FAQ

As soon as you’ve filled in the online registration form on our website, your place in Kima Surf is reserved. Payment arrangements are made through the confirmation e-mail of your booking and of course more information will be given to you upon your arrival in Bali. This reservation is binding and canceling will result in a cancellation fee (see General Terms & Conditions).

Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Europe/America to Bali, you will have at least one stop over. Cheap flights can be found through the internet portals listed here: Skyscanner, Traveloka Checkfelix or Opodo.

Your destination will be Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar (DPS), Bali. It is the island’s only international airport.

Some airlines transport surfboards free of charge, provided your total checked baggage weight is under the usual allowance (20-23 kg). But please check with your airline beforehand as some tend to take things as they come and decide as they like (make sure they know it is a ‘real’ surfboard, to avoid mix-ups with wind surfboards).

Airport transfers (airport pick up and drop off) are included for a minimum 5 nights stay in Canggu Surf Resort, Seminyak Surf Camp as well as in Kima Seminyak Villa Deluxe.

For the surf camps in Padang and Green Bowl, you will have to pay a small fee for the airport transfers. The same fee is charged for a stay less than 5 nights in Canggu, Seminyak and Kima Seminyak Villa Deluxe. To make sure everything goes smoothly let us know your exact flight details by email (date and time of arrival, airline and flight number) at least 48 hours before you set off. One of our drivers will wait for you at the exit area with a sign showing your name.

For almost all European and North American nationals, a visa-on-arrival is issued. You can get a free visa when you arrive at an Indonesian airport. It is valid for 30 days. There is also an option for a paid visa-on-arrival in which you can extend your stay once on location for another 30 days and can be obtained at Denpasar (Bali), Jakarta (Java), Padang (Sumatra), Kupang (Rote) or Mataram (Lombok). In order to avoid fines on arrival, please make sure that your passport is valid for longer than 6 months from arrival date.

If you want to stay longer than 30 days in Indonesia, then you either extend your visa-on-arrival once or you can apply for a “social & cultural visa” from the Indonesian embassy/consulate in your country. This visa is valid for 60 days and can be extended up to 4 times by 30 days each time. However, this extension regulation does not apply for all social and cultural visas, hence be sure to ask Indonesian Embassy/consulate in your country. Sponsorship from an Indonesian Citizen is required in Bali. You will need to prepare documents such as a photocopy of your passport and two passport sized photographs. Your Indonesian sponsor will need to supply a sponsorship letter, a photocopy of sponsor’s identity card, a copy of sponsor’s family register and a copy of sponsor’s bank account statement.

The local currency is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). The fluctuating exchange rate is approximately 15.000 Rupiah for 1 Euro.

Lots of moneychangers will try and bait you with good exchange rates. To avoid any rip-offs, you should only change your cash at official P.T. Moneychangers. Make sure that you get your money changed into large notes (50,000 or 100,000) this is what legitimate moneychangers will do. Exchanging money is also possible at the surf camp on Monday to Saturday at 8 am to 4 pm.

Normally, we require you to settle a 50% down payment via bank transfer. The rest can be paid directly in cash (all currencies) or traveler cheques (American Express only) at the surf camp, no credit card payments are currently possible on location. For last minute bookings (1-7 days before arrival) we prefer a deposit payment via PayPal.

There are lots of ATMs in Bali where you can get Rupiahs with your credit card or bank card (international creditor, e.g. Maestro, Cirrus). Make sure you know the pin number of your cards. The maximum amount per transaction varies depending on the ATM, but the absolute maximum per transaction is 2.5 million Rupiah (approx. 167 EUR). Several transactions can be done one after another. It is best to use ATMs inside banks with security guards to avoid scams.

Our Surf Camps are located close to the beach. From our Canggu camp the beach is a 2 minute walk and from our Seminyak camp the beach is just a 5 minute walk. With our Kima Seminyak Villa Deluxe, Green Bowl and Padang Surf Camp the beach can be reached within a 5 minute drive.

Every room in Canggu, Seminyak and in our Kima Seminyak Villa Deluxe has an electronic safety box where you can keep your cash, flight tickets, and other small valuable things. Larger valuables (laptop, photo equipment etc.) can be deposited at our Front Office. None of the Surf Camps take responsibility for lost or stolen items.

All sockets are European standard with 220V output. You may bring your adapter if your devices have other standards. But every adaptor can also be bought here in Bali.

Mosquito nets are available in Greenbowl Surf resort and Padang Surf Camp. While for Canggu Surf Resort and Seminyak Surf Camp, you just simply ask our and they will be happy to assist you with your request.

Our Surf camps provide towels. These should not be taken to the beach, so please pack your favorite beach towel.

Bed linen are provided and changed regularly (with night temperatures of around 26°C you won’t need a sleeping bag.)

Free wifi is provided in all of our Surf Camps.

During the day our cars are used for the guided surf tours.

In case you need them, remember to check the availability and please ask our camp manager on location before hand. We require you to have a driving license and that there be a group of at least 3 persons. There is no charge for using the camp vehicles, but we ask that you please refuel before returning to the camp. The free use of camp vehicles is only available in our Seminyak Surf Camp and Canggu Surf Resort.

In the case of an accident when a guest is driving, the driver and all passengers must share the costs for any possible damages.

We have all kind of different sizes and surfboard shapes for every level. It doesn’t matter if you are a Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Pro Surfer, we have the right board for you!

Our surfboards are all made of high-quality epoxy or polyester resin. This means the best possible performance on the water, but if they’re not handled properly, they’re easily damaged.

Repairs have to be paid for by the user. For a small amount fee, you can insure your hired board. In the possible event that you lose the board or parts of it, you will still have to take over the costs despite the insurance.

The average of water temperature is about 27 and 30°C, leave your wetsuit at home.

Surf lessons are professional lessons done by a certified surf school. Kima recommends surf lessons to beginners who haven’t surfed before in order to get some first instructions, a basic knowledge about the water and the waves and first training with proper security gear such as helmets and soft top surfboards in order to reduce injuries and cuts. We offer surf lessons in partnership with the Rip Curl School of Surf for all our beginners. Those lessons need to be booked separately and are not included in our room/surf-guiding packages.

Surf guiding means that our professional surf guides will take you to surf spots that match your ability, give you a detailed spot introduction and be in the water with you to support you in getting as many waves as possible. Our surf guides will provide you with feedback and give you advises in how to improve your surfing skills. A beginner who is booked into a Learn-to Surf program of 3 days, could already join from the day one the afternoon surf guided sessions of Kima, as the surf school lessons are provided in the morning.

Please, be informed that Kima uses, in all surf guided trips, hard boards in different sizes (and not the soft boards like the surf school does).

For absolute beginners we recommend our 3 day Learn-To-Surf package. This way, you save a lot of time and avoid making mistakes that are difficult to straighten out later on. Along with the surf school course, you can surf a second time later in the day with our surf guides (depends on the surf conditions).

If you can handle a take-off and manage to surf standing to the beach ahead of the white wash, you do not need to attend surf school and your best bet is our surf guiding where you’ll learn by lots of practice. Our surf guides will help you and let you know many tips so you can take your surfing to the next level.

Tuition at the surf school includes soft-top learning boards and for the surf guiding in our camps you can rent a board directly but at the moment, soft-top boards are not available at our Surf camp.

The surf school begins any time from Monday to Sunday. In between, you can easily miss a day to practice with our surf guides. We normally book your surf school session for the first day after your arrival or can be arranged individually. Normally the surf school is in the morning but it always depends on the conditions. So we can’t guarantee that you can join our surf guiding in the afternoon.

You can take part in our guiding program as soon as you arrive at the surf camp. Please be aware that you need to sign up in our session planner first. The latest registration for the morning session can be done up to 8 pm the day before and for the afternoon session is until 11 am in the same day.

Nothing can stop you heading to various surfing spots once you get your equiment and after doing a breafing. Please be informed that some of our partnercamps offer different surfguiding-times.

The endless surf spots in Bali have the right wave for all levels. Kuta’s mile-long beach and some very soft reef breaks are ideal for beginners. If the swell is too big at the beach, our surf guides always know the one or other spots with nice little breaks for our beginners. In Padang Surf Camp and Green Bowl SurfResort,you should prepare yourself for longer driving times if you want to surf at beginner friendly spots.

April to November is the dry season in Bali, with an air temperature of 30°C and 2-3 days’ rain a month. November to April is the humid season and it rains more often than in the previous months, but mostly in the morning or evening, at sunrise or sunset. In between the sun always shines and everything’s budding and blooming. The rain normally lasts no longer than half an hour, but it pours down quite heavily. It can rain at daytime sometimes, as the weather anywhere is always a bit of gamble. Sometimes, it won’t rain the whole week and then later it rains a few days in a row.

All year round, the temperature in Bali is always around 30°C. At night during the European summer months, it can cool down to as little as 24°C.

The water temperature in Bali is between 26°C (July/August) and 30°C (December/January).

There is no end of variations. From tiny tasty Indonesian (mobile) street stands and mini-restaurants to Indian, Italian or even fondue, steak houses or fast food chains. In and around Kuta you can eat something different every day.

It depends on what you want; you can either sip a quiet cocktail in Seminyak or Canggu or go dancing to house music or a live band in Kuta. There, you find a massive amount of clubs, bars and discos which means you can party all night long.

As a rule, during the day, you can go around in a bikini or board shorts and flip-flops. In the evening when you go out to eat, a T-shirt, shirt and long trousers are a good idea, they also help against the mosquitos.

We recommend a tetanus boost (1 jab in your rear end), hepatitis A (2-3 jabs, starting 6 weeks before your trip), typhoid (oral vaccination, 3 weeks before) and if you want to be on the safe side, a malaria prophylaxis, and rabies vaccination. Bali is classified as malaria-free. However, there are some isolated cases of infection now and again. But the prophylaxis is hard stuff with its side effects on organs and mind.

If you act wisely (repellents, protective/covering clothing), you can keep the risk to a minimum. If you want to travel further you should find out the situation of your preferred islands.

All kinds of antiseptic creams, lotions, band-aids, etc. can be found very cheaply at the local pharmacies. Medical care in the tourist regions of Bali is good and mostly up to western standards (hygiene, disinfection, educational standards of the medics, etc.).

We strongly recommend that everyone should have a travel health insurance. Apart from treatment expenses and drugs on location, this also covers return transport by an emergency service.This insurance costs about 20 €. A must for everyone and mostly valid for a whole year. Apart from a travel health insurance, you can also take out a casualty insurance (hospital daily benefits or even a pension in a worst case scenario) and a travel and baggage insurance. For Australian guests, please check:

http://www.indosurf.com.au/surfers_travel_insurance.html