Super knowledgeable, takes you around different spots depending on the day and your abilities. Justin helps you out loads, helping incrementally improve your surfing abilities.
Matt Chu
Falaga Surf Coaching · Bali, Indonesia
Personal surf coaching in Bali
Falaga Surf Coaching is Justin Buu’lolo — a surf coach from Nias, North Sumatra who coaches every session himself, around the Bukit Peninsula, South Bali. Private, semi-private, kids and small-group lessons, for people who have never stood on a board and for surfers who want to get better.
“Takes you around different spots depending on the day and your abilities.”
Why surf with Justin
One coach, in the water, watching your waves
Falaga is not a surf school with a rota of instructors. You book Justin, and Justin is who turns up. That is the whole idea, and it is what the four things below actually come down to.
Coaching adapted to you
The session is built around the surfer in front of him — your ability, your confidence on the day, and what the ocean is actually doing. Nothing runs to a script.
Local wave knowledge
Justin picks the spot and the time from the conditions, around the Bukit Peninsula, South Bali. The right sandbank for a first lesson is not the right reef for your fifth session.
Progress without overthinking
One thing to fix, said in a sentence, in time to use it on the next wave. Surfers who have been with him for years keep coming back for exactly this.
Surf etiquette matters
Who has priority, where to sit, how to paddle around people. Learning to surf without learning this makes you a hazard — Justin teaches both.
Lessons & prices
Which format fits you
Every coached session is two hours and includes a soft-top board, zinc and a long-sleeve surf shirt. Prices are in Indonesian Rupiah and start at Rp 450,000.
01One to one
1:1 Private Lesson
A two-hour surf session with Justin’s full attention on one surfer, at a spot chosen for your level and the day’s conditions.
- Price
- Rp 700,000
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 1 surfer
02One child
Private Kids Lesson
A two-hour one-to-one session for a child, in white water at a sandy beach, with Justin in the water alongside them the whole time.
- Price
- Rp 700,000
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 1 child
03Two surfers
Semi-Private Lesson
A two-hour session for two surfers of a similar level, sharing one coach — the usual choice for couples and friends learning together.
- Price
- Rp 550,000 per person
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 2 surfers
04Two children
Semi-Private Kids Lesson
A two-hour session for two children with one coach, in white water at a sandy beach.
- Price
- Rp 550,000 per person
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 2 children
05Three or more
Group Lesson
A two-hour session for groups of three or more — families, friends travelling together, and small crews learning at the same time.
- Price
- Rp 450,000
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 3 or more surfers
Message Justin with your group size and he’ll confirm the total.
06Find a board
Board Rental Help
Justin helps you find the right board to rent in Bali — soft-tops, longboards, shortboards, step-ups and grovellers — rather than renting from a fixed inventory.
- Price
- Rp 300,000 average
- Duration
- 2 hours
- For
- 1 surfer
The price changes with the board and what the rental shops have available.
Before you book
Cancellations made after 8 PM on the day before your lesson are charged 50% of the lesson price.
Damage to a rental surfboard is not covered by the rental price. If a board is broken it is the renter’s responsibility, and the rental shop will charge for the repair.
Who Justin coaches
Progression, not just your first wave
Plenty of places in Bali will get you standing up once. Falaga is built around what happens after that — which is why people book Justin again on their next trip, and the one after.
Never surfed
White water, a soft-top and a sandy beach. Justin is in the water with you, not shouting from the sand.
Been a few times
Standing up but still fighting the board. Work on paddling, timing and picking waves that will actually let you ride them.
Improving
Riding along the face, going green. Positioning, take-off angle, and starting to sit in a lineup with other people.
Intermediate
Confident on your board, less confident about wave choice and bigger days. Wave selection, reading conditions, and stepping the difficulty up carefully.
Surf etiquette is part of the lesson
Standing up is the easy part. Knowing who has priority on a wave, where to sit so you are not in someone's way, how to paddle out without getting run over, and when a day is simply not yours — that is what separates someone who can surf from someone the lineup is glad to see.
Justin teaches it as you go, in the water, because it only makes sense in context. It is the thing his longest-standing surfers mention first.
Justin is a good coach. He doesn’t only teach how to surf the wave, he also teaches surf etiquette in the water, which many other coaches don’t teach their students about. For me it is very important to be a surfer who can not only surf, but who also has a good attitude in the water. Surfing with him is fun. He also challenges me with more difficult levels to make sure I keep progressing — but he can see my capabilities.
The coach
Justin Buu’lolo
NiasBali
Justin grew up in Nias, North Sumatra, on an island whose home break is one of the most demanding right-handers in Indonesia. That is where he learned to read a wave before it arrives — which ones stand up, which ones close out, and where you need to be sitting ten seconds earlier.
He brought that to Bali, and it is what you are actually paying for. Not a script about where to put your feet, but someone who watches the water and puts you in the right place at the right time, in conditions that suit the surfer you are today.
In the water
Watch Justin surf
Three and a half minutes of the surfing behind the coaching. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
What surfers say
Three surfers, three reasons
These are the reviews carried over from Falaga's own site. No score, no review count — just what three people who surfed with Justin actually wrote.
Justin has been coaching me for the last 3 years, I love his methods. Not having to overthink, just have fun in the water. He always gives the right tips.
Brieuc Tribouillet
Justin is a good coach. He doesn’t only teach how to surf the wave, he also teaches surf etiquette in the water, which many other coaches don’t teach their students about. For me it is very important to be a surfer who can not only surf, but who also has a good attitude in the water. Surfing with him is fun. He also challenges me with more difficult levels to make sure I keep progressing — but he can see my capabilities.
Licasia Vialista
Common questions
Before you message
The things people ask most often, answered directly.
Where will we surf?
Sessions run around the Bukit Peninsula, South Bali, near spots such as Uluwatu, Balangan, Dreamland. Falaga has no fixed storefront or single beach — Justin picks the spot and the time from the conditions on the day and the level of the surfer, which is exactly why the lessons work for beginners and improving surfers alike. He confirms the meeting point with you over WhatsApp before the session.
Can complete beginners take a lesson?
Yes. First-time surfers are welcome, and a beginner session runs in white water at a sandy beach on a soft-top board. Justin stays in the water with you, so you are not sent out on your own to work it out.
Can intermediate surfers get coaching, or is this only for beginners?
Intermediate surfers are coached too. Falaga is a coaching service rather than a beginner surf school: returning surfers work on wave selection, positioning and confidence in bigger or less forgiving waves, and Justin steps the difficulty up as they improve.
What is included in a surf lesson?
Every coached session includes soft-top board rental, zinc sunscreen, long-sleeve surf shirt. Bring swimwear, a towel and something to drink.
How do I book a session?
Message Justin on WhatsApp at +62 812-6348-4472. Tell him your dates, how many of you there are and roughly how much you have surfed, and he will come back with what works. Email at buulolojustin@gmail.com also reaches him, but WhatsApp is faster. There is no online booking system and no deposit page — you arrange the session with Justin directly.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancellations made after 8 PM on the day before your lesson are charged 50% of the lesson price. Damage to a rental surfboard is not covered by the rental price. If a board is broken it is the renter’s responsibility, and the rental shop will charge for the repair.
Book directly with Justin
No booking platform, no deposit page, no call centre. Send Justin a message with your dates and your level, and he will tell you what works.