The Gili islands are totally paradise, located only 2 hours from Bali! These paradise islands are made of white sand and turquoise water! If you like diving/snorkeling, or if you just want to have good times and chill in paradise, these islands are for you! There are different 3 islands, located near each other Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan.
3 days on the Gili islands Lombok
Where are located the Gili islands?
The Gili Islands are belonging to Lombok are located between Bali and Lombok. These 3 small islands are precisely located near the north-west of Lombok. To reach these islands you have several ways, either you take a flight or you come by boat.
How to get to the Gili islands?
To reach Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili T you can take a flight to Lombok airport.
If you are coming from Bali, you can take a boat. You need first to go to Padang Bai or Amed harbor and take a boat for approximately 2:30 hours. A taxi from the company can also pick you up at your hotel 1 hour before, sometimes it is included in the price. The best is to talk with them by What’s app. The price
Travel tip: There are several companies and they are quite equivalent. Book in advance and book your ticket online to make sure to have a place! But you need to know that the boats can be canceled because of the weather conditions. In this case, you will receive an email the day before and you may have to wait a few days to have another boat. This happened to us, we had to wait 3 days because of the bad weather conditions. So we decided to visit Nusa Penida and Ubud and we came back to Padang Bai 3 days later to take another boat. If you are planning to visit Bali, you can read my ultimate Bali itinerary!
Which Gili island to choose?
The 3 Gili islands are really different. But the 3 islands have beautiful beaches. Last year, I went to Gili Meno for 3 days, it was beautiful and really quiet and relaxing. I stayed at the beautiful Avia villas and I had the chance to dive and to swim with many turtles, it was magical!.
Gili Trawangan
This year I wanted to see something new and I went to Gili T. This really looks like Gili Meno but there more hotels/restaurants/bars/diving centers and obviously more people! The ambiance is very different. The Gili island you will choose for your stay is depending on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a quiet, romantic, relaxing stay, chose Gili Air or Gili Meno. If you also want to hang out and have drinks with friends on the beach in front of the sunset, choose Gili Trawangan!
I really loved Gili Trawangan because the beaches are dreamy and the ambiance is really cool. If you want to eat tapas and have a drink for the sunset, there are amazing spots on the beach all around the island! Also, there are many beautiful hotels/villas/bungalows located near the beach.
Where to stay in Gili Trawangan?
You can find easily a cute bungalow in front of the beach, or a luxury villa with a
Kelapa Villas Gili Trawangan
We stayed at the beautiful Kelapa villas in Gili T, located just 5 minutes from the beach by bike. To go from the harbor to the villas you can walk, it’s only at 20 minutes. Please don’t ride horses carriages! These poor horses are not well treated. If you choose to walk to will participate to stop this business and do your daily cardio 😉
These villas were absolutely gorgeous. We had a beautiful one-bedroom villa with a private pool and an outdoor shower. We also had an amazing floating breakfast in the pool of the villa with fresh juices and fruits and some bread.
They are also renting bikes to explore the island. It’s the best way to explore Gili T and find empty beaches! You can just bike around the island and stop when you find a great spot!
Gili Meno and Gili Air
You can also read our post about which Gili island is the best for you?
Are you planning to visit the Gili islands?
This 3 days trip to Gili Trawangan was absolutely amazing! We have seen insane sunsets, discovered gorgeous and empty beaches made of white sand and turquoise water and found cute restaurants on the beach!
If you are planning to visit Gili Trawangan or one of the Gili islands soon, let me know! And feel free to ask me any question, I would love to help
