Staring out to sea from the Malaka Hill lookout in Lombok, you can just see the faint outline of Bali way in the distance. From this point, the west coast of Lombok and the east coast of Bali are about 60km apart, but in terms of the experience, the term ‘worlds apart’ comes to mind.

Bali is beloved – and busy – for its sandy beaches, packed clubs and bars, robust restaurants, hectic markets, luxurious resorts and mountain high ancient culture. All of which are lovely but dodging the crowds can often take some effort.

Take all that down a few notches, and you have Lombok. While Bali attracts over five million foreign visitors a year, Lombok instead welcomes about a million. But that looks set to change in the coming years, with investment in the development at an all-time high and travel operators predicting Lombok’s tourism is about boom.

Which means now is the time to visit before Lombok becomes a heaving tourist hot spot. Here’s eight of the best reasons to put Lombok on the 2024 agenda. 

1. The Beaches

Being an island, there’s no shortage of beaches to choose from. In the west, there’s the palm lined Pandanan Beach and the aqua waters of Pinah and Senggigi beaches. To the south, there’s Tanjung Aan, which some guidebooks insist is one of Lombok’s most picturesque, the wide sands of Central Beach Mandalika while Kuta Beach is acclaimed for its great surf. Pink Beach, with its pink-tinged sands and coral, is picture-perfect. 

2. Kuta Lombok & Senggigi

Senggigi and Kuta Lombok are happening little towns, with a colourful range of cafes, bars, boutique hotels, good shopping and a happy vibe. The Peppino Restaurant in the Sima Hotel at Kuta is worth a visit for the Mie Goreng Seafood plate while the main tourist hub of Senggigi is especially popular for live music at the beachside bars.

3. The Waterfalls

Go chasing waterfalls here, with two of the best being Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu, located almost in the centre of Lombok. From the main carpark, motorcycle guides take the steep, winding journey to Benang Kelambu, with the magical sight of the water seeming to fall out of the rockface and forest greenery into cool pools below. Easier to access is the Benang Sekotel, a level walk to see the falls pouring out of a curve in a cliff into a shallow pool. 

4. Narmada Park

Back in 1727, the elderly King could no longer make the journey high into the hills to his favourite temple, so he had the area and the temple recreated as a water park closer to home. The Narmada Park is today one of the largest historical areas in Lombok, with hectares of lavish gardens. Near the main pond is a place of worship and a spring whose water is believed to give eternal youth. 

5. Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit

An indication things are changing on Lombok was the 2021 opening of this international motorcycle racing track, which has already hosted the Superbike World Championships and the Grand Prix MotoGP races. At 4.3 km long, the track is impressive and attracts thousands to the big events. There’s more to come here, with new hotels and other tourist attractions also on the drawing board. 

6. The Gili Meno Statues

Diving off a boat to go snorkelling and being confronted by 48 life-size statues of couples in a circle on the ocean floor is both beautiful and eerie. The underwater circular Gil Meno Statues, put into place in 2017, is meant to evoke time and continuum, but they also have a practical eco-purpose by providing a platform for marine life to colonise, and in time, create a new reef.

7. Gili Islands

If turquoise waters, white sands, swaying palm trees and stunning ocean views is your thing, then hop on a ferry for the short ride to the three Gili Islands – Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. Gili Trawangan is the party island with its range of hotels, restaurants and bars, with Gili Air loved by honeymooners and travellers wanting something a little more sedate. Keep an eye out for wartime shipwrecks, as well as a population of sea turtles.

8. Staying Luxe

The Aussie dollar goes a long way on Lombok, so it’s easy to enjoy luxury without busting the budget. The Kayana Beach Resort at Pantai Kecinan, with its beachfront villas complete with plunge pools and ocean views from every room, added to a restaurant atop a headland, starts from $183 per night in February. The beachfront Pullman Lombok Merujani Mandalika bills itself as ‘one of the most stylish hotels in all Lombok’. Only a year old, the hotel still has a shiny and new quality, with a range of villas a luxury upgrade. Rates start from $126 per night.

Image via Instagram (@thekayanabeachlombok)

Getting There

The stumbling block with Lombok is there’s no direct route – not yet anyway. Scoot flies from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth into Singapore, then with a connecting flight to Lombok. Alternately, fly into Bali and then it’s a 45 minute connecting flight, or take a speedboat from Bali’s Padang Bai Port to Lombok’s Bangsal wharf, taking about 90 minutes.

The writer travelled as a guest of Scoot, Kayana Beach Resort and the Pullman Lombok Merujani Mandalika Hotel.