Taking a break in the Gili Islands Lombok

Taking a break is important for all rational humans and I got to take a 4 day break in the Gili Islands which are off of the NW coast of Lombok with Donovan and Carrie from the US and Ika from Java.

I will be describing this trip in more detail but suffice it to say that the Gili Islands are great for anyone who wants a stress break.

We flew Merpati from Bali on a flight that took 30 minutes. Getting to the islands means a taxi to the port of Bangsal in Lombok then a small local ferry to whichever island you want. There are 3 Gili Islands…Trawangan the busiest, Air the second busiest and Meno the quietest. We went for Gili Trawangan and it was fine. Plenty of accommodation options for budget as well as luxury travelers.

We just got back a couple of hours ago and I must say that even while I am the same pastey-white color, Donovan and Carrie look like they could audition for ‘Blue Lagoon’. Ika has got us all beat but then she’s not really trying.

I know there was a bombing in Jakarta recently and we heard about it in the Gili’s but life out there is somewhat removed and people seem to get on with their life, hoping the best will happen.

This afternoon we had a ‘goulage’ of Indonesian transport systems. First was a horse drawn cart (Cidomo) taking us to the beach where the boats leave, that was followed by a very rough boat ride across a strait to Bangsal. From Bangsal we took a taxi to the airport for the 30 minute flight across the Lombok Strait to Bali.

Photos to come and tips on how to get to the Gili’s.

Check out some of the hotels that are available in the Gili’s by selecting ‘Gili’s in the ‘location’ field of this page.