Rua Beach Resort

Sumba


This beach resort has 12 rooms and bungalows, all beautifully furnished with whitewashed wooden furniture, local stone, alang alang grass and ikat. It's even feng shui certified. There's a guest-only lounge and restaurant beside three pools, but the upmarket beachfront warung (mains 65,000Rp to 90,000Rp) is open to all. Ask about tours to Kodi, surfing trips and nearby snorkelling.

The Italian owner has plans to turn the defunct hotel next to Ama Homestay into a 22-room midrange hotel with a pool, restaurant, small convention centre and yoga retreat.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sumba attractions

1. Kampung Praigoli

3.43 MILES

Best known for its nearly 200-year-old Watu Kajiwa, the deeply traditional, sprawling village of Praigoli is notched in the dusty, leafy hills above Sumba…

2. Kampung Waigalli

3.58 MILES

Downhill from the riverside settlement of Taramanu, just after the sports field, you'll meet a good road that leads to a huddle of about 30 thatched, peak…

3. Pantai Watubela

6.13 MILES

You'll need your own wheels or a driver to access this slice of paradise, which is part of Patiala Bawa village, but the privacy and serenity is worth it…

4. Kampung Prai Klembung

9 MILES

It’s only a short stroll from most hotels to Prai Klembung, a nearby village with hefty concrete-slab tombs in an overgrown but atmospheric setting…

5. Kampung Tarung

9.01 MILES

Tarung is home to five tribes, each with their own small, thatched shrine where only the local ratu (priest) is allowed to pray and commune with the…

6. Kampung Tambelar

9.09 MILES

Has very impressive tombs and stone graves, with rows of houses with thatched roofs. Leave a donation of 20,000Rp or 50,000Rp if there are a few of you.

7. Kampung Waitabar

9.11 MILES

It’s only a short stroll from most hotels to Prai Klembung and then up the hill that juts from the centre of town to Tarung and Waitabar. Kampung Waitabar…

8. Gallu Bakul

14.17 MILES

At Gallu Bakul, 2.5km down the road from the modernising village of Kabonduk, is Sumba’s heaviest tomb, weighing in at 70 tonnes. At its eastern end is a…