Gili Trawangan (Lombok) reviews. Gili Trawangan (Lombok) reviews Holidays to Gili

The Gili Islands are located near Lambok Island, south of Bali. You can get to them different ways and they have already been described on the Internet more than once.

While in Ubud, we have chosen the most convenient and fastest - fast boat ... The complete transfer package can be purchased at any travel agency. Pick up directly from your guest house or the place that you indicate when buying a ticket.

It is better to take a ticket "there and back" with an open return date. The return is also delivered to Ubud or another place of your choice, but not anywhere, of course. In various agencies, the price ranges from about 500,000 to 600,000 local money. True, there were also more expensive up to 1,000,000. In the end, we found and bargained for 430,000 per person, but did not take it right away, we said that we would come tomorrow.

Transfer Ubud - Gili Meno

In the evening, after talking with the owner of our guest house, we found out that he, too, can arrange such tickets. We bought them from him for 850,000 for two before Gili Meno. Interestingly, they brought us in the end, exactly to the island of Meno. But in all the agencies that we went around, they offered only to Gili Trawangan, then to Gili Meno you need to get yourself on a local boat (this is confirmed in all Internet descriptions), about 10-15 minutes (costs from 25,000 per person). Just in case, here is the name and website of the carrier we were traveling with. Indra jaya , on the website, by the way, you can book and purchase tickets.

Our fast boat departed from the port Padangbai located about halfway between Denpasar and Amed.

The boat was almost empty, the passengers were two of us and a dozen more tourists. The boat sailed along Bali for some time and we were able to admire some of the coastal views.

Gili Islands with white coral sand (which is rare in these parts), warm and clear water. There are no waves, but there is the possibility of snorkeling.

Three Gili Islands

The largest of them is. It is also the noisiest, with developed infrastructure and vibrant nightlife.

Gili Air Island- the average in size and noise of this trinity of islands.

Gili Meno Island- the quietest and least affected by civilization.

In addition, a flock of sea turtles is promised around the island. We decided to go to Gili Meno, after two day stay in Ubud .

All passengers got off at Trawangan. Only we went to Meno.

A distinctive feature of the Gili Islands is the cleanest air that still does not know exhaust gases. The thing is that there are no vehicles on the islands (they say only in Trawangan there are several motorbikes, but we did not see them there). The main mode of transport on all three islands is small horses harnessed to carts and bicycles.

Bicycles can be rented, but Meno and Eyre are so small that walking is no problem. Each of the islands can be walked leisurely, with periodic swimming and photo sessions, in 3 hours. For example, on my morning jog along the beaches of Meno, I ran one half of it, back and forth in about 30 minutes. If, traveling around the island, you suddenly get tired, at your service, as I said earlier, there will always be taxis in the form of cute horses harnessed to no less interesting carts. Many of them are equipped with rear-view mirrors, lights, and some even have music, they look very fun.
Yes, we almost forgot:

Be careful. There are no ATM machines on Gili Meno. Also keep in mind that the exchange rate is not very favorable, change the required amount in advance.

Well, a little about the weather. We were in December and nature adhered to the following strict schedule:

morning - sunny and hot
lunch (from about 2 pm or 3 pm) - it rained from Lambok and went on for a couple of hours, sometimes very strong
evening (hours after 16 - 17) - the rain stopped

True, there was an exception for a couple of days. One day it rained in the morning, until about 10 o'clock. Another day in the evening, hours from 17 to 21.

The sea has always been very warm and calm. The water temperature is somewhere between 28 and 33 degrees.

We liked the Gili Islands very much, and we will definitely tell about each of them in more detail later.

updated: November 16, 2018 by: Svetlana

In this article I will write about how we got from Bali to Gili. At first glance, everything should have been simple: we order a transfer from Bali to Lombok, the travel agency staff will think over the rest for us. But such options do not suit us at all - everything is too simple and boring. So, we flew to Indonesia for the first time, we did not have any armor or clearly planned routes. We knew only the main points that we want to visit, and these are: Bali Island, Gili Islands, a volcano. And since we had only 10 days planned for Indonesia, we decided to find out everything locally. We arrived in Bali in the morning with a flight from China at about 11 o'clock and immediately took a taxi to Kuta, which is not far from the airport and is a developed tourist destination with a huge beach where there are a lot of surfers.

We arrived with a large suitcase and, realizing that with so many things we cannot be mobile, we immediately began to look for a place where we could leave things, and we were lucky. We met a lovely young Balinese couple who run their little travel agency. We asked them about the trip to Lombok and Gili and agreed to leave the suitcase. They strongly recommended that we go on foot, without bikes, because the road is distant and not easy; advised to go by bus to the pier. The bus cost about $ 10, the distance was 60 km. For comparison, in Ukraine the price of a bus ticket, which covers a distance of 400 km, was about $ 10-12. We understood that it was very expensive for Indonesia. She also said that the ferry from Bali leaves only 3 times a day, and we have already missed all three. Let me remind you that they were a husband and wife, the owners of a travel agency in the very center of Kuta. In general, we nevertheless decided to go to Lombok and Gili on our own, of course, not because of the price of the bus, but because on the bike we feel completely mobile, which means we are free. Sasha had read on blogs before that the ferry leaves every hour; also, if we think logically, then we understood that a freight ferry cannot go only 3 times a day between such two huge islands. We decided to take a chance and go. We bought a SIM card of the local operator simPATI with a 3G Internet package, so that we could navigate the terrain thanks to navigation from Google, and went to look for a scooter.

Our route

Bali is a very large island, and without navigation it is better not to go on such a trip. Moreover, if you go on a motorbike, then the driver is not able to follow the map, since the traffic in Bali is quite dense and I follow the map, directing Sasha to the necessary turns.

Motorbike is best shot on Poppies 1 and Poppies 2, which are opposite the central beach right next to McDonald's (described here). Prices in this area are the lowest and the choice is excellent. It is better not to admit to the owner that you will be riding a motorbike to Lombok, because the Balinese do not like it and may not give it to you. Let people sleep well;).

So, we took off the motorbike. We returned to our "base" in the travel agency, sorted out the suitcase, put all the things we needed together with warm clothes and shoes for the trip to the volcano in two 30-liter backpacks, agreed to leave the suitcase at the agency, plunged and drove off. The lovely Ballinezian couple were shocked; the guys wished us a successful trip.

We left at 17:30, at about 19:00 we were on the ferry. For beginners, the road is very difficult, the traffic is crazy. If you are not sure when driving, plan more time to get from Kuta to Lembar pier.

Traffic in Bali (Road from Kuti to Padang Bay)

You need to take a bike to Padang Bai pier and buy a ferry ticket. Attention! Buy tickets only at the box office, where they will sell you a ticket at its usual cost. At the entrance to the pier there are a lot of intermediaries who brazenly stop the bike and say that you need to buy a ticket from them in order to travel further - this is all a hoax. Drive confidently, stop only near the booth. At the box office you need to order a ticket for 1 motorbike, because a motorbike ticket costs 100,000 rupees and a passenger ticket costs 80,000 rupees. It turns out that if five people sit on the bike, then you still need to pay not for 5 people, but for 1 motorbike.

It turned out that the ferry still leaves every hour. We sailed at 20:00. It took 4 hours to swim. At 22:00 I called my parents to say that everything is fine with us, and only during the conversation I realized that, from their point of view, everything is quite the opposite: we sail on a ferry at night, we arrive at an unfamiliar island at midnight, not the fact that it will be possible to find housing at such an hour, we do not know where to go next. Despite all the above-described nuances, I was as cozy, comfortable and calm as ever; I knew for sure that everything would be fine with us. I learned to trust the Universe 100 percent, I liked that it answers me.

If you are sailing at night, then on the ferry itself you can rent a mattress and sleep, since the path is not close.

This is what the ferry looks like

We disembarked at the pier at 12 at night and saw only a few men who were closing their shops, asked them about housing, they answered in unison that there was no housing here, at the pier, it was not even a village, but a village near the pier. They offered us a common room where you can spend the night sitting in an armchair, but we refused, decided to go to Mataram - the largest city on the island. Lombok, which is located near the marina, and which definitely has an overnight stay. Everything was going well: we were driving in complete darkness alone, the navigator was leading us to Mataram, when suddenly a fork appeared, passing which we realized that the navigator had lost contact with the satellite. It was then that we felt uncomfortable, we did not know what to do, where to go, the connection did not appear. While we were fiddling with the phone, a motorcyclist was driving along the road, stopped and showed us the way. He stopped himself, we did not stop him (we would have it like that;). We returned to the fork, drove in the right direction, the navigator also started working soon. At the entrance to Mataram we found an inexpensive motel (180,000 rupees), where we spent the night. It was very pleasant to go to bed at 01:30 am knowing that everything is over and now we will sleep. On the way from the pier to Mataram, there are only remote villages that do not have hotels, so set aside time to get to Mataram.

In the morning we continued our journey, our goal was Bangsal Ferry Terminal, from which we were going to sail to Gili. We drove for about two hours. The landscapes were very beautiful, so we often stopped and looked down from the mountain at the deserted white beaches.

Beautiful lagoon

Mountain View

The road runs over the sea

On the way, you can lie down!

The marina has covered parking for motorbikes. The owners wanted 25,000 rupees per day, we bargained for 15,000 rupees, for wholesale, so to speak, for as much as 3 days and still look young, so our catchphrase about students works always and everywhere)))). A ticket from Bangsal to Gili Trawangan cost about 10,000 rupees (public bot or public transport), departs several times a day, the schedule, unfortunately, was not photographed. The boat is small, sailing for about 30 minutes to the farthest and largest island of Trawangan.

This is what a public bot looks like

Later we realized that we did the right thing by choosing the farthest island first, because tickets from island to land are more expensive, and the farther the island, the more expensive the ticket.

Gili Islands (Bali, Indonesia) - detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.

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Despite the presence of the active Agung volcano, tourists call Bali an earthly paradise. Is paradise possible in paradise? It turns out yes - these are the Gili Islands, and they are very close, just a couple of hours of sailing on a speedboat, the local variety of large motor boats. True, the journey may not be very pleasant if there is excitement in the strait, so those suffering from seasickness choose a different path - by ferry to the island of Lombok, and from there by floating taxi boats to their destination.

Relax microarchipelago

Tiny scraps of land are surrounded by coral reefs, which act as breakwaters that cover the coast from the ocean surf. The beaches are strewn with clean white sand sea water warm and transparent, the underwater world is enchanting. There are no cars or scooters here, everyone travels on foot or on bicycles, in extreme cases - on carts drawn by good-natured horses. And where to go - any of the three islands can be bypassed far and wide in an hour. But at the same time, the hotels are comfortable, there are mobile connection and Wi-Fi, the beaches are equipped, taxi boats scurry between them.

The smallest is Gili-Meno, also known as "the island of newlyweds and retirees." Bungalows and cafes are scattered along the coast, a wide strip of white sand separates the sea from the palm trees. Lovers of noisy nightlife have nothing to do here, but those seeking peace and quiet will enjoy them to the fullest. Located to the east of Gili Air is much noisier and more civilized. There are excellent restaurants and even spas. The most western and partying is Gili-Trawangan, here everything is as it should be at a seaside resort - hotels, nightclubs, discos. Prices are, of course, also higher.

You shouldn't risk drinking local cheap alcohol. There have been cases of dangerous poisoning.

There are no attractions on the Gili Islands, but great diving and snorkeling. The underwater world is rich and diverse, there are no strong currents inside the reefs, the water is clear, the ebb and flow are imperceptible. There are several diving clubs with equipment rental. There are dozens of boats at the berths ready to go fishing or snorkeling at any time. A sunken ship lies at the bottom of the southern coast of Gili Meno. One dive costs from 500,000 IDR. Prices on the page are for November 2018.

The Gili Islands are part of the Indonesian archipelago. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the island of Lombok. The islands are very small, you may not find them on a large-scale map. At the same time, they are very picturesque. The flora and fauna of these islands are fully represented in Botanical Garden Bali is one of the largest botanical gardens of this type in the Pacific region.

Geography of the islands

The Gili Islands are:

Gili Trawangan
Gili Meno
Gili air

They are located between Bali and Lombok. All three islands have flat terrain and a very rich aquatic flora and fauna in the coastal area - this is a real paradise for diving enthusiasts. If you wanted to travel to Indonesia in order to take photos of coral reefs, you cannot find a better place.

In addition, these islands have magnificent natural sandy beaches and dunes. For those who like to swim, sunbathe on a free beach, live in a small tropical bungalow and do nothing all day - any of these islands will work too.

A small overview of the islands separately

There are three islands in total. However, only one of them has fresh water - Gili Air. This island is the smallest. However, for coral lovers, it is the most interesting - there are a great many of them around! You can take pictures of them, or buy beautiful handmade coral crafts from the locals.

The second island of the archipelago is Trawangan. This island is one of the noisiest and most expensive. At the same time, it has the most developed infrastructure. If you are the owner of a fat wallet, want to live in a hotel with air conditioning and hot water, or get bored and want to go to a nightclub in the evening - this island is for you.

Meno Island is medium in size. It is perfect for those who like a quiet holiday without noise and events. A good choice for those who just want to sunbathe.

Which island to choose from these three is up to you.

How to get there

It is easier to get to the islands from Bali. You can get there by plane, and then by bus and boat. First you need to get to the port of Padang Bay. From there to Gili by speedboat - high-speed boat. You can order tickets online or through a tour operator. Or you can hire a boat on the spot - if you wish, you can bargain twice as cheap as through a travel agency.

Where to live

On the Internet, you can find enticing advertisements about the cheapness of tourism in the Gili Islands. However, this is not quite true. Perhaps this is the attitude of the locals to all white gringos like moneybags from the United States, perhaps some outdated information, but you will not find housing cheaper than 150,000 rupees a day there. It will be a simple bungalow with hard beds and backyard amenities. A decent room with air conditioning and hot water will cost 500,000 rupees.

However, the climate there is very pleasant - it can be a little hot during the day, but you can always take shelter in the shade, or escape the heat by swimming in the sea - the water there is quite warm all year round.

All Gili Islands hotels on the map, select yours:

What to do

As already mentioned, the Gili Islands are beautiful place for lovers of sea fishing and diving. For a small price, you can hire a boat with a set of trolling rods. Typical prey there is tuna - a lovely lively fish that is a lot of fun to play. And in any coastal restaurant you can order your caught tuna to be prepared, and very skillfully.

The choice of dishes is also huge. Almost all of them are from local cuisine, you can rarely order something European. Indonesian cuisine is quite spicy - they like to add an excess of red pepper and some other spices to all dishes, so if you have heartburn or stomach ailments, it is better to refrain from local dishes or ask to cook it individually without pepper at all. You will not find a buffet there, but the prices for lunch in a cafe or restaurant are very affordable.

My first acquaintance with the Gili Islands (Trawangan, Meno and Eyre) took place in 2001.
The acquaintance was within the framework of the first trip to Bali, after which I wrote a report refuting the opinion prevailing at that time about the high cost and exclusivity of rest in Bali (at that time it was mostly baggage traders who went to Bali).

In early February, it became possible to take business class tickets from Qatar Airways to Jakarta at an economy price () and I could not resist.
Besides, after a month I wanted a warm sea.
I bought tickets to Jakarta with the expectation that we would immediately move to Phuket (Thailand).
But then I decided to take a ride through the places where I was last more than 10 years ago and quickly sketched

Now we have returned from the Gili Islands back to Lombok () and I can write my impressions of what I saw in comparison with what was there in 2004.

How to get to Gili Trawangan

Lombok Airport is no longer within the city of Mataram, but in the center of the island.
If earlier it took 30 minutes by taxi from the airport to get to the pier with boats on Gili, now it takes an hour and a half.
Therefore, having arrived in Lombok in the afternoon, we made an intermediate stop at Sengigi
Taxi 190.000 rupees
Review of the place where we stopped at Senggigi:

From Senggigi private transfer to Gili Trawangan (taxi to Teluk Kodek+ speedboat to Trawangan) bought for 400,000
Cheaper (over 150,000), Gili Trawangan can be reached by a public boat, which, following from Bali, stops at the pier in the bay between the Sheraton Hotel and our hotel.
But this is a public bot. Start time 11:00

The cost of a taxi on the island of Gili Trawangan (cart with ponies) is now at a fixed price.
The price list is pinned to the carrier at the driver's seat:
from south to north 100,000, from pier to north 50,000
The carriages, except for the price list, have not changed at all for 15 years.

Hotels in Gili Trawangan
The choice is huge.
There are a lot of housing options on booking.com. I am not writing about home stays for backpackers - I am not interested in this type of accommodation.
After taking a taxi from south to north, I was amazed at how much everything on Gili Trawangan has changed:
everything that could be built is built up on a small island.

Returning to housing: its abundance affected the quality.
No space, no privacy.
Housing is stuck close to each other, and if earlier in the historical center of Trawangan near the pier it did not bother since you could walk 100 meters and find yourself in a completely wild part of the island with gazebo along the coast and rare local shacks, now the coastline of Trawangan is all completely shops -restaurants.

I suspected this from reading reviews of a hotel that I was specifically looking for away from the center - in the north of the island.
In the reviews, people complained that the sun loungers on the beach were paid. I also thought - what kind of sunbeds?
There they always lay on towels and smoked cigarettes.

A narrow road, shops on both sides and some kind of hotel, quite an intensive turnover of pedestrians-tourists, cyclists-tourists ...
In general, the island of Gili Trawangan, which I remembered as wild in 2001 and semi-wild in 2004, in 2016 was everything that I do not like.
Mass resort - Yalta / Sochi.

It was possible to turn around and go back to Senggigi, but decided to see the remaining two islands, and swim at the same time.
Hotel Bella Villa, which is positioned on Trawangan as a complex of villas near the sea, I will not recommend to normal people - it sucks, a stone bag worthy of the outskirts of Casablanca in Morocco.
I'll go to the beach.

Beach on Gili Trawangan

The beach has remained the same: broken coral near the shore, so it is better to enter the sea at high tide and in slippers if you don't want to buy diving neoprene slippers.
Just like 15 years ago, it is better to swim on the Gili Islands from a boat.
But if earlier the daily rent of a boat cost 300,000, now it costs already 900,000, even though the rupee has dropped to 13,300 against the dollar (8,800 in 2004) - boat rental has risen in price.

Gili Meno and Gili Air

The characterization of the islands that I have written is valid at the present time:
The bulk of tourists on the island of Gili Trawangan are divers.
On the island of Gili Meno - family, honeimun, lazybones.
On the island of Gili Air - junkies, hippies and rave lovers (this island is called Marijuana Island)

On the island of Meno, the south and east coast are being actively developed.
I was interested in the beach opposite the Gazebo hotel - yes, here the entrance to the sea is still cleaned of corals, but it seems that the entire tourist population of the island knows about this - there is nowhere for an apple to fall and this is now - in the off-season.

The main bathing beach of Guy Air is located in the south of the island.
The east coast of Eyre Island is fenced off from the sea by concrete walls and stones, because of the strong surf from the coast of Lombok.
Guesthouses and gazebos of restaurants are walled along the entire coast.

Comparing beach holidays on the Gili Islands and Phuket

Since my initiative was a beach vacation in Indonesia, and not in Phuket - I will still compare these two different places.
I like the beaches and the sea in Phuket more than the sea and the beaches in Gili and Lombok: The best beaches in Phuket.
But on the Gili Islands there is better snorkeling than in Phuket (within 5 minutes by boat).

Villas in Phuket (Bang Tao) are better than villas in Gili Islands and Lombok.
There are no such villas on the Gili Islands, but in Senggigi the price for a 165 sqm villa is slightly cheaper than in Bang Tao.

Food in Phuket restaurants is more varied, tastier than food in Indonesia.

Service and travel services in Phuket are better than in Gili and Lombok.
Transport is cheaper, housekeeping doesn't run around mosques and cleans up cleaner, massage is better.

In the tourist areas of Phuket, where the majority of the population is Muslim, you will not be disturbed by calls to prayer from loudspeakers.
On Gili, the screams of the muetzin over the ear are enraged.

In general, if you want to have a good rest at the sea: sunbathe, swim, do not steam with the entrance to the sea, do not look for a free lounger using a towel thrown on the sand, dine in a European or Asian way to choose from, be able to buy alcohol at an adequate price - I recommend going to Phuket, but forget about Indonesia.