up Pergasingan Hill takes about 1-hour but it was halfway up that the light flowed into the valley and the conditions were just prime. Fog covered the farm fields and base of the mountains while the morning light created beautiful shadows in the creases of the sharp ridges on the mountains in the distance.
Contact Rinjani Dawn Adventures: If you would love to get in touch with Rinjani Dawn Adventures about trekking Pergasingan Hill or other hikes in Lombok you can do so by clicking through to their booking page here.
Full Blog post: TREKKING PERGASINGAN HILL IN NORTH LOMBOK
Camping on Pergasingan Hill
When I camped on Pergasingan Hill, I came from the backway in a small village and instead of an hour up, it took 2.5 hours to wind our way around the ridge. You will only find this private access point at the back of houses with tour guides.
The porters carried the tents, food, water, equipment and we carried our personal belongings much like on Mount Rinjani. At the summit, the guides set up the camp and cooked the food. It is luxury camping and didn’t we know it. It was great though as it gave us time to enjoy the views and explore a bit.
We had a bonfire at night and an epic sunrise in the morning. If you do have the time to camp here it is a great place for an overnight stay. There are lots of little areas to explore and an awesome experience. My first hike was great but camping was 10x better.
Full blog post: TREKKING & CAMPING ON PERGASINGAN HILL IN NORTH LOMBOK
Mount Rinjani Trek
Trekking Mount Rinjani was one of the most epic journeys of the year for me! We endured three days and two nights led by our guide and two porters to the summit of Mount Rinjani, an incredible 3,726 meters.
Mount Rinjani trekking opens from April until January. After January the rainy season kicks in and Mount Rinjani trekking can get quite dangerous. April and May are the quietest months of the year for trekking and actually, have some of the best views as the landscape is incredibly green. The best time to climb Mount Rinjani would be in May to enjoy the best views and quieter crowds.
Trekking Mount Rinjani is a pretty enduring few day. Camping in tents, carrying your gear and walking for up to 15 hours a day means this is for the adventurous souls out there. It was also one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had on my travels and one of the most epic things to do on Lombok.
We had porters to carry the supplies, tents, water, and food. This is standard procedure. We paid $100 USD for 2 nights and 3 days including all meals and gear.
Click Here: to read my full review about Trekking up Mount Rinjani with my mates
Jorden created this vlog from our journey up to the summit of Mount Rinjani!
Camping on Senaru Crater Rim
During the earthquakes and often during variable weather, hiking to the summit of Mount Rinjani is closed. However, the Senaru Crater Rim hike is usually open. It is very safe with no real drop-offs. You walk up through the jungle on a mostly shaded trail. It is incredibly steep and a real leg-burner. The hike to the crater rim takes about 6-8 hours.
When you arrive at the campsite for the night, you are right on the rim of the volcano crater. So you essentially see everything you would from the summit anyway… from just a little lower. You can see all the way into the crater, out over the horizon to Mt Agung and you are above the clouds for sunset.
If you want a shorter hike than a 3 or 4-day expedition or not up to heading all the way to the summit. Hiking Senaru Crater Rim is a great option but be warned, it will still destroy your legs.
Bengang Stokel and Kelambu Waterfalls
After the sunrise at Bukit Selong (mentioned above), we drove south, eventually ending up in Central Lombok after a 2.5-hour journey. Our end goal was to visit Benang Stokel Waterfall. What we didn’t know about Benang Stokel Waterfall was that there are actually five waterfalls.
You will need to do a bit of negotiating. The locals quickly grab you and lead you into the office and try and lock you into a guided tour for 80,000 rupiah or $7 USD. The board at the entrance say 30,000 rupiah entry fee which is just over $2 USD.
In the end, we managed to let them head in for just the entry fee to their disappointment. You will definitely not need a guide to visit all the falls but if you prefer one it isn’t too expensive, just a few dollars extra.
Organize a tour: Visit both Benang Stokel and Kelambu Waterfall on a short trekking tour. This tour is a great way to see the best attractions in central Lombok. You can really pack a lot into one day with the help of your local guide. Click Here to book the top-rated north Lombok tour by booking online.
Book your tour: Benang Stokel and Kelambu Waterfall day tour
Click Here: to read the full blog post about Benang Stokel and Kelambu Waterfall
Once inside you will only have to walk for about 15 minutes until you reach Benang Stokel Waterfall. It’s actually three beautiful waterfalls flowing down into a shallow pool. Around the corner is the jump spot, where you can find an 11-meter jump, which landed in a canyon.
The last spot we visited was Kelambu Waterfall which is a huge wall of vines and greenery with multiple cascades spread throughout the wall. It’s one of the most magical sites and makes you feel lost in the wild.
Sunset Point Kuta Lombok – Bukit Merese Hill
We had heard about Bukit Merese Hill and decided to jump on the moped from town and make the 15-minute journey out to the hill. When we arrived we had to pay $1 to bring the moped inside and then parked at the bottom of the hill. You can grab a water, a coconut or a beer in the parking lot before beginning the climb.
Be sure to walk all the way to the headland and sit out on the edge with views down the coast in both directions. We laid out here, took some photos and marveled at the endless ocean as the sky turned a fiery red.
The next day we decided we had to see the sunset hill point in the daylight. The beaches had looked insane during the sunset the night before. Our predictions were correct and Bukit Merese Hill was even more impressive in the morning sunlight.
Each time we topped another hill a whole new cove would appear. There was not a single tourist around and we explored the hills and the coves as if it were in the middle of nowhere, despite being only 15 minutes drive from Kuta Lombok town.
Click Here: to read the full blog post about this sunset spot and why you should go back during the day!
Paragliding
On our Project, Lombok trip was lucky enough to get to try Paragliding up on Prabu Hill. The view from the hill itself was incredible and that only got better once we were in the air. I had never done paragliding before but in case you don’t know what it is, you essentially sit in a harness attached to the guide/professional!
You do a little jog down the hill and then the wind picks up your sail/parachute and all of a sudden you are in the air. It’s not a high adrenaline activity and is actually quite relaxing as you float up and down the coast with great views.
Compared to skydiving, bungee, and other adrenaline activities this one is actually great for the whole family. If you want to inquire about making a booking you can contact our guides on Whatsapp: +62 823 4083 2043 or Instagram: @dodiparagliding
Tanjung Aan Beach
Lombok was extremely quiet when we visited during November, and that was no exception when we went for lunch at Tanjung Aan Beach. Mango smoothies and Nasi Goreng were on the menu as we enjoyed the entire beach, restaurant and sun beds to ourselves. It’s not often you pay $3 for lunch and get your own private beach.
Pantai Bilasayak – The Tower
Our crew jumped on the mopeds and powered towards Pantai Bilasayak. It was a solid drive from Kuta Lombok maybe more than an hour! However, we wanted to check out a tower on the coast we had heard about. What we didn’t know was that it was $10 entry because it is inside an environmental park. As it was almost sunset we managed to convince the guard to let all four of us in for $10.
The beach was once again entirely empty and we parked the mopeds and began heading along the coast. From the beach, you can see the tower and all it takes is a 10-minute trek up the hill along some epic cliff faces. The tower is rusted, pretty tall and would definitely fall into the sketchy category. Right up my alley.
From the top of the tower, we had views up and down the whole coast. Even from the top, we couldn’t see a single person in any direction. Be careful if you think one of the things to do in Lombok you want to give a crack as it is a bit of a sketchy activity.
Mawi Beach
Mawi Beach is one of the most popular surf spots on the island. Bamboo huts line the beach, keeping surfers cool in the shade in between sessions. The waves weren’t huge on the day we went but big enough for a few of the surfers to catch some nice rides.
This is a beach you can hang out all day at. You can buy lunch, coconuts, and snacks in between surfs and swims although the prices are a little bit more expensive than Kuta Lombok as it is a bit more isolated. If you are a surfer this is one of the best things to do in Lombok for you!
Secret Gilis Island Hopping Tour
When you hear about ‘The Gilis’, an immediate reaction is to think about the three popular islands Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. These three islands have become popular snorkeling, party and relaxation spots – a getaway from the over-crowded Bali. However, there are more Gili’s than you know. In fact, there are 26 different Gili’s near Lombok.
While on Lombok, I did the ‘Secret Gili’s’ tour. While the islands are far from secret they are beautiful and a something new to explore with great marine life, tiny sandbars and a lunch-stop on the shore of a remote island.
Full blog post: THE SECRET GILIS ISLAND HOPPING TOUR IN LOMBOK
Tom
Saturday 13th of July 2019
Great blog mate! Doing a simulair trip and Got a lot of inspiration and information from you like Lombok, Bromo, waterfalls around Malang! Thanks a lot. Just question: we want to do Mount Rinjani and thinking also of booking it with blue cottage, but what did you pay for that tour if I may ask.