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3 Gili Islands experiences – Gili Air, Gili Meno, Gili Trawangan – are these Lombok islands next to Bali worth visiting and which one is the best?
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Gili-saaret – Lombokin turistipyydys
What Gili Islands?
Many visitors to Bali also combine their trip with a visit to the Gili Islands. Famous for their sandy beaches and coral reefs, these small islands are located off the coast of Lombok, Bali’s larger neighboring island.
The word “Gili” means “small island” in the local language of Lombok.
We had booked accommodation in Ubud, Bali, for 35 days, and our next decision was to visit the Gili Islands, which we had read many glowing reviews about.
We don’t dive, but the beautiful sandy beaches and the peaceful, paradise-like environment were lucrative.
The Gili Islands don’t belong to Bali, but to Lombok. Unlike Hindu Bali, Lombok practices Islam, which is the predominant religion in Indonesia. This is noticeable in the lack of decorative statues of spiritual beings or daily offerings. However, the people here are as friendly as those in Bali.
As a tourist, it’s advisable to behave in the Gili Islands and Lombok as one would in Bali – respectfully towards the locals and their customs.
How to get to the Gili Islands
The common way to travel from Bali to the Gili Islands is by booking a combined bus-boat ticket from a local travel agency.
The bus first takes you to Padang Bai Harbor in Bali, from where you will be transported by boat to your chosen island.
At the time we took this boat, the price was 350,000 rupiahs (around 20 USD) per person one-way.
We book our trip conveniently from *our accommodation.
Alternatively, you can take a cheaper public ferry to Lombok and then make your way to the Gilis from there, but just the ferry ride takes five hours.
This option will become familiar to us later.
3 little Gilis
Each of the three Gili Islands has its own identity, and they are recommended to slightly different types of travelers.
We also wondered for a while which one to choose.
Gili Trawangan, or Gili T, is known as a party island, so we quickly ruled it out.
Gili Meno is renowned for its tranquility.
Gili Air is the only one of the three islands with its own freshwater supplies, and “air” means “water” in Indonesian.
Its atmosphere is said to be a mix of Trawangan and Meno, so we decide to head there first.
The boat ride to the Gilis takes about two hours and is quite relaxed.
There are some fancy resorts in Gilis, who’s guests will probably have a suitcase instead of a backpack. However, it is not a very convenient option for Southeast Asian boat trips, and the Gilis are no exception.
If you prefer a luxury resort, check out if the hotel offers a private boat ride.
Let’s dive into our Gili Islands experiences.
Gili Islands experiences
1.
Gili Air – the island of water doesn’t impress us
We disembark on Gili Air and head towards our pre-booked accommodation at Leppa Komae bungalows.
The first impression of the island is underwhelming. The beach looks more like a garbage dump than a tropical paradise, and near the harbor, an old boat wreck is lying around.
The islands are also known for their horse-drawn carts, where tourists can take rides to cover longer distances. The first horses we see look overworked and thirsty, with their drivers urging them on with whips to give tourists the illusion of speed. No thank you, we’d rather walk.
As we trudge through the island’s interior, the picture of Gili Air becomes clearer: it now resembles a dusty developing country.
Instead of the ornate Balinese houses, the paths are lined with mostly shacks.
To some, this might feel exotic but we’ve seen enough of similar conditions and wish locals could have better housing instead of building fancy hotels.
Gili Island beach life
Eventually, we find Leppa Komae, which turns out to be a lush oasis in the middle of the desert.
The young staff is friendly and helpful. The place has a swimming pool.
The nearest beach is just a short walk away, and there’s a decent restaurant where Tanja sets up her remote office on the sand. We also have dinner here.
Besides the restaurant, there are a couple of reggae bars nearby. That’s about it.
Mrs. Robinson wonders if it’s Friday..?
Unlike many other visitors, we’re not impressed with Gili Air. Nothing seems to be particularly unique here, but we decide to give it another chance.
The next day, we walk along the beach towards the harbor, hoping to find a nice, reasonably priced beachfront hotel.
Our hopes are dashed. No such combination is available, even though there are hotels lining the beach road.
The island seems to be either a wasteland or a tourist trap.
We grab classes of lemon juice at one of the beach bars – that fill the gaps left by the hotels – and decide to escape to Meno on the first available boat.
Not the weather to hit the beach like a strike of lightning
2.
Gili Meno – A peaceful escape
There are cheap motorboats (actually water buses) that run between the islands, transporting both tourists and locals, as well as cargo.
We jump onto one and head out to sea for about ten minutes.
Meno doesn’t even have a dock; passengers wade ashore from the boat.
The island immediately feels like paradise compared to Air.
Andre plans a career on the seas like many people born on islands.
We sit down at a beach bar with Wi-Fi and begin searching for accommodation online.
Directly ahead of us is the magnificent Rinjani volcano on Lombok.
At sunset, you can see two volcanoes from the Gilis: Rinjani and Agung on Bali, 90 kilometers away, with its perfect triangular shape.
Meno’s “activities” are concentrated around the boat landing area. There are a few restaurants, the island’s second ATM, and a shop where you can refill water bottles for a fee.
On the other side of the island, there are a few more beachfront restaurants.
Tropical resort gets our money
We find a suitable place to stay, just a five-minute walk inland.
Across from it is a fancier resort, Tropical Hideaway, with pools and restaurants.
It looks so inviting that we decide to have dinner there, and we meet a group of friendly older Australians, with whom the evening passes pleasantly.
We decide to move there for a couple of nights, even though it’s over our budget.
One of the Australians, Pete, promises that since they are leaving the next morning, he’ll ask the host, Wayan, to give us his room. It’s closest to the pools and the restaurant.
We end up enjoying the comfort of the resort so much that we can’t bring ourselves to leave, even though it stretches our budget.
The beaches on Meno are cleaner and quieter than those on Air, but they’re not as impressive as advertised and are still somewhat littered.
There are better beaches in Bali — wider, gentler, and more beautiful.
We enjoy the pool more.
Meno gets too tranquil for us
Our resort also has good Wi-Fi and even hot fresh-water showers, which is rare at moderately priced accommodations on the Gili Islands.
Usually, showers provide cold seawater, which adds a nice touch also to hand-washing in the sink.
We explore the island thoroughly. There isn’t much to explore, as the island is really quiet, and apart from sparse local housing, the interior mostly consists of muddy jungle and pastures.
Not all of the jungle is muddy: before we arrived, there hadn’t been any rain for months, but while we were there, the skies opened up a few days in a row.
Agung, the volcano on Bali, often keeps the rains away from the Gilis by its massif.
The tranquility of Meno feels wonderful, and day after day passes comfortably, but the services here are rather limited.
Only a few restaurants offer something beyond nasi goreng.
One nicer side hotel & restaurant to stay and dine at is *Seri Resort (for adults only).
We only went for the drinks though.
Despite the party island reputation, we decided to check out Gili Trawangan, which we’ve been hearing the noise from every night across the strait.
3.
Gili Trawangan surprises us
Gili T turns out to have a dock, from which you can disembark. Right in front of it is the island’s heart, the beach road lined with countless bars and restaurants.
We don’t stick around there, though, and head to find our pre-researched potential accommodation.
We can’t seem to find the place where it should be. A young man cleaning the street asks if we’d like to see their guesthouse if we’re looking for accommodation.
We’re open to it, thinking maybe this place will do.
It’s perfect and exactly the place we were searching for.
A hammock is set up on our small room’s terrace, and breakfast is delivered to the terrace, as it is at most places here.
The neighbor is just five meters away, but it doesn’t bother us.
The beach road is a five-minute walk away, but there’s no sign of the noise.
Opposite, there’s a shop where water is clearly cheaper than at the beachside kiosks.
In general, the price level on the Gilis is noticeably higher than in Bali, from drinking water to food and massages.
Gili T turns out to be the best
In the end, Gili T is the most pleasant of the three islands. The long beach road has plenty of services, and outside of it, the island is peaceful and comfortable.
We wait for a thunderstorm to pass by enjoying some cake and coffee in a cozy beach cafe.
One evening, we buy fried chicken and rice from the bustling night market along the beach road.
Not only chicken but also fresh fish is sold at the night market, we are on the island anyway.
The beaches on Trawangan aren’t anything special compared to the other islands. They are even worse, but we didn’t come here for the beach life.
The crowds feel almost pleasant after Meno, and compared to Air, T is more developed.
Party island suits even us middle-aged folks better than the other Gili Islands.
Gili T also has some pretty nice resorts. We stayed on a nomad budget, but dreamt of sleeping in *Pondok Santi Estate. Another time…
We are heading back to Bali. We’ve decided to continue our beach life in Sanur – just a short distance from the airport and our flight to Melbourne.
Stormy farewell to Gili Islands
On the day of our departure, a storm hits. The fast boats to Bali aren’t running.
The beach street is full of tourists, all just as clueless about how to get out as we are.
Then we hear a man shouting on the dock, calling out to those leaving for Bali.
We prick up our ears and rush over.
So, can we leave after all?
Yes, we can — but with a detour via Lombok. We don’t have enough cash for the tickets, so I quickly rush to the nearest ATM (there are several here), which is not exactly nearby.
The dock man urges us to hurry — there are other people on the waiting list. I do.
By some miracle, we manage to get spots on the fast boat, which, however, is heading not to Bali but to Lombok.
Goodbye, Gili Islands!
As we jump off the boat, rocking in the waves, we thank our little backpacks. For the tourists struggling with big suitcases, this maneuver is much more difficult.
After waiting, we board a bus that will take us through Lombok to the south.
From there, the scheduled ferries to Bali depart, and the storm isn’t bad enough yet to stop them.
We take seats on the deck, where we can best see the horizon swaying.
The ferry’s amenities include a bathroom and a small kiosk selling chips and soda.
The five-hour trip offers little to see or experience, but eventually, we arrive in Bali.
The price includes a minibus ride to our final destination, which in our case is Sanur.
We aren’t familiar with the area, so we get off in front of a McDonald’s and start looking for a place to rest our heads for the night.
Read next: How to homestay in Bali
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