WHERE?

WHEN?

We were there in mid-July and the weather was perfect. Windy, but apparently it’s normal there. Regarding the waves, we had “ok” forecasts but small for t-land and almost no other spot was working.

Most of the tourists and surfers stay in Nemberala or a bit more south.

TIPS:

HOW TO REACH ROTE ISLAND?

GREAT question haha. NOT the easiest. There are a few options depending on where you are coming from (for example Australia has more options) but I’ll guide you if you come from Bali.

You need to take a flight Denpasar - Kupang with Lion Air. There are flights several days a week.

Then it already becomes tricking. You will land too late to grab the fast ferry so, OR you take a little flight with Susie Air, but you need to book super early + it’s another flight + it’s more expensive, OR you take the slow ferry.

The slow ferry boards at 3 pm (you take a grab from the airport to the slow ferry) and leaves at ??? haha. It’s officially 3:30 pm but we left at 4:30 pm. You should book the ticket online but it’s all in Indonesian so nice women at the ticket office helped us. About the trip: YES it was long BUT it was a great experience with the locals and a beautiful sunset. My tip: go to the very front on the second floor, at the very left or very right, to avoid the noise of the motor and the noise. Also, bring your own food if you are vegetarian/vegan, or you will just eat peanuts as I did haha.

Once you arrive in Pelabuhan, you still have a 2-hour drive until Nemberala… I know… Most of the hotels provide the shuttle so just go with it.

HOW TO LEAVE ROTE ISLAND?

Not that easy either...

The only way to catch a flight to Bali is to take a SUPER early flight with Susi Air, like 7 am (so you need to leave Nemberala at 4 am or the night before).

Another option is the Bahari Fast Ferry which departs Rote at 12 pm daily, reaching Kupang around 2 pm. You can book the tickets online. But THEN, you miss the flight and have to spend a night in Kupang. We did this and booked a hotel by the ocean, not too far from the airport, to enjoy the last sunset and pool time. You will find a few hotels on all the booking platforms. We stayed at Kristal because there was a huge discount for last-minute bookings on Booking.com and it was ok.

WHAT TO PACK?

Your surfboard! It is not that easy to rent there so if your goal is to surf, bring your own. Maybe if you have a layover in Bali, buy a board and a bag there and then take it back home after the trip. Ironically we did not do this for many reasons but stayed at Surf and Dive Rote where we had access to board, but nothing really short/performance.
Books, games, painting… anything to just chill and relax
Everything to protect you from the sun
Your snorkeling equipment and anything you need for some beach time
Why not your running/hiking shoes/gear

WHERE TO STAY?

If your main goal is to surf, take a hotel with a free shuttle to T-land and potentially other spots.

We stayed at Surf and Dive Rte (Anugerah) and we had a premium location, boat shuttles to t-land and squealers, the option to rent boards, breakfast included, or a full pension. We had a super cute bungalow. The vibe at the hotel was just AMAZING. The staff is adorable and there was a super friendly spirit between the guests. The pool is so relaxing, that have a spa and a relaxing space/bar facing the ocean and T-land. It is super kids-friendly too.

WHAT TO DO?

Surfing:

This is why Rote became touristic: the surf spots- T-land is the most famous one and then surfing blogs will recommend you a few more spots. YES, T-land is an INSANE wave, but the days it was an “empty” wave are gone. The week we were there, between 30 and 50 people in the water, and a super high level. You have to be well-placed, super reactive, and not scared of the reef right below you. So no need to say: it was NOT my level. I tried again and again and I could have had some waves but I was never the first one on it (I could not go all the way up on the lineup because the take-off is super fast, on the reef). To be honest, I did not feel it was worth it to travel that far for this spot…

Squealers is supposed to be a spot for beginners but it’s still on the reef and when we were there it was not working.

DIVING:

Beautiful reefs! Such an impressive cover of soft and hard corals. Not a lot of “big animals”, but a lot of cute fishes. We went with Rote Dive Adventure and it was a great experience! There is a manta cleaning station so you have hope to see one (we did not) and some opportunities to see a shark (we did see a white tip reef shark!).
Here is Mike’s number to go diving: +6281353343993

Exploring the island BY SCOOTER:

I just LOVED exploring the island by scooter. We did not go that far and only explored around Nemberala, but it was already so beautiful and virgin. We were ALONE on dream beaches. The locals are also adorable and all the kids are so happy to see you that they cheer you everywhere you go, come to say hi and ask for pictures.

Here are some of our favorite spots, but especially north of Nemberala, it’s more the drive and going through the villages that are the highlights:

Teluk Boa: maybe my favorite beach here!
Lifulada Beach: just gorgeous. great for swimming/snorkeling
Bo’a beach: beautiful beach and also a surf spot. The VERY fancy hotel is trying to privatize the beach (I know…) so just access by the public access (ask the locals if needed)
Pantai Loedi: beautiful long white sand beach
Pantai oelolot: I really like this spot. The sand is like golden, it is NOT a tourist spot, and you have some mangroves
Pantai Tongga: The villages around are nice to drive through!
Telaga Nirwana: It seemed amazing but we did not have time to go unfortunately

Relaxing and watching the sunset:

According to me, Rote island and the Nembarala area are just THE spots to relax, read, go snorkeling, and have a drink at sunset. The sunset is just gorgeous every night, everywhere, so just make sure to head to the beach then.

Here are a few hotels to relax at:

Eliana Hotel: This new hotel on the island (opened in June 2024) so at the moment no minimum spend to enjoy the place and the pool. We had lunch and then enjoyed a coffee by the pool. Super relaxing place and what a beautiful place.
Seed: GORGEOUS spot for a sunset, and they have happy hours (“buy one get one free” every day on a great selection of cocktails.
81 Palms: what a luxurious an relaxing spot. Best wine on the island.

WHERE TO EAT?

81 Palms: delicious food. The chef is Spanish so you will have the option to enjoy some Spanish specialists in case you want a break from Indonesian food. They can make a DELICIOUS vegetarian paella, for a minimum of 2 people, and you need to order before. They are also the only spot where I had good wine. The cheesecake and the moelleux au chocolot are also insane.
Indika Health Store: yep… another “Bobo/hipster” place but it is super cute… Yes, the prices are higher than other options, but the food is really nice. I loved this spot and they have homemade bread and delicious banana bread.
Shipwreck Bar: one of my favorite spots, even if they have bad notes on Google. The view is gorgeous, the food is super simple but good, they have a lot of veggie options and the prices are the lowest ones for an ocean-facing spot.
The Pasar: unfortunately we did not get to go but we heard great things about it, and apparently it’s the best coffee on the island.
Seed: GORGEOUS spot for a sunset, and they have happy hours (“buy one get one free” every day on a great selection of cocktails. The restaurant is also super nice with some veggie options. They also have a pizza night with “buy one get one free”!
Nembarala Beah Resort: They have the famous “Taco Tuesday” and it seems like all the island is meeting there, BUT they only have fish or meet as an option so we did not go.