During the Lombok loop, discover the beautiful green island of Lombok on your motorbike. You will find hundreds of beautiful rice fields, palm trees and forests. The roads on Lombok are great, making driving around easy to do. Discover all the beauty of this island with this Lombok loop, which takes you on a road trip on Lombok in 4 or 5 days.
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We ourselves took Kuta Lombok as our starting and ending point. From Kuta we then made a few more trips. This is very convenient because you do not have to carry your large backpack / suitcase (which is not very easy on the motorbike). You can just leave it at your accommodation in Kuta Lombok. You then only take a small daypack with clothes with you on the road, and you can throw some more in space beneath the seat. Want to follow a travel itinerary Lombok right away? Then you can also choose to make the two- or three-day hike to the Rinjani volcano during this motorbike tour of Lombok.
Day 1 of the Lombok loop: from Kuta Lombok to Tetebatu
The first day of the road trip on Lombok starts early in Kuta. Enjoy a delicious breakfast at Milk or Munchies, because the next 4 days you will only eat local food ;). Get on your motorbike around 09:00 and drive 20 minutes to the first stop: Sade Village. This is a local village, completely set up for tourists. In front of the entrance, you are met by a guide, who charges a ridiculously high amount (100K) for a tour. Oh well, the locals deserve it….
The guide will take you inside and show you the narrow “streets. Along the way, you will be updated on the origins of the village and its activities. Everywhere you see women making sarongs (and trying to sell them), displaying souvenirs or even selling paintings. To be perfectly honest, we found it felt a bit like a tourist trap with the crowds and all the stuff being sold, but that’s our personal opinion. If you haven’t seen many local villages in Indonesia it might be interesting to visit Sade Village.
After this, you drive to Tetebatu in one take. The drive is not much fun, as you drive mostly on the main road where cars try to overtake you and exhaust fumes get in your face. After an hour you drive into the green surroundings: hello Tetebatu!
Tip: book an overnight stay in Tetebatu at Serenity Lodge Tetebatu where you can do a super fun cooking class. In addition, Serenity Lodge Tetebatu is also rated with a 9.9! Starting at €12 per night. In addition, Myhome – Lombok is also a fantastic accommodation with a delicious homemade dinner every night!
Wherever you look, everywhere you see rice fields and palm trees. This is the reason you want to go to Tetebatu! In the late morning, you’ll check into your accommodation or drop off your gear: time to drive around and have a nice lunch at a Warung. When you’ve seen enough, drive back to your accommodation to relax by the pool. What a wonderful day already! At the same time you arrange a guide for the hike you will do tomorrow. You can easily arrange this at your accommodation, or send Eddy a message yourself via WhatsApp: +62 823 3950 7806. In the evening, have a nice dinner at Warung Monkey Forest or Rumah Daun Homestay and Restaurant and then go to bed early. An intensive day awaits tomorrow.
Day 2: Tetebatu
Today you will start early again. Around 08:00 your guide will pick you up at your accommodation and let’s begin the beautiful hike! The first 2 hours you will pass local villages and enter local houses. You will see how the coffee beans are roasted and then ground by hand. You will also get an inside look at exactly how coconut oil is made (spoiler: very labor intensive by a very strong woman).
After these fun stops, where the guide also talks a lot about local life, it’s time to walk some more. You hike through the beautiful green surroundings where you enjoy fantastic views. After a while you arrive at the Air Terjun Sarang Walet waterfall, which is located in a cave. After your visit, with a well-deserved coffee break, you continue walking across rice fields and through forests.
Finally, after nother long hike, you will arrive at the Monkey Forest of Tetebatu. Here live a number of black langur families, beautiful monkeys. From quite close you can see them sitting and playing, so beautiful! Next, you have lunch at a Warung and walk back to your accommodation. At 15:00 you relax by the pool with tired legs. This was really a fantastic day!
Day 3: from Tetebatu to Senaru
Today is scheduled for 2.5 hours of ddriving. The first half hour you ride on a dirt road. Here many children stand by the side of the road ready to wave and high-five at you. There are hardly any tourists here so they are very excited.
After that, you soon drive into the mountains. This is a beautiful route, where you’ll probably want to stop a few times to take pictures. On the other side of the mountain, you quickly descend until you reach the town of Sembalun. Sembalun is known for 2 things: strawberries and the start of the Mount Rinjani hike. Of course, you must stop here to taste the fresh strawberries, which are delicious.
Optionally, you can also spend the night in Sembalun, but then you will have to drive an hour longer tomorrow on your last day. It just depends on your needs. If you have more than 4 days it is definitely advisable to stay overnight in Sembalun because you can hike to Pergasingan Hill early the next day. Rautani Sembalun is a great recommendation to stay overnight: a beautiful room, nice owner and you even get to pick some strawberries yourself.
Only have 4 days to spare? Then drive on to Senaru today and spend a night there. If you really want to treat yourself in Senaru then the accommodation Rinjani Lodge is fantastic. Want to be a little more on budget? Then Rinjani Lighthouse is also a very good option.
Day 4: Senaru to Kuta Lombok: visit the Sengang Gile and the Tiu Kelep waterfall
In Senaru in Lombok there are 2 beautiful waterfalls: the Sendang Gile Waterfall and the Tiu Kelep Waterfall. Entrance to both waterfalls costs 20K (€1.10) per person. From the entrance, you descend for 10 minutes until you arrive at the first waterfall, which is the Sendang Gile Waterfall. Here you can see the water falling through the green vegetation of the rock, which looks spectacular.
If you want to continue from Sendang Gile waterfall to Tiu Kelep waterfall, walk back a bit and turn left at the sign. From here you will walk a beautiful route through the forest and through small streams, so it is wise to wear sandals or flip-flops here. After fifteen minutes you will arrive at the Tiu Kelep Waterfall. The most impressive waterfall on Lombok!
You can feel the power of the water as you enjoy this magnificent natural wonder from a distance. In addition, if you are not claustrophobic, you can raft on a tire through the tunnels. Just remember not to linger too long at the Tiu Kelep waterfall, as you still have to drive back to Kuta Lombok for 3 hours today. Leave Senaru no later than 1 pm to be back in Kuta Lombok in time.
The road from Senaru to Kuta Lombok is very good. You drive the first hour on a wide road along the sea, the second hour on some narrower one-lane roads and the last hour from Mataram to Kuta Lombok a big part on the highway. This sounds scary, but with your motorbike – which is actually a motorcycle because it has 125cc – you can drive just fine here. The roads are generally not that busy, and the asphalt is excellent. Just be aware that without a motorcycle license, you are usually not insured. Read more about renting a scooter in Asia and the risks here.
After these busy but beautiful days, enjoy some rest in Kuta Lombok. Go surfing and eat at one of the many nice restaurants. After this you can travel on to the Gili Islands, Bali or go with the beautiful Komodo tour in 4 days from Lombok to Flores. A must-do during your trip in Indonesia! Read all our blogs about Indonesia for more inspiration. Have fun!
