Tanjung Aan & Mawun Beach: 3-Day South Lombok Itinerary 2026
Mawun Beach’s calm, turquoise bay in South Lombok.
This itinerary focuses on Tanjung Aan, Mawun and the lesser-known Pink Beach specifically for travellers based in Kuta Lombok who have three days to cover the area’s best beaches without a rigid tour schedule.
Research-based guide · Sources checked 3 October 2026. This is not a first-hand stay review or a ranking based on guest scores.
The Itinerary in Brief
Day one covers Tanjung Aan and the Bukit Merese sunset viewpoint, both close to Kuta. Day two is a slower day at the calmer, less crowded Mawun Beach with time back in Kuta itself. Day three is a longer excursion out to the little-visited Pink Beach on the Ekas Peninsula, which needs the most travel time of the three. Base yourself in Kuta Lombok for all three days; none of these beaches require changing accommodation. The order below runs from closest and easiest to furthest and most involved, so you build up to the longer Pink Beach excursion rather than starting with it.
Day 1: Tanjung Aan and Bukit Merese
Tanjung Aan is regularly described as the whitest beach on Lombok, with a wide double bay and a hill at one end that visitors can climb for a panoramic view over the coastline. Entry costs 10,000 IDR per scooter, and the beach has a reasonable spread of warungs serving cooked and fresh food, plus water swings and stand-up paddleboard rental at roughly 100,000 IDR an hour. Spend the morning and early afternoon on the sand or paddling, then walk or ride the short distance to Bukit Merese, a grassy hill overlooking Tanjung Aan that is one of the more reliable sunset viewpoints in the area. Arrive with enough daylight to climb before the light fades, since the path is easier to manage while you can still see your footing clearly. Visitor guides to the beach also note that the inner part of the bay stays shallow and calm for a long stretch out from shore, which is part of why it suits families and less confident swimmers better than beaches with a steeper drop-off. If you want to surf rather than swim, boat operators at Tanjung Aan can run you out to a break further offshore, a separate activity from the shallow swimming area closer to the sand.
Day 2: Mawun Beach and Kuta
Mawun sits west of Kuta and offers a quieter, more straightforward alternative to Tanjung Aan: a classic curved bay with turquoise water that is calm enough for confident swimming rather than just paddling at the shore. Entry is again 10,000 IDR per scooter, and sun bed rental with coconuts included runs around 50,000 IDR, informally negotiated with the beach’s warung operators rather than fixed in advance. With a lighter morning at Mawun, use the afternoon back in Kuta itself to handle practical tasks such as topping up cash, picking up any supplies for day three, and eating at one of the town’s wider choice of restaurants before an early night ahead of the longer day ahead. Independent reviews comparing Lombok’s beaches consistently note that Mawun draws a mix of local visitors and tourists, including school groups, giving it a noticeably different, more community-feeling atmosphere than the more tourist-oriented Tanjung Aan. If you only have time for one of the two, let this difference in atmosphere, rather than the beach itself, guide the choice: pick Tanjung Aan for a livelier day with more facilities, or Mawun for a calmer one with fewer people around.
Day 3: Pink Beach on the Ekas Peninsula
Lombok has its own Pink Beach, distinct from the better-known one inside Komodo National Park, on the Ekas Peninsula in Sekaroh village in Lombok’s southeast corner. It sits roughly 55 kilometres from Kuta on a mix of sealed and dirt road, around 1.5 hours by motorbike, and is genuinely remote compared with the first two days. An entrance fee of 50,000 IDR per person is collected locally, and facilities are minimal: expect little beyond a basic sign and the fee collector rather than warungs or sun loungers. The pink tone comes from a natural mix of crushed coral and white sand, with microscopic Foraminifera organisms contributing the reddish colour; it is most visible at high tide, which also gives deeper, calmer water for swimming and snorkelling. Plan this as a dedicated half-day to full-day trip rather than a quick stop, given the travel time involved, and bring your own food and water since you cannot rely on finding any at the beach itself. A dedicated guide to this specific beach recommends checking a tide chart before you commit to the drive, since arriving at low tide noticeably mutes both the colour of the sand and the swimming conditions compared with the same spot a few hours later.
Itinerary at a Glance
| Day | Main stop | Entry cost | Travel time from Kuta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tanjung Aan + Bukit Merese | 10,000 IDR per scooter | Short, east of Kuta |
| Day 2 | Mawun Beach | 10,000 IDR per scooter | Short, west of Kuta |
| Day 3 | Pink Beach, Ekas Peninsula | 50,000 IDR per person | Approx. 1.5 hours, southeast |
| Any day | Kuta town centre | Free | Base location |
What to Pack and Budget
- Carry small cash for scooter entry fees and warung meals; none of these beaches are set up for card payments.
- Pack reef-safe sunscreen and a hat; shade is limited at Tanjung Aan, Mawun and especially Pink Beach.
- Bring your own water and snacks for day three specifically, since Pink Beach has no reliable food or drink vendors.
- A dry bag protects phones and cameras on the dirt-road sections of the Pink Beach route.
- Download offline maps for all three routes before leaving Kuta, since signal drops out in places on the way to both Mawun and Pink Beach.
- A change of clothes for the ride back is worth packing on any day that includes swimming, since sitting on a scooter in wet clothes for an hour or more is uncomfortable.
- Confirm your scooter’s fuel level before day three; fuel stops are sparser on the Ekas Peninsula road than around Kuta.
- A basic first aid kit is worth carrying given the distance from town on the longer day-three route.
Getting Around Without a Rental Car
All three beaches are reachable by scooter, which is how most independent travellers cover this itinerary, or by hiring a driver for the day if you would rather not navigate the dirt-road sections yourself, particularly on day three. Grab and Gojek cover Kuta and the shorter trips to Tanjung Aan and Mawun reasonably well; for Pink Beach, arranging a driver in advance through your accommodation is more reliable than expecting an app-based ride to accept a same-day booking out to the Ekas Peninsula. Many Kuta guesthouses and villas can arrange a driver for a half or full day at a flat rate, which also removes the need to navigate unfamiliar dirt roads yourself and gives you someone who already knows the route to the fee collection point at Pink Beach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this itinerary be done in two days instead of three?
Yes, by combining Tanjung Aan and Mawun into one day, though that makes for a fuller day of riding and reduces time to relax at either beach. Pink Beach is best kept as its own day given the distance involved. Travellers with only two days available should prioritise Tanjung Aan and Mawun, since both are close to Kuta and deliver reliably good beach time without the longer commitment that Pink Beach requires.
Is Lombok’s Pink Beach the same as the one in Komodo?
No. They are two separate beaches in different parts of Indonesia that both get their colour from a similar mix of coral fragments and white sand. If a trip to Komodo is not on your itinerary, Lombok’s version is a reasonable way to see a pink-sand beach without the additional flights and park logistics that reaching Komodo involves.
Do I need a 4×4 to reach Pink Beach?
No, a scooter or standard car can manage the route, though the dirt-road sections are slower going and best approached with some caution, especially just after rain, when the dirt sections can turn slippery. Allow extra time either way rather than planning a tight schedule around a fixed return time, and let your driver or accommodation know roughly when to expect you back.
Which beach is best for young children?
Mawun’s calmer, more sheltered water generally suits younger children best of the three; Pink Beach’s remoteness and lack of facilities make it a better fit for older children and adults who can handle the longer ride and the absence of shade, food or a nearby toilet.
Should I visit Pink Beach at high or low tide?
High tide, which makes the pink colour more visible and provides deeper water for swimming and snorkelling, so time your drive out accordingly rather than arriving at whatever hour happens to suit the rest of your day.
Pair this loop with a dedicated stop at Selong Belanak if surfing interests you, compare Selong Belanak against Kuta as a base, or check seasonal timing before you fix your dates. For an island add-on nearby, see our Gili Islands timing guide. This loop works equally well in reverse order, starting with Pink Beach while you have the most energy for a longer ride and finishing with the closer, easier beaches on your final two days, so adjust the sequence to suit your own schedule and energy levels rather than treating the order above as fixed.