Wonderful place, wonderful staff, wonderful food, wonderful ethos amongst the local community.
We had a truly brilliant time from the moment we were welcomed in by Ernst, then through the adventures of horse riding in the jungle to the surfing to the yoga to the occasional glass of Tequilla.

I can't fault it.

What an amazing place! There really aren't words to describe the experience we had at Nihiwatu. We were situated on one of the most romantic stretches of beach in the world with complete privacy. The staff was great and truly made the experience a very special one. We had one of the most wonderful couples massages at sunset followed by a romantic dinner oceanside. Could not have asked for more. The ocean sports were great, but the true winner of day activities was the traditional village tour and mountain biking in the morning through villages, back roads, and single track. The vistas were beyond imagination from the plateau above the resort and the bike trails and roads offered a nice change of pace from ocean activities. Ernst gave us the great bike tour where we learned about many of the villages we biked by and the surrounding agricultural land. We can't wait to come back to Nihiwatu!

Pure, total perfection. I actually don't know where to start and no words I can write within this review can begin to give any idea quite how wonderful Nihiwatu is.

Sumba contrasts quite starkly to the greener climbs of Bali, with the scenery quite dry and possibly more akin to Nothern Australia. Nihiwatu is situated approximately 90 minutes from Sumba's airport with the transfer providing an excellent opportunity to take in Sumbanese way of life. The hotel is situated within it's own grounds of about 450 acres with a beautiful beach frontage. Accommodation is provided in the form of one bedroom bungalows and several private villas. We stayed in the former which was furnished a fairly rustic, but exceptionally stylish, decor. The bungalow and indeed the whole resort was exceptionally clean.

Our interpretation of Nihiwatu is that it takes the best parts of a safari and combines with a beach holiday. Meals can be taken communally, however, guests can also eat in their rooms. There were also no set meal times. The size of the resort allows privacy, but with a sense of community not being lost. Despite my somewhat amateur surfing skills daily lessons improved my ability (slightly...) and I cannot speak highly enough of the staff in this respect. There was nothing as good as watching the better surfers as we ate our breakfast.

This place is perfect. My only disappointment is that it'll never get this good again...

I am always hesitant to go to a place when so much already has been said and like a good film review, your expectations are so high that you end up slightly disappointed...With Nihiwatu, it was certainly not the case!
It is small, it is intimate, it is relaxing to the extreme, it is spectacular, it is primitive and at the same time very sophisticated. First and foremost, the surf is world class. The concept if not unique, seem to enrich the local Sumbanese community, your exceptional hosts and the guests alike. As a tourist you don't feel like an intruder but immediately part of a beautiful scheme and vision that the Sumba foundation has managed to create and keep developing. I was going to forget...The food is exquisite.