Last updated on September 3rd, 2026 at 11:06 am
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Never heard of Nias Island? Neither had I before a few weeks ago.
It came on my radar when I was trying to plan a trip to the Mentawais, a group of Islands off the West Coast of Sumatra popular with Aussie surfers. The problem was, during the months of June-August, ‘The Ments’ are only really suited to advanced and professional surfers, and I am just a beginner.
This is when my internet travel blog rabbit-holing brought Nias to my attention.
Nias is another island group off the coast of Sumatra, just a little further north, also with amazing surfing, but boasting a beginner-friendly wave during high season.
Nias is a little harder to get to than the Mentawais, but I kind of like that.
The best places are harder to get to, as I can attest to with my recent trip to Raja Ampat. I also like that Nias isn’t going for that luxury, ‘Bali of Yesteryear’ style – but instead accommodations are cheap, waves are not crowded, and local surfers are very, very welcoming.
Nias is technically made up of 131 islands, and we stayed on the main one, Nias Island. Here is how we got there.
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How to Get to Nias, Sumatra
1.Fly to Medan
Medan is the main entryway to North Sumatra, so you’ll need to fly here to begin your journey to Nias Island. Medan is actually only an hour’s flight from Kuala Lumpur, so this could be a good entryway into Indonesia for you. Joe and I were coming from Raja Ampat, so we flew to Medan via Jakarta.
Where to Stay in Medan:
Budget – Bua Guesthouse
Mid-Range – Karibia Boutique Hotel
Where to Stay in Jakarta:
Budget – Wonderloft Hostel (Kota Tua)
Mid-Range – Kosenda Boutique Hotel (Menteng)
Lux – House of Tugu (Kota Tua – an INCREDIBLE hotel!)
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2. Fly/Overland Travel to Gunung Sitoli
From Medan, the most convenient option is to fly to GNS Airport on Nias, with Wings Air. The website is a bit fiddly, so booking directly doesn’t always work depending on where you are, so give that a go, but if the mission fails, we had success with Traveloka.
I never normally recommend booking flights with third-party sites, but we had no choice in this case.
We were travelling during the fuel crisis, so this 1-hour flight was far more expensive than it normally is. I paid 75 GBP with 10kg checked luggage, no surfboard.
If you are looking for a route to Nias where you get to experience more of Sumatra, you could travel by land from Medan to Bukit Lawang to see the orangutans, carry on to spend time in the beautiful Lake Toba area, then head to Sibolga to take the ferry to Gunung Sitoli in Nias.
FOR TRAVEL INSURANCE for Nias, I used SafetyWing, as they let me open a policy partway through my travels, and they cover surfing in their adventure sports add-on!
They do a 4-week rolling one for nomads, and I have claimed several times with them, and the process has always been straightforward and efficient.
3. From Binaka (GNS) Airport in Nias, you can get a transfer down to Sorake Beach
Sorake Beach is the best place to stay if you want to surf on Nias. You can arrange this through your accommodation; otherwise, a small number of taxi drivers wait at the airport anyway.
We paid 500k (20GBP) for the 3-hour journey, between two of us, in an air-conditioned car.
There were some locals in the car who we dropped off on the way as well. One of them threw up violently the entire way, then threw his bag of sick out the window.
So there you have how to get to Sorake Beach on Nias! I have written some other guides on where to eat in Sorake Beach, and my experience learning to surf on Nias Island.
Where to Stay on Nias, Sumatra
Most accommodations in this part of Nias are simple surf-focused homestays, with a couple of more high-end places. Here are my picks of where to stay on Sorake Beach in Nias.
Budget – Shady Palms
Budget, for beginner surfers – Harus Damai
Lux – HIMA Bungalows (You’ll need to book ahead)
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Thank you for reading my travel guide for how to get to Nias!
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Happy Travels! xx
