The Gili Islands

Gili is comprised of  3 picturesque islets situated close to Lombok called:  Gili Trwangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno.  They were simply named after their description.  “Gili” means  “an island” , “Meno” in the local language means lake (yep, they have a lake there), “Air” it’s not actually an air, but “fresh water” and “Trawangan” is the name invented by tourists as they couldn’t pronounce properly the original one, so locals decided to change it.

All the 3 islands are so small you can circle navigate them in couple of hours. There isn’t any motor transport,  no cars, no buses an no motorbikes, just bikes and horse-craft for the lazy ones. Imagine how clean is the air and how quiet is there!

Despite a growing green conscience, all three islands are seeing a lot of development and in a high season might seem a bit packed! We’ve been lucky to travel there after the peak months, but hurry up, before this idyllic place will become a famous tourist destination!

Each island has its own special character…

Gili T is not a ‘sleepy island’. The most cosmopolitan one, comes alive with a vibrant bar and party scene . Also accommodation and restaurants are definitive tropical chic. And yet amongst this, there still remains quaint ‘warungs’ and funky reggae hang-outs to be discovered! Everywhere you can find the “entertainment menu”, which means…you can easily feel the lively reggae-ganja-magic-mushroom-vibe in there! Magic mushrooms are available on the beach, on the street… And even if you don’t find them, they will find you! They say that once being in Gili T you have to try them… I haven’t!

Gili Meno is the quietest one, less developed and most relaxing. Dreamland for all in love couples and famous as a honey-moon destination. And full for turtles! If you end up staying on another islands, most boat excursions will stop here so you have a chance to see them.

Gili Air has the strongest local character, but also “a perfect mix of buzz and bliss”. Personally, it was my favorite one! Not too crowded, with loads of beautiful beach bars where I could sitting hours sipping my fresh coco and the most stunning beaches!

Getting There

Just to get you an idea how traveling is in these areas… Before coming to Gili Trawangan (called also Gili T) as I’ve mentioned before we stayed 1 night in Sengiggi in Lombok. Not a big village situated close to Bangsal, we’ve basically picked it just to catch a morning local  ferry.

The drive from Sengiggi to Bangsal took us around 40 minutes and costed 150 IDR. We’ve called a taxi from our hotel but we’ve also checked the prices before in the city so they wouldn’t scam us. In Bangsal the driver dropped us more or less 500 m away from the harbour. They do it cause they want you to make a horse-cart which doesn’t cost much (maybe 10 000-15 000 IDR), but for those few minutes you really do not need that, so move your ass and go!

We bought the tickets directly at the harbor just to make sure we gonna get the fair price (15 000 IDR), they always add a tax on it, so don’t be surprised,  it’s common. The boat goes once full, luckily we didn’t have to wait longer than half an hour. Half of the space in the boat was taken by goods. This is the only one way for local people to transport them,  so I was actually seating having a huge bag of rice under my feet and eggs on my knees… But, who cares ;). The last ferry departing to Gili T is around 4.30 pm, but just check the time schedule as it might be changing!

Obviously if you wanna travel in a more luxury way you can get a  speedboat, but I believe traveling in a local way is much more fun! The funny thing is that usually you’re not getting on the boat from the pier (naive – I was expecting that, ended up with completely wet new trainers.) You need to jump on it from the water. It was always a challenge for me cause climbing from  the knee-deep with a big backpack was quite hard! After a while, you’re becoming an expert, so no worries princesses.

Be aware planning your transport, because the distance between the places never seems far, but the travel always takes longer than expected . It’s mostly because of the tiny roads and traffic. We’ve been traveling only by taxis (usually grabbing drivers straight from the streets – remember to negotiate the price, always!), as we always had our luggage with us, but if you’re staying in a one place few days you can also get a scooter, which is super cheap option. Be careful of crazy drivers, they do not follow any rules!

Where to Stay

We stayed on Gili Air at the Le Pirate Beach Club.  I will recommend to literally everyone! Le Pirate is located close to ‘the action’ but far enough away for you to enjoy the peace and quiet which is often an essential part of any special island holiday. Le Pirate offers a selection of accommodations in the best barefoot luxury fashion. I can honestly say, it was the cutest turquoise village I’ve ever seen! Simply makes you to drop everything behind you and…become a pirate!

When searching other properties, it was exciting to see your money can go far in the Gili Islands.

Things to do

On the Gili Islands you can be totally chill one day and adventurous the next. It’s the perfect mix.

Embrace the island life. Snorkeling with turtles, scuba diving, free diving, paddle surf and all other possible water sports! We chose to snorkel with turtles and in the old shipwreck which was great! I’ve seen a turtle first time from so close and was huge! Be careful with water snakes… They may attack you unexpectedly so don’t swim to close! Islands are full of hammocks and swings on the beach and in the water… Make sure you’ll enjoy some of them! 🙂

If you prefer to stay on land there are plenty yoga classes, you can ride a bicycle, play beach volleyball, get cheap massages or ride a horse watching the sunset!

Choice of entertainments seems never ending! Every 50 m you can find a local ‘travel agency’ offering different kind of trips. You can also organize a little one by yourself, for example islands hooping. Every day there are boats going to neighbor islands, tickets are cheap and it’s not far. The only one thing you need to remember about it is that you need to catch the last boat which departs around 3/4 pm to come back! It’s all because of the strong outflow. So if you would prefer to stay longer then maybe you should find a place to stay overnight cause it won’t be possible to travel in the afternoon!

A for those who rather not move too far?  There is a beach cinema, numerous restaurants, beach clubs and bars to chill in.

My favorite one was Malibu Beach Club in Gili T. I have no idea how is it possible that we’ve been almost by ourself there, cause this place is awesome! Colorful sun beds and umbrellas on the beach, pool with loads of pool floats to play and they are serving so delicious cocktails and food! Everything is made in unique local style, although still pretty modern.

If you want to taste a little bit of a night life you should definitely pick Gili T. Alongside the promenade you’ll find numerous bars and clubs. Go to Blue Marlin on Monday’s, Irish Pub on Wednesday’s or have a proper party at Ruby’s on Fridays! If you’d like to feel a little bit more of the local vibes have a look in Sama Sama and enjoy live reggae rhythms! Even if you have no clue where to go, don’t be worried about that, more than sure some promoter will grab you from the street and put into the right place ;). There is also a lot of boat parties organized, simply ask people around and for sure there will be someone who will be more than happy to provide you some more info! PS. Indonesians love to sing, so don’t be surprised seeing them in most of the bars or even performing on street!

When to go there?

Gili’s inhabitants used to say, unlike Bali, the weather in Gili is always great. I’m not sure if I can totally trust their opinion, however during my stay there we didn’t have even a one day with clouds or rain! And I need to add that in the same time Bali wasn’t the best place for a beach holidays. Anyway, the high season is the same for all islands: between April and September, and low season between October and March with an average year-round temperature around 30°C.

Currency

Indonesian Rupiah  – IDR

You can easily exchange Euro, Dollars or Pounds in the cantors. They usually don’t accept card so have always cash with you! 1,000 IDR = 0.0606771 GBP

Helpful tips

• Unlike Bali, Lombok & Gili Island are Muslim. In my experience, people were extremely nice, tolerant and willing to help. They are living in peace with other religions. It also wasn’t a problem to go around in beachwear.
• Remember about mosquitos! Make sure you’re taking malaria pills, having a mosquito net in your hotel room, wearing long sleeves in the evening and using all the sprays to drive them away!
• Transport rules in Lombok are the same like in Bali!
• Prices in all places are more or less similar. Obviously if you’ll go local will be cheaper, then staying in a touristic bar in the heart of Gili T.
• Visit night market in Gili T and try local food! Don’t forget about shrimps straight from the ocean and refreshing jackfruit juice, yummy!
• Mare sure you’ve got your Go Pro, camera or full memory smartphone, cause there is going to be a lot of amazing places to capture!
• Don’t stress or worry if trip doesn’t go as planned.Simply relax, and enjoy that whole paradise what you’ve got around you!