Text: John Minogue
Photos: Tim Hain, Paul Gallegos

For a new-comer to Indonesia the name of this beach almost smack dab on the border of West and Central Java can be pretty hard to pronounce. The most common attempt sounds something like, ”Pan – Dang – Ga - Ran”. As well as being a bit hard to say, this stretch of coast is a bit hard to get to also. Many surfers travel by bus or car from Jakarta (9 hours), Pelabuhan Ratu (10 hours), Bandung (6 hours) and Yogyakarta (6 hours) in one day, but it’s also possible to fly from Bali to Yogya early in the morning and then bus/ train/ car the rest of the journey. Just be aware it’ll eat up most of a day of your surf trip to get here, and a day on the other end to get to your next destination.
The coast here is wide open to the same Indian Ocean swells that hit the islands of Bali and Sumatra. More often than not you are hoping the swell will drop in size rather than get any bigger, because unlike Bali and other spots, Pangandaran doesn’t have outstanding reefs and points to shape the swells into rideable waves. The good side of this is that it hardly ever gets crowded, and a smart surfer can watch the tides and winds and most days find a beach break wave with enough size and shape to have fun. But be warned that you should surf with a friend, have a good leg-rope and be a strong swimmer because the rip currents can be dangerous for beginners.
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