Panaitan Island - Indonesia

In recent years Panaitan Island has been a hot bed of controversy in the surf world, due in large part to the building of a surf camp on the island, which happens to be a World Heritage Site. The island itself is essentially a horseshoe containing several world-class, shallow, thumping waves and some outer-reef, deep-water phantoms that break infrequently. Knowledge of the island was protected for years by the guys who made the open-ocean passage to it until the camp controversy shoved it into the spotlight.

But just because we all now know about it doesn't mean we're all jumping into a hired boat and heading straight there. The spots on the island aren't a bunch of playful sandbars or fun pointbreaks -- they are expert-only, and staying there is even less inviting, because the island is part of the Ujung Kulon National Park, which means they've worked hard to make sure the tiger, snake, and shark populations are thriving. Oh, and that's not mentioning the clouds of mosquitoes ...

On a message board, here's how a self-professed frequenter of the island described it: "Anybody that comes back more than once does so on a boat because it is the only way. You have gotta have a desire for heavy duty juice and poundings if this is your cup of tea. It is not the thin lipped perfection of the Mentawais and not the super user friendly zone of Bali with all the options to suit different levels."

Many Web sites suggest wearing "safety gear," and more than one refers to surfing there as "reckless." But rumors abound that One Palm Point has produced the longest left-hand barrel rides ever ...

Still want to go?