The Mentawai Regional Government, will see any surfers travelling to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia charged an extra fee for the privilege. As of August 1 st, 2016. Mentawai Regional Government through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports has imposed a collection levy for surfing in the Mentawai for the amount of retribution for surfer abroad the new amount is 1000, 000rp per person per stay - 15 days and the surfer from the Indonesian archipelago except the surfer who is local / Mentawai 100,000rp per visit / 15 hours.
The purchase tickets and bracelet will be issued by the office of tourism information centre either in Padang or Tuapejat.
To spend $100 dollars for up to two weeks surfing perfect waves with you and your friends is a small extra price to pay considering how much the surfing world has taken from this tropical paradise over the last twenty years. If you have been there before you know it's worth it, so quit whinging. If you have not been up there before, trust us, the extra cost is worth it.
In all honesty, any trip to any part of Indonesia comes with hidden, often possibly illegal, or at least ethically dubious, extra payments - at least this one appears to be official, controlled and sanctioned by the government.
About The Author.
Julian Groom has been surfing throughout the Indonesian archipelago for over 20 years. In recent times he has been living in Java, Indonesia with his Indonesian wife and young family.
Published by Julian Groom