:: Gili Islands - Lombok Travel Guides ::
" WARNING "
"
During peak season between June-July-August till Early
September, December till January, Rooms Gili Islands is always
fully booked, all the
rooms has been booked 04 months in advance by travel agents
in Bali and overseas. Make sure you have your accommodation
book before you visit the Gili Islands otherwise
you will sleep on the beaches"
The
Gili
Islands (Indonesian:Tiga Gili [Three Gilis], Kepulauan Gili
[Gili Islands]) are an archipelago of three small islands —
Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air — just off the
northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia.
The islands are a popular destination for Western tourists
looking for a remote island experience. Each island has
several small resorts, usually consisting of a small
collection of huts for tourists, and a restaurant. Most
local inhabitants live in the hilly interior of the island.
Automobiles and motorized traffic are prohibited on the
islands by local ordinance, so the preferred method of
transportation is bicycle or the horse-drawn carriage called
a cidomo. Diving in and around the Gilis is also popular,
although the prices are fairly high due to local cartel
activities. The name "Gili Islands" is a bit of a misnomer,
because Gili simply means "small island" in Sasak.
GILI TRAWANGAN
Gili Trawangan is the largest of Lombok's Gili Islands and
is the only one to rise significantly above sea level. It is
3km long and 2km wide with a population of about 1000. Of
the Gilis, Trawangan has the most tourist facilities; the
pub Tîr na Nôg claims that Trawangan is the smallest island
in the world with an Irish pub. The most crowded part of
Trawangan lies on the eastern side.
On
Gili
Trawangan (as well as the other two Gilis), there are no
motorized vehicles. The main means of transportation are
bicycles (rented by locals to tourists) and cidomo (a small
horsedrawn carriage). For traveling to and from each of the
Gilis, locals usually use motorized boats and speedboats.
The Gili islands are renowned not only for their friendly
inhabitants but the total tropical island paradise feeling
that they have. The white coral beaches, the warm and
inviting waters all invite to snorkeling, sun bathing and of
course diving. The diversity of aquatic life is astounding
and just off the shores you can find turtles, sting rays,
reef sharks, baracudas, and a myriad of small and large
fish.
Some of the first inhabitants of Gili Trawangan were from
Sulawesi who are fishermen and farmers. Previously Gili
Trawangan was covered in forest and deer lived on the
island.
GILI MENO
Gili
Meno is the middle of Lombok's three Gilis. It has
population of about 300, mainly concentrated on the center
of the island. The main income of the population comes from
tourism, coconut plantation and fishing. On the west side of
the island there is a small shallow lake that produces salt
in the dry season. Until a few years ago there was also a
small production of seaweed on the reef at the north end of
the island. It has swimming beaches all around the island,
as well as an impressive bird sanctuary.
GILI AIR
Gili Air is the smallest of the Gilis and it's closest
to the Lombok mainland, making it popular with honeymoon
couples and travelers seeking a quiet retreat. It has
population of about 1,000 and administratively lies in the
West Nusa Tenggara province. The island offers excellent
snorkeling and SCUBA diving off its east coast, and turtles
can be seen along the coral reef.
Gili
Meno, the central island, is home to only a few hundred
residents. The most quiet and least exploited island of the three,
makes Gili Meno also the most attractive. Drinking water is brought
in from Lombok. The sources of the island only bring in salt water
which is hardly good enough to bath in. Just inland is a big salt
lake, which is separated by small dykes for salt mining, which takes
place in the dry season (May until October). The dry times are
sometimes marked by cholera on the island. The rest of the year
there are malaria musquitos; don't forget tablets and a musquito
net.
The hotels and bungalows are located along the southeastern coast.
They offer a nice view over Gili Air and Gunung Rinjani in the east.
The best place for snorkling is the northeastern coast, near the
Blue Coral Bungalow, which has it's name from the blue-colored
corals just offshore. The reef offers a big variety of coral
spiecies and small, colorfull fish.
How to Get There:
In the Gili Islands, there is no
shortage of small local boats willing to transport you, from island
to island and back to the mainland. None of boats has any kind of
safety equipment and the waters around the Gili’s can be choppy.
Regardless, they are a handy form of transport and make exploring
the islands easy.
There
are regular shuttle services from
Bangsal
on the main is
land of Lombok, stopping at all islands. The
trip takes about 15 minutes to Air, 30 min to Meno and 45
min to Trawangan. Around Rp30-40,000 one-way, or Rp70,000 if
including land transfer from Senggigi. Avoid traveling to
Bangsal as captains will wait until the boat is full of
passengers before setting off. Book a trip with Parama
instead, which will travel to and from the islands no matter
how many people they have.
Alternatively,
the Gilis can be visited on a day trip from Senggigi, in
which case you'll get your own little boat and crew to take
you around. The trip across take 1-2 hours each way and is
quite scenic, if a little bumpy when the waves are high.
Available from any travel agent, figure on Rp400,000 for a
tour for two.
Note that the
sea is calmest in the morning and all transport stops
running in the afternoon, well before dark.
Get Around
In a rare
display of foresight, all forms of motorized transport are
banned from the islands: your only choice is horse-drawn
carts, known as cidomo, which are used even to
shuttle around diving gear. However, as the islands are only
a few km in diameter, it's entirely possible to just walk
instead.
Sea and Do
There are no
sights as such on the islands themselves, but the excellent
snorkeling and diving all around is a major draw. Sea
turtles are also common, especially around Turtle Point
just north of Gili Meno. You can rent masks and fins off the
beach, or contact any of the numerous dive shops to arrange
snorkeling or diving at choice spots nearby.
Gili
Trawangan
is the largest of Lombok's Gili Islands and is the only one
to rise significantly above sea level. It is 3km long and
2km wide with a population of about 1000. Of the Gilis,
Trawangan has the most tourist facilities; the pub Tîr na
Nôg claims that
Trawangan is the smallest island in the
world with an Irish pub. The most crowded part of Trawangan
lies on the eastern side.
Generally, Gili Trawangan can be reached by public boat from
Bangsal Harbor (located in the northwest coast of Lombok)
for a cost of less than IDR 10,000, taking about 40 to 50
minutes. If you wish to arrive in more comfort the dive
centre Blue Marlin Dive, Dream Divers and Dive Indonesia offers
speedboat transfers and pick ups from the airport. They will
pick you up at the airport in air-conditioned comfort and
drive you to Teluk Nara Bay where the speedboat will be
waiting for you. The price varies on the number of people.
This speedboat journey is 10 minutes to Trawangan.
A typical room (two-bed room with air-conditioner) costs
from as little as IDR 80,000 to as much as IDR 700,000 per
night, the majority being around IDR 200,000. For those who
want to travel cheaply, there are lots of bungalows rented
for around IDR 50,000 only, and there are as many cheap
eateries and bars around the island as are posh and
expensive ones. Top accommodation includes Kelapa Luxury
Villas, Villa Ombak and Villa Almarik.
Trawangan
has
more of a "party" atmosphere, than Gili Meno and Gili Air,
with all-night parties that rotate amongst a group of venues
each night. The largest of the parties takes place on a
monday night at Blue Marlin and a Wednesday night at Tir Na
Nog. While during the day, the popular activities for
visitors are scuba diving (PADI certified), snorkeling
(mainly along the northeastern coastline), kayaking and
surfing. There are also stalls that offer horseback riding
as a pastime activity. As small as the island, you can
circle the island with a bicycle within only 45 minutes.
Path along the way is very sandy which makes it more
difficult to pedal your bicycle.
On Gili Trawangan (as well as the other two Gilis), there
are no motorized vehicles. The main means of transportation
are bicycles (rented by locals to tourists) and cidomo (a
small horsedrawn carriage). For traveling to and from each
of the Gilis, locals usually use motorized boats and
speedboats.
Some of the first inhabitants of Gili Trawangan were from
Sulawesi who are fishermen and farmers. Previously Gili
Trawangan was covered in forest and deer lived on the
island.
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