The Mentawai Islands sit roughly 100 kilometres off the west coast of Sumatra, out in the open Indian Ocean. Getting there takes a flight and a boat, but it is far simpler than it sounds, and we handle the moving parts for you.
Step one: fly to Padang
Every Mentawai surf trip starts in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. Its airport (Minangkabau International, code PDG) is the gateway to the islands. There is no airport in the Mentawais that you can fly into on a normal ticket, so however you arrive in Indonesia, Padang is where the trip really begins.
Almost everyone routes through a hub first. The busiest approaches into Padang are from Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, with Batam a distant third. From Jakarta the flight is roughly an hour and a half and there are several a day, flown by the usual domestic carriers: Lion Air, Citilink, Super Air Jet, Batik Air and Garuda.
If you would rather not transit Indonesia domestically, Kuala Lumpur is the one international city with a direct flight into Padang, currently served by AirAsia, Batik Air and Super Air Jet. For a lot of surfers coming from Australia or Europe that is the cleanest routing, because it puts you in Padang without an internal Indonesian connection.
Give yourself a night in Padang rather than connecting tight. Boats and ferries leave early in the morning, and a delayed domestic flight is the single most common way people lose the first day of a trip. Flying in the day before costs one hotel night and removes the whole problem.
Coming from Bali
This is worth spelling out, because a lot of people assume the two are connected. There is no direct flight from Bali to Padang, and none to the Mentawais at all. Every routing from Denpasar goes through Jakarta: roughly one hour forty five to Jakarta, then about an hour and a half on to Padang.
There is a trap in that connection worth knowing about. Jakarta has two airports, Soekarno-Hatta (CGK) and Halim Perdanakusuma (HLP), and some itineraries land you at one and depart from the other. Crossing the city between them with board bags, in Jakarta traffic, is not something to attempt on a short connection. Check that both legs use the same airport before you book, and if they do not, build in a lot more time than the booking site suggests.
Step two: Padang to the islands
From Padang there are two ways across, and which one you take depends on whether you have booked a charter or a camp.
On a live-aboard charter
If you are aboard the Ombak Kabau or the Odyssey Mentawai catamaran, the boat itself is your ride out. You board in Padang and make the overnight crossing while you sleep, waking up already anchored in the islands, often beside the first wave of the trip. It is the single best thing about a Mentawai surf charter: no separate ferry, no wasted day, just a bed and a lineup at dawn.
To a land-based camp: the Mentawai Fast
If you are staying at Sunset Surf Villas, you cross on the Mentawai Fast ferry from Padang to Tuapejat on Sipora, which takes somewhere around three to four hours depending on conditions. From the ferry terminal it is a short boat transfer to the villa.
The thing to understand about the Mentawai Fast is that it does not run daily. It operates roughly three times a week, and which days it runs genuinely changes. Services also pause around Eid al-Fitr, and historically tickets have been sold at the terminal rather than reliably online. This is why we do not print a timetable here: any schedule published on a website like this one is out of date within a season, and we would rather you had the right information than a tidy-looking table.
In practice this is the part you do not need to solve. We confirm the current sailing days against your dates, book the tickets and arrange the transfer at both ends. Your trip is planned around the ferry that is actually running, not the one a website says should be.
The slow ferry, if you are travelling independently
There is a cheaper way across that is worth knowing about even though it is not how our guests travel. The government operator ASDP runs overnight roro ferries, currently the KMP Ambu-Ambu and KMP Gambolo, alternating between routes from Padang to Tuapejat, Siberut, Sikabaluan and Sikakap.
These are slow boats. The crossing can run to twelve hours or more, they sail only a couple of times a week per route, and the schedules shift. For a surfer on a fixed trip they are rarely the right call, because a missed sailing can cost you two days rather than a morning. For independent travellers with loose plans and a tight budget, they do the job and they are a fraction of the cost.
Getting to Jenny's in Krui, South Sumatra
Jenny's Bamboo Surfcamp is not in the Mentawais proper but on the Krui coast of South Sumatra, and it is reached differently. You fly to Bandar Lampung rather than Padang, and from there a camp taxi drives you up the coast to Krui. It is an easy, scenic transfer, and again, we arrange it.
Practical things worth knowing
- Visas: Most nationalities can enter Indonesia on a visa on arrival or an e-visa. Check the current rules for your passport before you fly.
- Boards: Bring your own quiver and check it through as sports baggage. A sturdy board bag is essential for the transfers.
- The Mentawai surf tax: A regional levy applies to surfing in the Mentawais. It is a modest, separate cost we will explain when you book.
- Travel insurance: Non-negotiable for a remote surf trip. Make sure surfing and medical evacuation are covered.
- Cash: The islands are remote with limited card facilities, so bring enough rupiah for extras.
We handle the logistics
The maze of flights, ferries and transfers is exactly the part we take off your plate. Once you land in Sumatra, the airport pickups, the crossing and every boat ride are arranged, so the only thing you carry is your board bag. Tell us your arrival details and we will map the whole journey for you. When you are ready, start an enquiry and we will take it from there.