North, Siberut
The Playgrounds
Short paddles, plenty of options and the friendliest waves in the chain. Where most first trips start.
Read the area guideDestinations & routes
Where a Mentawai surf trip actually goes
The chain runs roughly 150 km off West Sumatra. Trips work zone by zone, following swell direction and wind rather than a fixed sightseeing list.
- Main islands
- 4
- Surf zones
- 4
- Nights per route
- 10–14
- Padang crossing
- 3–4h
The zones
Four zones, four kinds of trip
Most itineraries move between two or three of these, depending on what the swell is doing that week.
How routes are built
The forecast writes the itinerary
A route is a plan, not a timetable. Swell direction decides which side of the islands works, wind decides the hour, and tide decides whether a reef is surfable at all.
On a charter the boat moves overnight. From a land camp, the same logic plays out in day trips: the guide picks the break in the morning, not the week before.
- Swell
- Indian Ocean, south-west
- Wind
- Best in the early hours
- Tide
- Decides which reefs are on
- Moves
- Usually overnight, by boat
A typical trip
Ten nights, start to finish
The shape most trips take, whichever zone the swell sends you to.
Leave a buffer night in Padang before an international flight: the crossing is weather-dependent and seas do not negotiate.
Route questions
Getting around the islands
What people ask once they start plotting a route.
All questionsReady when you are
Get a route for your dates
Send your dates and your level, and we will suggest the zones that suit them, on land or on a boat.