Best Surf holiday for beginner/intermediate plus family

Check these out...

Kandooma Resort, South Male, Maldives (Will be way more exy than Bali)

Nusa Island Retreat, PNG

Can vouch for NIR in PNG although you will need to go between December and March. Cruisey waves with not many crew. Would advise getting in early. Not a great deal for the family to do tho...the mainland is only a short boat ride away but not a lot to do there.

I have a mate who swears that Balian in Bali *is* the perfect cheap family surf holiday..

I wouldn't be staying at Balian after the trades kick in so it's too late for this season. You can still get waves in the morning most days but you need to be quick!

Blindboy - when is the best time for Balian - all things considered (including crowds)

Ta

What sort of holiday are you after for the family?...busy tourist spot or quiet tropical paradise...

I did Heaven on the planet in lombok a few years ago...intermediate sort of surf...very quiet... nice owners...tropical paradise, very relaxing, but no other shops/restaurants of note in the area then. They've got a pool etc, and snorkelling, stuff like that. Surf was perfect for 5 of the 7 days i was there...not much else to do but relax when theres no surf

it was just under $2G all inclusive from melb(entire trip-grog/spemding cash)...more exy than staying in Bali...but It was worth it

I stayed there once about a decade ago and found the vibe a bit weird.....but to be fair that is probably the case everywhere in Lombok. It's not Bali and there are a lot of unfriendly anti-western people outside the tourist zones. The surf was OK but the better the waves got the stronger the rip got so it was a bit of a mission. Only the people at the resort most days but boats can come over from the Gropuk area. I also found the attitue of the guy running the place to be very patronising to the locals. If you have travelled in Indo you probably know the type.....the great wise westerner!

Balian sounds interesting,can anyone give me some feedback on the surf there, thinking of going in October. Wndy enough for sailboarding there at that time of the year also??

Are you set on Indo, Bobb?

Has anyone here mentioned sigatoka in fiji, bobb? Just a beachbreak but a pretty good one... And if there is no swell, you've got the whole fijian island to check out - day trips to suva/ lautoka...
That's the problem with a secluded surf camp... If you are unlucky swell wise, the family will send you mad.... The sigatoka town has a market ( happy wife happy life ;) ), there's speedboat tours on the sigatoka river (happy kids) plus if your surfing improves whilst there, a few nearby reefbreak may tempt you....

Not really mate.... We stayed up the road a bit at a resort where the was a reef break.... I'm talking in the late 1980s......But that beachy does get good..... So just google "sigatoka accommodation" if you want to stay near the beachy... Someone said "crows nest" is cheap and good....

you pretty much described Nusa Island Retreat in PNG.
I was there over New Year, everything you want.
Only thing is, I wouldnt take real young kids again. Plenty to do for 5 and over though.

The good thing about the resorts around sigatoka ( re' youngsters ) is the safe lagoon beaches... The old man can wander up to the beachies, and the mrs and kids can play in the shallows, collect shells, etc etc ....