KeyHole Surf Camp

Staff is not honest. They cheated me from the airport to Lagundari but I paid all costs and their food, beer and cigarettes. I don't know how they treat me like this. Because I am an Asian? I never recommend this accommodation, staff and owner. I thought they gonna kill me if I refuse to pay. I have been many different places in Indo and it was absolutely worst experience by them. I can't believe they still run business in this area.Hi Timmy. Thanks for your reply. You said respect. What do you mean? You have to respect people who travel in Nias Island . I write down this review because what you done to me in 2016. I don't have any benefits from writing this review. I just write down what happened to me when I arrived in Gunsutorri airport. Please respect people who arrived in the airport first time. Do not try to ripped off money or cheating. You can deserve it from what you done. Are you still hiring Caser? Good on ya mate.

Friendly staff and great service! Love from Nathan, Hass and Harry

Proud to be a Nias person

The beach that once made my heart beat fast... I miss it

I write this only to warn other travellers who are looking to learn to surf - it would have been useful to have read something similar before I decided to stay at Nias keyhole surf camp.Points I found brought my experience down:- This is not a place to learn to surf, despite the website saying you need no experience. Speaking to other surfers this is somewhere you need at least 4 years worth of experience to surf this sight safely (strong waves, with a strong current, over a reef & sharp rocks). There was a beach break nearby but there were no waves when we went. I decided to have a lesson but can't say my experience was useful - I'm not sure if it was a language barrier, but the instructions were unclear & often repeated without further clarity.. I also found it was delivered with impatience & annoyance at times. Pointing at people who are surfing & saying "look they're doing it" doesn't help- You get hassled to buy something, constantly. I felt the word "no" fell on deaf ears. I'm normally happy to pay a fair share, & ensure I buy locally when I'm travelling but being hassled is never fun.In one instance, a brother or brother in law (unsure) of the family who owns a fruit farm was very pushy for me to "help" by buying his fruit. I politely said I didn't need any fruit, & politely declined multiple times but he wouldn't let up - I eventually bought some fruit from him to make him leave me alone. It's not the money of these instances that's the issue, it's the feeling of being hassled constantly which bothered me. At one point I hadn't gone 10 steps from my bedroom before being offered to buy a chess set...- the place was expensive! I tried explaining at the start that I wanted to try surfing for a couple days before committing to the full 7 day package, as it'd been 10 years since I'd last surfed, however this request was either misunderstood or ignored. On the second day of the trip I was told "mama needs her money"... as I'd already stayed a night I thought it best to pay for 7 days & then I'd hopefully meet Timmy, the owner, during my trip to explain what I wanted. Unfortunately Timmy was never around so it was only when I was trying to leave when we got in contact - I asked if I could have some of the money back as I was leaving after 4 nights instead of 7 (learning to surf here was too dangerous & the vibe wasn't making me want to stay!) - I was told that the transport is 50USD each way, & because of the room rate of 55USD a night I wouldn't be able to get funds back as the 350USD was already used up by the 4 nights & the transport. After I challenged that the transport is included in the room rate (per their website) I was abruptly told that they have a no refund policy - disappointing! I was aiming to come to Nias to dodge the crowds & touristy culture of Bali etc, as I thought somewhere like Nias would be more friendly, open & less money grabby, as my experience of less touristy areas elsewhere have been incredible.Having spoken to a couple of people at the airport I then found out a one way taxi to the airport, from the place the surf camp is 500000 idr (35USD), & a that a night in Nias cost them 100000 idr (7USD). Granted they hadn't stayed in a "surf camp", & would have had to buy their food independently (Nias food is very cheap anyway), however the premium seems steep.I was refunded 500000idr (35USD), which was a nice token, however as a refund for 3 of the 7 nights this still seemed like a small token compared to what I'd already paid.- a last minor point is that the WiFi was only turned on once, for a few hours during my first night after I asked for the password (I was told to wait until later for the WiFi to be turned on)... It wasn't turned on again for the remainder of my stay - annoying given the price & the website saying it's included.All in all I'd only recommend this place if you're already very experienced at surfing, are keen to surf in Nias & haven't been able to find somewhere cheaper.

The lobster is delicious