Senggigi

Many visitors express disappointment with Senggigi beach itself, which is rather tatty and not very attractive. The town's downfall as a destination has been meteoric. It never reached the status of Bali's main resorts and instead plunged dramatically in the wake of the Bali bombings: pavements are overgrown, rubbish lies strewn about, businesses are shutting at an alarming rate and hotels lie derelict. The increasingly easy connections with the Gili islands from Bali mean that fewer and fewer tourists ever make it to the mainland. Senggigi has many hotels catering largely for the package tour trade, and they are not always particularly well-managed, or maintained. Their rates are highly negotiable off season. Many of the best guesthouses on Lombok are Balinese owned, and as prices on Bali rise inexorably, they no longer seem as overpriced as they once did.

Further north, this area becomes more beautiful and peaceful, with unspoilt, windswept beaches and lovely views across the Lombok Strait to Mount Agung on Bali and superb sunsets. They are currently free of the hawkers that so mar a visit to Senggigi itself.

About 2 km south of Senggigi, on a headland, is the. Unremarkable artistically (particularly when compared with the temples of Bali), it is named after a rock with a hole in it ( or 'Hollow Rock') found here. Tourists come to watch the sun set over Bali - devotees, to watch it set over the sacred Mount Agung.

Each evening an informal sets up on the beach in front of the Senggigi Beach Hotel; vendors lay out their wares (textiles, T-shirts, woodcarvings and 'antiques'); heavy bargaining is required - these people really know how to sell.

Indonesian life is inextricably linked with the vast amount of water that surrounds the islands, and it is definitely worth spending some time on a boat while you're in the country. There are a couple of companies that offer boat trips from Lombok to Labuanbajo, Flores via Komodo Island. The tours usually sail across the top of Sumbawa, stopping at Pulau Satonda for some snorkelling before continuing to Komodo and finally the port of Labuanbajo, Flores. Most trips last three days and two nights, and it is undoubtedly one of the most convenient ways of seeing the Komodo dragon, and for many, is the highlight of a trip to Indonesia. It is wonderful to fall asleep on deck to the sound of the sea and wake up with the sunrise, gliding past desolate islands and distant coastlines. However, these boats can get packed with tourists, and as the old adage goes, a boat gets smaller each day you spend on it. The seas in this area can be highly unpredictable, and sailing in a seaworthy vessel in crucial. It makes sense to research the trip you wish to undertake thoroughly, and if the boat is going to be packed with other tourists, will the trip be enjoyable?