Ekas Bay is best known for its world-class surf breaks (Ekas Inside and Outside), but the bay also offers a quiet, emerging reef diving scene that almost no one talks about. The dive sites — primarily on the southern headland and around the small Gili Tanjung — sit in 8–22m with healthy hard coral, schooling fish, and occasional turtle and reef shark encounters. There is no dive shop based in Ekas itself; diving is arranged as custom day-trips from Kuta operators (Dive Zone Lombok, occasionally Lombok Dive Centre). Cost: 1.0–1.4M IDR per diver for a day with 2 dives. Beginner-to-intermediate friendly.
# Diving Ekas Bay: Lombok's Quietest Emerging Dive Area
Ekas Bay sits on the south-east coast of Lombok, about 90 minutes east of Kuta along increasingly bumpy roads. It's famous in the surf world for two world-class waves — Ekas Inside (a beginner-to-intermediate left) and Ekas Outside (a more serious right) — and it's slowly becoming known to divers as one of the quietest emerging reef diving destinations in Lombok.
The diving here is not headline-grabbing. There are no walls, no hammerheads, no NEST statues. What there is: a sheltered bay with healthy reef, almost zero dive traffic, occasional surprise encounters, and a logistically straightforward way to combine surf and dive in a single trip.
Three reasons divers come here:
1. Almost zero dive traffic: Ekas sees a fraction of even Sekotong's modest dive numbers. On a typical dive day, you and your guide will be the only divers in the water across the entire bay.
2. Healthy intact reef: The reef around Ekas hasn't been heavily dived for decades. Coral cover is solid, marine life isn't habituated to crowds (so encounters feel more wild), and visibility in dry season is consistently good.
3. Surf + dive logistics: Ekas is the only Lombok bay where you can realistically surf a world-class wave in the morning and dive in the afternoon. For the surf-and-dive crowd, this is the destination.
The trade-off is logistics. Ekas requires a custom day-trip booking from Kuta, no dedicated dive shop, and operators who run trips on demand rather than on schedule.
There is no dedicated dive shop in Ekas village. All Ekas diving is arranged as custom day-trips from Kuta-based operators:
Dive Zone Lombok (PADI 5-star, Kuta): The default operator for Ekas diving. Run trips on demand (typically need 2+ divers to confirm). Mid-tier pricing, strong local knowledge.
Lombok Dive Centre (PADI, Mataram): Less common but possible — typically combined with a Belongas or Sekotong trip.
Ekas surf camp guests: Some Ekas surf camps (Pondok Rangin, Heaven on the Planet) can arrange ad-hoc dive trips for guests through partner operators. Quality varies; verify the dive operator's credentials before booking.
Total: roughly 9 hours door-to-door for 2 dives.
South Headland Reef (8–22m): The flagship site. Reef slope on the southern headland of the bay, drops to 22m. Schooling fusiliers, lionfish, octopus, occasional white-tip reef shark, occasional turtle. Beginner to intermediate. Visibility 18–25m in dry season.
Gili Tanjung Reef (5–18m): The small island in the middle of the bay. Coral garden in the 5–10m range, slope to 18m. Easier site, beginner-friendly. Good for second dive of the day.
North Headland Wall (10–25m): A modest wall section on the northern headland. Soft coral cover, schooling jacks, occasional grey reef shark. Intermediate due to depth and current.
Ekas Channel Drift (12–25m): Drift dive across the bay mouth on incoming tide. Pelagic fish, schooling barracuda, occasional eagle ray. Intermediate due to current.
Ekas Inside Lagoon (3–8m): Very shallow site inside the protected lagoon. Used as a backup site on rough-sea days. Beginner.
South Channel Reef (15–28m): Less commonly dived, on the deeper south side. Bigger fish, occasional shark, occasional manta ray sighting in season. Intermediate to advanced.
Pricing is competitive with Sekotong and dramatically cheaper than Belongas. The main cost driver is the long Kuta-to-Ekas transfer.
June–September: Peak. Visibility 20–25m at the headland sites, calm seas, water 27–28°C. Best window.
April–May & October: Shoulder. Visibility 15–22m, occasional rain, fewer surf-camp crowds.
November–March: Wet season. Visibility 8–15m and south-coast swell makes trips frequently uncancellable. Diving largely off-season.
September is the single best month — peak clarity, post-August quiet, water still warm, surf also at world-class condition (so combo trips work).
The strongest case for an Ekas dive trip is combining it with surfing. Ekas Inside and Outside are both within 5 minutes of Ekas village jetty, and a surf-and-dive day looks like:
This is the most efficient way to experience south-east Lombok in a single day. Total cost roughly 1.5–2.5M IDR per person all-in.
A 5-day plan from Kuta:
Day 1: Arrive Kuta, evening rest.
Day 2: Belongas Bay (advanced — hammerheads at The Magnet).
Day 3: Sekotong day-trip (Gili Nanggu + Gili Sudak).
Day 4: Ekas Bay (South Headland + Gili Tanjung) + optional surf.
Day 5: Belongas Bay second attempt OR Sekotong second day.
This gives you a full sample of south Lombok's dive range. Ekas slots in as the rest day between the intensity of Belongas and Sekotong.
Be honest about the limitations:
If your priority is iconic dive shots or course training, dive elsewhere. If your priority is genuine quiet, intact reef, and the option to combine with world-class surfing, Ekas wins.
Ekas Bay is a 90-minute drive east of Kuta or 2 hours from Mataram. Most divers book through Dive Zone Lombok in Kuta, who handle the full transfer and boat from Ekas village jetty. The boat to the dive sites is 10–20 minutes. From the international airport (LOP), Ekas is around 90 minutes by road. There is no scheduled boat service — all diving is custom-arranged.
Ekas Bay vs the Gili Trio: completely different. Ekas is a quiet emerging dive area with almost no dive traffic; the Trio is the famous developed dive zone. Ekas vs Sekotong: both are quieter than the Trio, but Sekotong has dedicated local dive shops and easier logistics; Ekas requires custom Kuta-based booking. Ekas vs Belongas: both are south coast, but Belongas is advanced-only big-water diving with hammerheads; Ekas is gentler reef diving suitable for intermediate divers.