Gili
Islands Lombok
(
Trawangan - Meno & Air )

"
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 island 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.

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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