Lombok is a beautiful island, definitely not as touristic as some parts of Bali.
Kuta's a popular destination, with a few bars and homestays (plus 2 @ cafes), but it's stil very quiet. Unfortunately, there are awfully many real estate and land for sale ads and I guess these are the last moments to fly there to enjoy the unspoiled scenery.
I was dropped off in Senggigi after a three day trek. Spent one night there, to have a bit of a rest after the hardship of Rinjani. Didn't really like the place, although it did feel good to eat something decent, sleep in a dry room with a bed and a bathroom. I was happy to have found some cheap and very good food in a warung across the street from Sonya homestay where I was staying. Other than that, Senggigi didn't turn out to be too interesting, although it is very touristic - a lot of restaurants, hotels, clubs. Maybe that's exactly why I didn't find it interesting, though. Another good thing about being in a city, was getting my laundry done. The prices they qouted where horrendous for Indonesian standards - 15k rupiah/kilo (whilst it's 7k in Kuta Bali and 2-3k on Java). Also such things as internet were expensive, compared to other places I've visited. The one day I was there was pretty much all about getting ready to move south, which meant buying some food, a new pair of sunglasses and renting a motorbike. The motorbike part took me and my companion a bit of time and was not too "cheap", either. But then again, he'd insist on getting a new Honda Tiger, the best thing with the highest price available. We ended up paying 240k for 3 days, whereas it came down to around 40k per day in a long term rent on Bali. After sorting everything out, we drove to Kuta Lombok, to enjoy some sun and learn surfing.
On of the biggest surprises - totally by chance did I find a cool camp run by a couple of Swedish surfers. I'd go there any day! (could I afford it..)
Swimming out in the open water for my 1st surf lesson!
The spot was very good for surfing, it was actually a couple of spots for different levels of advancement. The guy in the back ownes one of the boats you have to rent in order to get there (I think it was about 75k for 3 hrs), but is also a surfing instructor.He claimed to be a great one and told me that if I took a class with him and wouldn't manage to stand up, he'd give me half of the money back (it was 200k - the gear, the boat plus his expertise). I gladly agreed and was eager to start. However, he turned out to be not so great, and I was a total beginner, so the whole trip cost me 100k..
The company we had at the gate of our 'No Name' homestay. It was actually not that bad, and definitely good price - 75k for a double room with breakfast, the cheapest thing we managed to find.
The only other place I went to on Lombok was Priya, a city about half an hour away from Kuta (and the nearest ATM). Went there only because I needed to buy a new camera. Mine got broken back on Bali and as I was going back to travelling solo, wouldn't be able to use my companion's camera anymore. Priya's pretty big, got some 'decent' stores, a bit of traffic and good snacks from various food carts.
My last stop on the island was Lembar, a harbour from where I took a ferry to Padangbai on Bali (the public 4hr ferry costs 31k, while a 2,5hr speed boat is about 400k).