The Gilis consist of 3 small islands, Gili Air being the closest to Lombok, Gili Meno in the middle and also the smallest, and Gili Trawangan which is the biggest and most notorious.
Gili Trawangan, or Gili T as its affectionately known is a party and dive mecca. Known for its more relaxed social laws (surprising given its an Islamic region), so many beach parties can be found late at night, with locals selling the local delicacy, magic mushrooms! It is a very nice place, with many accomodation options, and great places to eat fresh seafood right at the waters edge.
Several of the beach side hotels have established bars which all run until about 12-1am, after this 1 bar each night remains open to continue the tunes and good vibes into the wee hours. There is one hill, with a bit of a lookout, some surfing on the reefs at the southern tip of the island. But its better known for the waters edge swings, from the south coast all the way up the west, you’ll find differently decorated swings just a few meters into the water, very popular with avid instagramers!
Getting around Gili T, you have 3 choices, walking, bicycles or the local taxi services of a horse pulled cart! You can rent bicycles around the ‘harbour’ and central west coast areas where theres more accomodation built up, and generally go for 80k per day. And with there being horse traffic around, watch your step on the roads, as there could be a fresh horse steamer waiting to ruin the good times!
And for all you interested in whats under the water, theres many dive shops littered along the main area at the ‘harbour’, so take your pick! Theres 3 island snorkelling tour options, plus various options for different levels of experience for deeper dives, with ship wrecks and stunning coral reefs to be explored at all depths!
Gili Meno
The smallest of the three islands, and also the quietest and most chilled. Being the smallest, theres limited accomodation options, and limited night life options, though they have been known to spark up a beach bonfire from time to time!
Gili Air
This island is described as more of a ‘couples’ location, it features several very nice accomodation options, some night life and a general super chilled kind of vibe.
For all 3 islands, I recommend taking money over from Bali or Lombok, there are some ATMs on Gili T, but due to limited police presence, all ATMs have card readers on them. Take a minimum of 500k IDR per day per person when not on Bali, and if you didn’t pre pay for your accomodation, find out if they will accept credit card payment or if they accept cash only. If cash only, add this into your budget
Mick's travel guide 