Sumba

The lesser-known Indonesian island of Sumba offers a typical tropical holiday – towering palm trees, long crescents of sand, and baby blue waters – but there’s more than that, too. Travelling through Sumba means experiencing a more authentic Indonesia where locals still live in village clusters and practice ancient Marapu traditions. There’s lots of history and heritage to delve in to, as well as incredible scenery. The island’s interior is a medley of greens, dotted with thatched-roof dwellings and roadside fruit stalls, whilst the perimeter is lined by dramatic swathes of beach and sparkling blue lagoons. 

The island is divided by four regions. You’ll experience the best of Sumba’s unique energy by splitting your time across two hotels in different parts of the island, first visiting Kodi in the south-west, then Lamboya in the south-east.

Travelling to Sumba takes a little more effort than other Indonesian islands, which only adds to its allure. You’ll need to catch a ninety-minute domestic flight from Bali to tiny Tambolaka, one of two airports on the island. The first hotel – sandy-shored Cap Karoso – is just over an hour’s drive away. 

Every room, restaurant and bar at Cap Karoso, on Sumba’s south-west coast, faces towards the water. The hotel is spread over six hectares of beachfront in the sleepy region of Kodi, an area that experienced little to no tourism until the hotel was built. 

Waste no time in ambling to the ocean-side restaurant, where you can order salads and juices. Suites feature Sumbanese paintings, native artefacts and bespoke rattan furnishings bring warmth to each of the rooms, along with marble, teak and ikat. 

There are two pools. The first is a raised infinity pool with Indian Ocean views; the second is just steps from the beach club and even fewer from the beach. You can easily spend days moving between these and the gin-clear waters of the lagoon, before heading to the beach club for dinner, sharing steaming plates of noodles and salt-crusted fresh fish.

You’re on an island with some of the richest culture in Indonesia. Spend day two digging deep into the history and heritage of the local communities. 

Cap Karoso has worked hard to nurture relationships with shamans, elders and neighbouring kampungs (villages) – and because of this they are able to organise tours to spend time in two traditional Sumbanese villages, meeting the families and farmers who work there. You’ll get to see uma mbatangu up close – the impressive bamboo houses raised from the ground and with towering roofs of thatched alang-alang grass. There’s little other tourism here, so you’ll likely be the only visitors: something that also sets the trip apart from the likes of busier Bali.

After a day exploring, head back to the hotel and straight to another uma – this one houses the hotel’s spa, where you can enjoy blissful massages. At dinner, consider opting for exclusively vegetarian dishes. Next door is Cap Karoso’s organic farm – not only does it feed the restaurant, it also moonlights as an agricultural school for locals.

Spend the morning at nearby Weekuri on the way: a natural saltwater lagoon close to Cap Karoso (yet another reason to spend time in this part of the island) where locals jump, dive and somersault into the refreshing turquoise waters. Then it’s time to move to your next hotel, a two-hour drive away. 

Arrival to The Sanubari immediately sets the pace: it’s extraordinarily calm. There are less than ten villas – and all nose the coastline of the hotel’s 100-hectare reserve, a spotless patch of land where buffalo catwalk a dramatic stretch of beach.

Each of the white-wash bungalows has a gabled roof, terrazzo terrace, private pool and direct access to the beach. Inside the palette is soothing, with creamy marble floors, wicker and wood. Local carvings, weavings and ceramics adorn the walls and shelves. But attention goes straight back to the outdoors, thanks to the huge picture windows and sliding glass doors.

Spend your first afternoon exploring the grounds – walking the length of the beach and passing rice paddies, an outdoor gym and a road of towering palm trees. At sunset, head to the thatched moptop bar, where you can chat to other guests and the hotel employees. There’s a communal feel: given there are so few people staying here, everyone becomes a familiar face. Conversation flows every night over dragon fruit martinis, and three resident dogs Boy, Olive and Peanut dance circles around flickering beach bonfires. 

Dinner is a relaxed affair here, enjoyed in the beachfront pavilion which doles out local dishes such as yellow fish curry, satay and nasi goreng; plus chicken parmigiana, salad bowls and burgers. Make sure to look up to the sky as you walk back to your room – you’ll be treated to an uninterrupted view of the stars.

The landscape at The Sanubari is reason enough to visit, so spend much of day four taking in your surroundings – namely the 2.5km of pristine white beach and crystal waters. You can try your hand at paddleboarding, then dip underwater using the hotel’s snorkelling gear to scope out the vibrant reef and resident turtles. But this is quite the place to remain horizontal, too, so allow yourself to do just that. 

Head back to the restaurant for lunch, where dishes include seafood tacos and chicken wraps. The romantic pavilion has carved pillars framing the crashing waves and cosy armchair seating. Many of the ingredients come from the hotel farm which grows an impressive array of fruits: bananas, soursop, pineapples, coconuts, lemongrass and passionfruit, among others.

Wake early to catch your final sunrise. Slowly (as is the norm here) make your way over to breakfast, and indulge in a final smoothie bowl, freshly cut king coconut and iced coffee. 

The drive through The Sanubari’s grounds – ten minutes back through rice paddies and palm-fringed roads – reminds you of how untethered you’ve been from the outside world. You’ll fly back to Bali with a new appreciation for seclusion, and a far richer understanding of the lives of Sumba’s locals.