Telo Island Surf House

A truely fantastic and authentic trip. Our trip was 10 days and the 6 of us rented the entire house. We had perfect weather for first few days and I caught the best waves of my life. Unfortunately we had storms for the last 2/3s of the trip but you could usually find a wave that worked when the wind dropped for a few hours a day. There’s plenty of surf spots that work in all manner of wind, swell and tide and at the house you have a book detailing the best conditions for each break. You’ll see a few surf charter boats or day boats from other resorts in the area but you can time it and get the left out front fairly empty. Other breaks like coconuts can get busy but it is also a fantastic wave. Generally the crowd is much older and friendlier compared to other popular surf destinations. I would also recommend to bring booties. Andreas and his family cook and look after you during your stay. They are extremely helpful and you ate very well if you are a fan of traditional Indonesian food. We struggled a bit for our vegan friend as you are reliant on Telo town having tofu or tempeh in stock but Andreas would get it when it become available. We also spearfished and they were happy to cook it up. If you catch too many fish just make it clear that you want to give them away because we didn’t and ended up with an entire fish per person for dinner haha. The house is much like an Indonesian homestay rather than a fancy resort but the website is very clear about that. It definitely feels like you are on small local island. The main village is 50m away and the kids will come over and try to play. We even joined them for a soccer match one time. There’s no real surprises if you read the website properly. A portable electric fan makes all the difference at night when the power turns off. Bring plenty of snacks. It’s an adventure just to get to Telos so if you keep that mindset during your stay you’ll have a fantastic time. Like it says on the website you surf the same waves and drink the same bintangs as all the fancy resorts for a fraction of the price.

We stayed at Telo Surf House for 11 days and had a great time. As written on the website, the place is simple and power is on only for a few hours everyday. Andreas, Olive and Domi were really nice and helpful and tried to cater for us as good as possible. Definitely the place could be improved a lot, for example the bathroom situation without a sink is really basic for western standards. Also there is not much privacy as the other guests plus the whole family is kind of co-living in the surf house. It's just important to read the description and after all, they are quite straight about wat you can expect. If you are looking for this kind of adventure you will like it a lot. All the other guests we met there, without exception, have been really nice people. The left can be crowded, indeed. But you can pick the right time, as the surf house has the best position on the island. Surfwise we had some good days with the boat and some on the right (shoe) and only a few good sessions at the left. A lot of wind and also two storm days in 11 days! There is not a lot to do then besides waiting and hanging. Ah yeah, food. We dont eat chicken so most of the time it was rice, veggies, eggs. Sometimes fish and some dinners they really killed it with some crawfish or grilled fish. Dinner sometimes really was amazing. Bring some snacks! a hammock!! electric fan with power bank and a lot chill and you will enjoy the ride. We would come back. Thanks to the fam for the good time. Jules & Laura

Andreas and his family and crew just can't do enough for you. 2nd time I have stayed with him and I loved the experience both times. This time I brought friends along and we loved it - the location, the surf and the whole deal was fantastic.

Stayed at Telos Surf House early October. Booked for 2 weeks, left after 1! When it rained our room leaked, beds had bedbugs, our room was right next to the toilet and the tap dripped all night. When these things were mentioned to Andrea’s, he just laughed!! Hygiene was very poor with no where to wash your hands after going to the toilet. Some guests got sick. The property is in urgent need of maintenance. Surf break out the front would have been great except for all the Charter Boats turning up every day. Sometimes up to 30 surfers out! Andreas and the boat Captain had no idea of where the surf would be ok in different conditions. The Captain was continuously asking to be tipped! Overall we were very disappointed and would not recommend! ☹️

Five of us spent 2 weeks at the Telo Island Surf House with Andreas and his family. If you are considering going to the Telos and have read all the choices and the surf house sounds like you, that is exactly what you get. It is budget but it is perfectly explained on the website. Plenty of food, and the freshly caught fish is awesome. The beers were cold after a day surfing, and the waves we got were amazing and they just kept coming day after day after day. They are super lovely people and nothing was a problem. We also had a variety of surfers and the choice of waves 30-35 mins away was perfect, but having the left right out front was spot on. Still, on the day that we had every boat in the Telos here, we asked Andreas if we could go somewhere else and we got Coconuts pumping to ourselves. Boom!

What a lovely time we had! The place is just amazing. In front of a really amazing wave. Big thanks to Andreas and his sister Olive for taking such good care of us! I am really happy we made it here and will for sure come back!

Absolutely loved the Telos Surf House! All bookings and communications were prompt and always kept us up to date with everything relating to our trip. Having stayed at some of the other upmarket resorts in the area , this was a far better experience. Sure, the accommodation is basic, but really ,what more do you need on a surf trip?? It was a great experience getting there, as a lot of the travel is through areas where there are not a great deal of tourists, Absolutely loved being on the island and watching the locals go about their daily routine, This is something that you do not get to experience in the fancy resorts, Andreas and his family were incredibly hospitable and nothing was a problem for them when looking after us. It was great when they came and sat on balcony etc and chatted. Having ,in my opinion, the best and most consistent wave in north Telos out the front of the house is amazing as you can sit and wait for crowds to go or head out before they arrive, We had several sessions alone. So good! Thanks Andreas and Mick, this is a truly special place and we appreciate you letting us share it. Scott King

If you want to surf the Telos stay here! Andrea’s and his wife (who just became known as Mumma) will do anything to help you out if they can. I got my room changed as I have a sleep difficulties with PTSD. Downstairs rocked! The generator will go off sometime before midnight and then your 240V wall fan will stop working. I took my own battery fan and everybody in the house was sooo jealous. If you are there with a big beer drinking crew the beer may get warmer as the days go on as there is only so much Bintang Andreas’ little freezer can chill as it’s only running when the genny is on for 7 hours or so. No biggy, take the boat over to the fish market and grab a white fish box and some ice! The breakfast can be strange sweet donuts quite often. Ask Mumma for eggs every day and you will get eggs. Dinner was often the local strong flavoured little fish that Indonesian people tend to over cook for safety. Interestingly when we mentioned that the fish was a bit tough it came out less often and we got more of the awesome fried chicken! When I caught a decent trevally I asked Mumma if I could cook it myself. Of course! Lots of ladies popped into Mumma’s stinking hot kitchen to watch two white guys cooking! Lots of beers and laughter that night. So much fun we did it again when we bought some little coral trout from the fish market. Regarding the surf. My trip coincided with a bad run of southerly winds which made our little left hander out the front the only option in the whole Telos. As a result every resort had to bring their customers to ‘our’ spot and there were lots of boats and surfers there all day. But….. they werent there ALL day. I could paddle out in the dark and get it to myself for an hour or so before first boat arrived. Same in the arvo. They had to leave before dark to dock there boats at home with some light left. So if your stuck in the Telos with a bad wind would you rather be paying $45 per day and come and go as you like or sit on a boat all day while paying between $600 to $1000 per day and have sandwiches for lunch on the boat? Bear in mind to that this wind also shut down a lot of spots in the Ments and most of the mainland Sumatra breaks. Oh yeah regarding booking a $45 per day surf homestay to yourself for your honeymoon like the negative post on here, don’t do that.