TELO Islands Surf Trip - Report

I have recently returned from our annual Father/Son surf trip and this year we went to the Telos Islands in West Sumatra, Indonesia. We stayed at a fantastic place called 'The Surfing Village', www.surfing-village.com and this is my basic trip report for those of you who might be interested.

Who Went

Initially it was just my Son and I but eventually there were eight of us from my home town after a few other guys heard about the trip. Ended up being five 'filthy stinkin goofies' and three 'Normals' with me being the only Stand-up surfer and the rest short boarders. I was 'Grand-Dad', being quite a bit older than the others but it was a great crew of local blokes and we all got on very well and came home as very good mates after a great shared experience.

Booking

I booked us all through 'World Surfaris', www.worldsurfaris.com and they were really great to deal with and we also booked our airfares early etc to reduce costs. 'World Surfaris' also got us 30kg checked baggage allowance which gave all of us peace of mind when it came to packing. This is the second trip we have taken with 'World Surfaris' and I would certainly recommend them. Some might argue why not go direct as it is a bit cheaper however from my experience with previous surf trips it is always good to have a reputable Travel Company like 'World Surfaris' as the go between/responsible party just in case 'Sierra Hotel India Tango' happens and you need someone back home to get you out of the relevant 'Sierra Hotel India Tango' etc.

Travel

Air - via Garuda and we travelled direct Melbourne to Jakarta and then Jakarta to Padang with our boards booked all the way through to Padang. We had no real issues at all with all of our boards arriving where and when they were meant to and also without dings. This was the case both ways to and from OZ. Food and drinks and everything else on board was also great.

Boat - Its a 14-hour overnight boat ride from Padang to the Telos and it really added to the adventure of the trip with all of our guys enjoying the journey there and back. The boat is a good one with aircon bunk beds etc so you sleep most of the way and none of our guys got sick at all.

A bit about Me

According to my wife I am a 19-year-old in 59-year-old body (apparently, I suffer acute 'Peter Pan Complex'). I fluctuate around 88kgs or so depending upon how dedicated I am to my fitness. I got into Stand-Up after my third spinal surgery in 2007 and consider myself an intermediate surfer and am continuing to develop my SUP surfing skills and I mainly surf down along the western Vicco coast.

Boards / Gear

I personally took two SUP's; a Naish Hokua Carbon pro 8'10"? @ 100 litres and a Sunova Acid 8'7"? @ 106 Litres (Board reviews to follow). I also had two paddles, assorted leg ropes, fins, med kit etc all packed into a Flying Objects 8'10"? board bag, which came to about 26kgs. (Note: This is my second trip with the Flying Objects bag and it is the best that I have ever had and I would recommend them to all with the wheels making it much easier to get around)

The Surfing Village

In a word, fantastic. This place ticked all of my boxes and is sort of like every tropical island movie you have seen. Owned and operated by two great Brazilian guys and their lovely families the story of how they founded this place is worthy of a doco. I could rave on about it but have a look at this vid and it will give you an idea.

The location and accommodation is fantastic, the people and the food amazing and the Bintangs cold, gotta be happy with that. By far the best place we have been to so far on our many surf trips.

The Surf

We surfed everyday two to three times a day and only ever with our group in the water. There are only a maximum of twelve guests at any given time at 'The Village' and they have three boats available and there are lots of breaks and we never had to contend with anyone else in the line-up at all. I got to surf and share waves with just my Son and my best mate on a number of occasions and this will remain a wonderful memory. Obviously, the waves here are all generally over coral reef so you have to be cognizant of that at all times. None of our crew got really hurt but all of us have come home with a few extra scars, some more than others. It should be noted that you have to walk over the reef out the front every time to get to the boats etc so reef booties are a must unless you have really tough feet. If you are a goofy or like surfing on your backhand then you will love the Telos as there are lots of quality lefts. We had waves from double overhead to overhead on most occasions with some breaks being serious waves of consequence and I tried not to do anything too silly. That said I did get a couple of absolute floggings and it was only by sheer luck and by utilising my paddle to push/hold myself off the reef that I managed to escape relatively unscathed other than just cuts and scapes.

I have to be honest and say that I found that surfing a SUP in certain waves here was quite punishing and you have to be very selective of what waves you choose to take. Not being able to duck-dive and having a rather largish board means that if you come off you will get a pounding and dragging from the wave you are on and then consequently the next few waves will wash you further onto the reef etc. That said if you are a competent SUP surfer you will love surfing in the Telos. While we did not get some of the right-hand waves at their best (wind / swell direction / tides etc) overall the surf was more than fantastic and I loved it.

Recommendation

If you are looking to escape our winter for a couple of weeks, want warm tropical water, great waves and a fantastic place with no crowds then 'The Surfing Village' is the place for you. 12 out of 10 and I would go back tomorrow if I could and we are already talking about booking again for next year. Note: I would not recommend this to you if you have not mastered relatively steep angled take-offs and developing good speed down the line on a SUP.

Thanks for that. Awesome info

Awesome report. Thanks. Look forward to the board reviews.

Thanks for the detailed report answers a lot of questions.

Hey Skee, you're getting good at photo shop!

What roughly did it cost you?? How did the acid go?

Great holiday wrap Skeeee... sounds like a top spot

That's a great story and report. It's a long way from here but sounds like a good return for effort. And to surf those waves with your kid as well is so nice.

The pics are awesome. That big left gets the juice pumping, wow.

look like a great trip skeee.you deserve it .

as a sup surfer now ,don't jump on my surfboards anymore

do you feel having longer boards are better in the bigger waves .eg sups in general .nothing much over 9 foot that is .

Wow, great report! Thanks. Yet another destination to add to the bucket list!

Sweeeet Skeeee... ripping old man, yeooowww!
I want to be like you when I grow up!

Thanks for the shots and story... good stuff!