If you could bottle paradise, it would taste like the Gilis.
Located a couple of hours by ferry from Bali, The Gili Islands are made up of three small islands, Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, more commonly referred to as ‘Gili T’. They’re a tiny slice of the good life and it’s very easy to see why they’re one of ‘the’ destinations in South East Asia.
We had heard amazing things about the Gilis and also the stereotypes about the islands – Gili T is the party island and Gili Air is for honeymooners. Yep, this pretty much sums it up, but we wouldn’t recommend visiting one without the other, given that both offer other things too. As a couple travelling we expected Gili Air to be a bit more of us, but Gili T was our pick of the two. Despite the sometimes not smooth sailing to the Gili’s, it’s a must-do if you have the time when you’re visiting Bali.
Unfortunately we didn’t quite make it to Gili Meno (just snorkelling nearby), but from what we’ve been told it’s pretty much a perfect mix of Gili Air and Gili T, hosting the turtle sanctuary and the same stunning views and crystal clear waters.
Getting there
We caught a ferry from Sanur, via Lembongan (the ferry also stopped at Lombok) with Scoot Cruises. The 2.5 hour boat trip to Gili T from Lembongan was fine and the sea was smooth enough, although the trip which was advertised as ’90 minutes’ was a fair bit longer. We paid for a round trip, which worked out to be the most convenient for us and was around IDR 3.5 million (for 2 people).
It’s probably worth mentioning that the transfer from Gili T to Gili Air was a little disconcerting as we were piled on to a small ‘speedboat’ which was far too small and barely looked sea-worthy. We did of course make it though, so all is good in the world.
The ferry back from Gili Air to Sanur (via Lembongan) was…interesting. After the transfer back to Gilli T, we were made to wait on the beach for a good couple of hours, the ferry to pick up and then endured the rough seas back to Sanur, arriving only a couple of hours late. While waiting on the beach at Gili T, make sure you wear sunscreen. Sunstroke and large swell don’t bode well.
Check out our posts about things to do in Gili T here and Gili Air here.