Mentawai surf trips when the group wants three different holidays

One person has already picked their dream wave. Another wants to learn to stand up. A third has packed a novel and would quite like to finish it without being appointed the expedition photographer. They can all have a good holiday in the Mentawais, but booking everyone under the same “surf trip” label won’t necessarily deliver it.

For a group that wants to spend its days following surf conditions together, a guided charter makes sense. For a surfer travelling with someone who wants occasional lessons or a separate routine on land, we’d start with a resort. The deciding detail is what each person actually buys: access to surf boats, instruction, equipment or simply a stay with other activities.

These named examples were checked on 21 October 2026. The comparison uses published inclusions rather than a first-hand resort review, and doesn’t promise particular waves.

Siloina offers both shared departures and private charters. Its guide adjusts the surf plan to the conditions and the people aboard, while the boat carries the group between locations. That mobility is the attraction if everyone likes the idea of the day’s destination following the surf.

Its two vessels each have six ordinary guest cabins, convertible between twins and doubles, with air-conditioning and ensuite bathrooms. Those cabins accommodate twelve guests. The additional cabin is described for coaches, photographers or group leaders; the “12 + 2” headline isn’t fourteen interchangeable holiday berths.

Surf guidance chooses where the boat takes the group; a lesson teaches the learner. At the 21 October check, Siloina still labelled its own surf coaching as coming soon. We’d choose the advertised charter for guided surf access, not as a first surfing course. A learner who needs instruction has a clearer purchase in the resort lesson options below.

A non-surfer may enjoy the boat’s lounges, fishing and beach stops, but they are joining the vessel’s shared journey. If they want a regular poolside base while their partner goes surfing, choosing a resort respects that preference rather than hoping a comfortable cabin will change it.

Macaronis’s beginner package is for people who have never surfed, or have very limited experience and have never surfed a reef break. Someone who already knows how to surf or brings their own equipment must book as a surfer. Being modest in the group chat doesn’t create a discounted category.

The beginner arrangement starts at Fish Fingers, using learner soft-tops. The resort includes those boards, but lists lessons separately at IDR 500,000 a session. Equipment access therefore isn’t a course fee paid on your behalf.

A different break requires the guide’s approval, and the stated move to an intermediate wave requires board rental. Don’t buy the beginner package for unrestricted surf access, or treat advancing to another wave as a guaranteed holiday milestone.

For a mixed couple, put those purchases side by side: surf access for the experienced person, a restricted beginner package plus paid teaching for the learner. A companion who does not want to surf can choose the non-surfer package without pretending to be a learner.

The room is a separate part of the price

The Macaronis rate page combines a room charge with a compulsory package for each guest. Its published adult components are:

That US$450 is the sum of the listed base components, before applicable discounts and separately bought extras. The US$125 figure alone isn’t a room-inclusive holiday.

Meals, local surf boats and recreational boat use are listed inclusions, along with equipment such as kayaks and snorkelling gear. Arrival transfers, the Padang transit hotel and other listed extras sit outside those components. A resort base therefore offers activities beyond watching someone else’s surf session, but the flight-to-resort journey isn’t hidden inside the room calculation.

At Kandui Villas’ surf school, the published two-hour lesson begins with approximately 30–45 minutes on the beach, followed by about 75–90 minutes in the surf. Beach work covers subjects such as paddling, standing up and selecting waves before students apply them in the water.

That preparation is part of the instruction, not time mysteriously missing from a two-hour water session. The advertised charge is US$250 per person, with board rental included for the lesson’s duration. It doesn’t buy independent board use for the rest of the stay.

Lessons require the appropriate tide and surf size. We’d choose this for a resort holiday with lessons when conditions allow, rather than a promise of a class at nine every morning. If a fixed daily teaching timetable is essential, this published offer doesn’t meet that requirement.

The school’s beginner descriptions also don’t make every nearby break suitable for every learner. Book the lesson as instruction at the location allocated by the school, not permission to copy an experienced friend’s session.

A mixed-couple package is different from two surfers

Kandui Villas now publishes its 2027 package rates. The ten-night couple options are US$8,000 for one surfer and one non-surfer, or US$9,000 for two surfers. The first explicitly includes nearby-island surfing for one person; the second includes it for both.

These are party package prices, with accommodation and three meals a day. Both exclude the published 11% government tax and 10% service charge, and Padang–resort transport is separate. They are not final flight-inclusive totals.

Two separately priced lessons amount to US$500 before any applicable charges. For a learner taking two lessons, budget that separately from the stay. Those sessions include instruction and boards; a second surfer’s package buys wider surf access. For two people planning regular independent surfing, choose the two-surfer category. For a beginner, use the school’s lesson offer rather than paying for access and assuming tuition follows.

The practical differences are clearer when you put each traveller’s day alongside the purchase:

This is a format decision before it is a bargain hunt. A price per room, a price per guest and a whole-vessel price can’t be compared as if they were the same thing. Nor should the person who wants a quiet afternoon have to defend it against a daily committee of swell enthusiasts.

Save the agreed quote, pickup details and operator contacts before leaving your connected arrival base. If you need data for arrival and booking messages, our Indonesia SIM and eSIM buying guide covers that choice. Keep the remote-stay arrangements downloaded regardless of the service you use; they should not depend on finding a signal at a resort or offshore.