West Lombok is a region of Lombok, Indonesia.
West Lombok is the principal area of tourist activity and endeavour in Lombok. It has the most facilities including hotels, restaurants, tour companies, car and motorbike rental operators, western and locally oriented bars, clubs and restaurants. The focus of this activity is upon the township Senggigi including its lineal satellites along the coast north to the quieter and pretty Mangsit beach and Klui beach, and south to Batu Bolong, Batu Layar and Monton
The Senggigi area and in particular the township itself serves as the principal gateway to the other attractions of Lombok northward up the west coast including the Gili Islands and to Tanjung with its upmarket resorts and rental villas at Sire Beach and Medana beach. Tanjung in the north of the district is the gateway to the North Lombok region including Senaru, Mount Rinjani and further on to the historic villages of Bayan and Sembalun in adjoining North Lombok.
Bahasa Sasak is the language of the Sasak peoples of Lombok.<br> In western Lombok the local people speak in varying dialects of the indigenous language of Lombok. Informal versions of Bahasa Indonesian are also spoken by many people especially amongst the younger generations who may also introduce elements of Javanese or Jakarta slang into their conversations. In the hotels, larger shops and offices of the district people will normally speak in more formal versions of Bahasa Indonesia. In the tourism areas along the west coast some people may speak English, especially those associated in some way with tourism activities. In tourist venues such as hotels and restaurants catering to overseas tourists there is more likelihood of English speakers being available most especially in the major hotels, restaurants and other establishments.
Lombok International Airport (IATA: LOP) is located near the city of Praya on in South Lombok, and is approximately 10–60 km from the various parts of West Lombok (40 km southeast of Mataram). The airport is covered in the main Lombok article.
Airport taxis travel into West Lombok and are available to arriving passengers at Lombok International Airport (Bandara Internasional Lombok). The taxis providing services to and from the airport use a taxi meter. Payment of an Airport Taxi Service Charge is required for taxis departing the airport. The fee for West Lombok destinations is Rp 17,000, payable at a dedicated Airport Taksi desk at both the domestic and the international terminals.
Airport pick-up, the established hotels and resorts of the West Lombok area may offer pick ups and transfers to and from the airport or other locations in Lombok. You will need to enquire at the hotels for this service and ensure you book ahead.
DAMRI public airport bus service provides a scheduled air-conditioned service in late model buses operating between the airport and Mandalika central bus terminal on the eastern outskirts of Mataram (Rp 15,000/person) and to Senggigi on the west coast (Rp 25,000/person).
Public buses and bemo run to and from the west coast and the city of Mataram.
The northern areas feed in through Tanjung with limited services further north from Bayan connecting down the west coast.<br> Other northern services connect through Tanjung, then onward via Pemenang, through Pusuk pass and onward via Gunung Sari to Mataram, Sweta and to the Central region and on to the south and the east of the island.
From the central areas toward Praya, the eastern coast and the southern beaches including Kuta and Sekotong the bus and bemo system can be a little complex and bewildering.
A bus terminal in the Sweta district just east of the main city of Mataram and Cakranegara serves West Lombok but there are also many smaller regional bemo hubs such as that found at the Ampenan pasar and other regional markets.
As the system feeding into and traversing the West Lombok region is somewhat confusing most visitors choose private car options, minibus operators, boat services or Lombok's quite reliable radio dispatched taxi service to get from point to point on the island.
Fastboat services are increasing in number with several operators providing a crossing from Pandangbai in Bali to Gili Trangawan. Many Lombok visitors are now using this alternative to the larger and slower vehicular ferries and the aircraft services arriving at Lombok's airport in Ampenan.
There have been some operational safety issues with some ferries on this Lombok Strait sea route. Potential users of these services should research their options well.
Speedboats to Teluk Nare provide quick and expedient onward services from the Gili islands to the Lombok mainland.
Traditional outrigger boat charters also provide connections through to Bangsal, Mangsit beach and Senggigi beach from the three Gili Islands.
A public ferry service run by a local co-operative travels between the Gilli Islands and Bangsal harbour. Please see the Bangsal article for more detail on those services.
A few charter operations also move people between the Medana peninsular to provide services to the 5-star Oberoi Resort and the new Lombok Lodge, both whom have basic landing facilities.
Public vehicular and passenger ferries
Disruptions and rescheduling can occur on any of these sea crossings as the shipping operators may suspend services due to breakdown or heavy seas.
Lembar arrivals by ferry from Bali may find that only limited services are available to connect to through to Praya in Central Lombok, southeast toward Kuta or north toward the city of Mataram and the West Lombok tourism precincts of Senggigi, Gili Islands Tanjung and on to North Lombok.Taxis service the port area and bemo run during the day. Some visitors prefer to make prior arrangements for onward connections to their final destination in Lombok.
Please see the Lembar article for details.
The west coast strip has a wide array of eating establishments. The highest saturation is in the Senggigi precinct.
Local food, mixed fusion food and a few successful attempts as western oriented styles can be found in this extended lineal coastal strip from Montong through to Klui just north of Mangsit beach.
Please see the Senggigi article for more details.
Many licensed premises such as hotels and some restaurants serve alcohol in the west Lombok region. Do not expect alcoholic drinks to be served in other than the larger hotels and more internationally oriented establishments and please respect local sensibilities by avoiding drinking openly in public whilst in Lombok. Local coffee, tea, fruit juices, coconut juice and softdrinks (sodas) are normally readily available.
Please see the main Lombok article for detail on health and safety in Lombok.
The reality is that unless within the confines of Mataram/Ampenan/Cakranegara an ambulance is normally too far away to provide prompt transport in the case of a true emergency. Most often a taxi, police vehicle or a private car is used to get someone requiring urgent medical attention to a hospital. The ambulances in Lombok are more often used in the role of assisted patient transport rather than for first responder/paramedic supported emergency assistance and transport.
West Lombok has varying terrain and land use from urban cities to remote mountain peaks and valleys. Accordingly, mobile telephonary varies from reasonable to patchy to non-existent. The cities and built up areas normally have reasonable to good coverage from the two main operators.
Post offices are available in Mataram at the central post office at Jalan Sriwijaya, Mataram.
There is also a post office on the other side of the traffic round-a-bout outside the old Selaparang airport gates and another in Senggigi in the main street opposite of Bank BNI.
Post offices are described as Kantor Pos in Indonesia.
Primary administrative division