September 27, 2017

Lombok & The Gili Islands, Indonesia

We spent ten days travelling Lombok and three of the Gili Islands – Gili Air, Gili Meno & Gili Trawangan.

Lombok

First stop on our Indonesian adventure was Lombok. Lombok is a huge island off the coast of Bali. Currently, tourism has not quite picked up in this area and so it’s beaches remain fairly untouched and full beauty is in tact.

Getting There

We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar and then got a domestic flight from there to Lombok. Although it was cheaper than the boat I really regret not taking it to the island! We had a five hour wait in the airport and then our flight was delayed a further two hours! We were hungry, tired and just cranky.

Staying There

We stayed in an airbnb called Teras Lombok Bungalows near Mangsit for two nights. They are so beautifully decorated and in a very quiet area just a short journey away from the main town of Senggigi.>The beach was just across the road and there were a few amazing resorts along it.

Eating There

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The Kliff & The Sail

We ate in both of these restaurants that are part of the Katamaran Resort. The food was spectacular and both had similar menus. The resort itself was out of this world. I really wish I could have afforded to stay here!

Warung Paradiso

This spot is a local beach bar, and appears on so many lists of best places to eat. The food was delish and cheap so thumbs up from us.

lombok mangsit beach

Things to do

We just chilled out for our first day in Lombok but on our second day, we rented a driver for the day and headed on a two-hour drive to Tiu Kelep Waterfall. When we arrived we were met by our local guide who brought us on a short trek (approx 1 hour) to see two waterfalls. They were just out of this world – I had never seen something so amazing. Definitely a must-visit.

Another thing to do that unfortunately we didn’t have time for is to visit the southern Gili Islands. As tourism continues to grow in Gili Air, Meno and Trawangan some of the natural beauty of the islands have unfortunately been lost. The southern Gili’s are rarely visited by tourists and to the locals are a place of extreme beauty. We will definitely be returning to check these out (hopefully before the tourism industry gets its hands on them!)

The Gili Islands

Getting there

There is a public shuttle boat service that runs twice daily between each of the gili islands. It costs just 70,000 Rupiah per person, per trip which is about 4 euro and takes just 20 minutes. There is the option to get a fast boat which are more frequent, but you will pay twice as much. The public boats are perfect and unless you really need to be somewhere at a certain time, I wouldn’t bother with the fast boat.

Gili Air

Our first stop after Lombok was Gili Air. In my opinion this island is the most beautiful of the Gili’s. While tourism continues to grow, the island remains fairly undeveloped.

Staying there

We stayed in cottages on the east side of the island called 3W Cottages. They were quite secluded, the pool area was really beautiful and included breakfast which was really nice (the banana pancakes are delish!) The rooms were basic enough but it was fine.

Eating There

Gili Air had some of the best food I have eaten to date in Indonesia.

Gili Bliss

If you like healthy food (vegan/vegetarian options too) then you need to go to Gili Bliss. After finding this little gem we went back every day for our fix. Try the berry goodness bowl and falafel salad, you will not be disappointed.

Mowies

For the best chicken or tuna burger you will ever eat. This is the spot. Located on the beach and the perfect place to watch the sunset this place can’t be beaten.

Scallywags

Great seafood that you can choose yourself, and a really nice beach view. I had the yellow fin tuna and it was perfect. Get there in time for happy hour and have a glass of wine for almost the same price as water – your welcome!

 

Things to do

Gili Air is full of things to do, here’s some things that you can do on the island:

  • Watch sunset on the sunswings
  • Chill out in the hammocks by the sea
  • Snorkelling to find sea turtles
  • Scuba diving

sun swings

Gili MEno

The smallest and often ignored island has so much to offer, and is certainly just as beautiful as the others.

Staying there

We stayed in hotel Vila Bagus, however I would not recommend you stay here. The hotel itself was really nice but one member of staff in particular was extremely rude and unhelpful. It ruined our stay here.

Things to do

Despite our unfortunate accommodation situation, we had such a good time exploring all of the hidden gems that this island offers. I include some things that we got up to below:

  • Find the underwater statues
  • Snorkel with sea turtles
  • Visit the turtle sanctuary
  • Watch the sunset

gili

gili

gili turtle sanctuary