We run two charter boats and they are genuinely different trips. This is the honest comparison, including the parts that might send you to the other one.
The quick version
Ombak Kabau is the bigger, more sociable, better-value boat: up to ten guests in air-conditioned bunks. Odyssey Mentawai is a 46ft catamaran for up to eight, with en-suite cabins, a much flatter ride and a professional surfer on board. Both run eleven nights and ten surf days, both are all-inclusive, and both roam the whole archipelago following the swell.
Side by side
- Guests: Ombak Kabau up to 10. Odyssey Mentawai up to 8.
- Sleeping: Ombak Kabau has ten air-conditioned single bunks, two of which convert to doubles, and two shared bathrooms. Odyssey Mentawai has two double deluxe cabins and two singles, every one en-suite.
- Ride: Ombak Kabau is a mono-hull and rolls at anchor the way mono-hulls do. Odyssey Mentawai is a catamaran and sits noticeably flatter, at anchor and on the crossing.
- Guiding: Both have crew who know these waters. Odyssey Mentawai carries a professional surfer full-time who calls the sessions and works on your surfing.
- Deck space: Ombak Kabau has a large covered upper deck and a rooftop lounge. Odyssey Mentawai has a shaded back deck, a cool saloon and bean bags on the bow.
- Tenders: Ombak Kabau runs two, so a bigger group can split across two breaks.
- Range: Identical. Both cover the full Mentawai chain, the Tello Islands and the northern route to the Hinako Islands off Nias for Asu and Bawa.
Take Ombak Kabau if
You have a bigger crew, or you are happy to share a boat with a few others and make friends by day two. Ten bunks and two tenders means a group of mates can travel together without splitting across boats, and if half of you want the heavy right while the others want the mellow left, the second tender makes that possible.
It is also the better-value way onto the water, and it is the more sociable boat. The rooftop lounge at sunset with a cold Bintang and ten people retelling the same wave is a large part of why people rebook. If a bunk and a shared bathroom is not something you will lose sleep over, this is a lot of trip for the money.
Take Odyssey Mentawai if
Comfort and sleep matter to you, or you are travelling as a couple. En-suite cabins mean privacy and no queue in the morning, and the catamaran hull makes the biggest single difference to how you feel after a week: less roll at anchor, an easier overnight crossing, and better recovery between three-session days. If you have ever been seasick on a boat trip, this is the one.
The surf pro is the other reason. Having someone aboard who reads the reef, calls the tide and watches your surfing every day is worth real money if you are trying to push your level rather than just clock waves. With eight guests instead of ten, the line-up is quieter as well.
Where people get it wrong
Two mistakes we see. The first is booking the bigger boat purely on price when someone in the group gets seasick, which turns a dream trip into a long eleven nights. The second is assuming the smaller boat surfs better waves. It does not. Both boats go to the same reefs and follow the same forecast. The difference is how you live between sessions, not where you surf.
Not sure a boat is right at all?
Plenty of people are better served on land, especially mixed groups and anyone travelling with non-surfers. If that might be you, read surf charter or surf camp before you decide, or look at our camps. We would rather you took the right trip than the one with the better photos.