Most people who have traveled to or researched Indonesia have probably heard of the Gili Islands. But if you start scanning the coastline of the country, you’ll notice many Gilis because Gili simply means “small island” in Indonesian. However, when tourists speak of them, they’re typically referring to the ones off the north coast of Lombok, and easy to access from Bali. These popular islands are famous for their white-sand beaches, clear waters, and fantastic diving and snorkeling spots. Gill Trawangan (or Gili T) is known as party central; Gili Meno, which is the smallest and sometimes called the honeymoon island; and Gili Air, which is a mix of the first two. It still has a chill vibe, but also a lot going on.
All three seem to offer fountains of booze at incredible rates for Indonesia, as well as a contradictory mosque plopped in the core, a plethora of big cats and baby cats, and accepting locals who obviously have no choice but to put up with the tourists.
Since Mandy was seeking a yoga and meditative recharge, as well as rediscovering the Goa hippie inside of her, we chose to spend our week on Gili Air at H20 Yoga and Meditation Center so she could take regular classes with qualified teachers without having to commit to a full-on retreat, which can be expensive. Plus, this way Greg could also dabble in some zen-ness without feeling too involved.
Getting to Gili Air (from Lombok) & Departing Gili Air (to Bali)
To get to the Gili Air is quite easy from mainland Lombok. We first took a Bluebird taxi to Bangsal Terminal and then caught the PUBLIC ferry for 18,000 rupiah each or a little over a $1. There is also an option to take a “fast ferry,” which costs significantly more and only shaves off about 10 minutes from an already quick trip.
If you want the cheap and local way, look for “Public Ferry Terminal” on Google, find your way to the pink building (see photo) and ignore anyone who tries to throw you off by talking trash about the public ferry.
When you board the ferry, you will have to wade through the water so it’s a fantastic idea to wear sandals. We didn’t know this piece of wisdom so we arrived to Gili Air with that satisfying squishy sound embedded in our sneakers.
Also note that aboard the local ferry are a lot of goods being shuffled from the mainland to the island. Since the island is packed with westerners with high demands, it’s no surprise the boat was buckling at the seams with avocados for all that toast. 🤣 All in all, it was a pleasant, quick and inexpensive experience.
For the departure, however, we did it all wrong and made a big mistake of flying out of Bali instead of Lombok because it was “cheaper.” But, we would soon learn that getting away from Gili Air was definitely not as pleasant, or cheap, as getting in.
Although we could have done it the cheap way by taking public ferries, it would have involved three transfers, which may or may not have worked out time wise (Gili Air-Bangsal-Lembar-Pandang Bai-Sanur) and with the astronomical price of taxis on both islands and no public transportation, we’re also not sure it would have been much cheaper in the long run.
Thus, we reluctantly jumped on the “fast ferry” bandwagon to take us direct to Sanur from Gili Air, of which there are seemingly hundreds of options, most without any online presence. We found a few boats for as cheap as $23/each, but when you start digging into reviews, it’s frightening. Some were as bad as one star with hundreds of reviews. Now, we don’t care if the boat is late or doesn’t have A/C, which many people complained about. We do care about Titanic situations…you know, boats breaking down, being stranded and without enough life vests. 😬
We finally went with Tanis Fast Cruise which had a “fantastic” 3.6 rating and cost a whopping $30/each for the 3.5 ride from Gili Air to Sanur. We checked in two hours early, as directed, for our 1:00 pm departure and were given passes on purple lanyards that made you feel like you were about to do something really cool. It wasn’t.
We waited on the small dock with hundreds of other tourists and counted at least ten different colored lanyards. It was an absolute zoo, especially with the sheer amount of luggage people seem to roll over your toes or gracefully slam into you. Seriously. Why do you need so much luggage in a place where you wear tank tops and butt floss?
The boat boarded right on time at 12:50 and our beloved backpacks…our lifelines, were immediately launched to the top of the open boat, while we were ushered into the absolutely stuffed hot box at the bottom where we were forced to split up (boo hoo!) This boat comically was advertised as air conditioned and although we saw evidence of air conditioning on the walls, true to reviews, they were purely decoration. Instead, small fans circulated the stale beer-filled air (they picked up at Gili T first) and definitely didn’t drift back to our seats. AND…people kept closing windows because they didn’t want to get (lightly) splashed.
This seemed ridiculous at first until the boat started tossing like a toy in a typhoon and water sprayed down both sides, which was a legit reason to close them. Fortunately, our “cruise director” (ha!) provided us with free motion sick meds, although this did not alleviate any concerns about our houses getting doused above us. Somehow, the backpacks remained dry in the end.
Our end conclusion? Both the air conditioned and spacious public ferry for $5 from Lembar to Pandang Bai and the local ferry from Lombok to Gili Air were a far more pleasant experience. 😂
Arriving to Our Yogi Paradise
After a 15-minute walk through a sea of backpacks, roller bags with filthy wheels, and Neapolitan people (white, bronzed or tomato-red skin), we arrived to H20 Yoga where we received a warm welcome from the staff.
It was also an opportunity to seal the deal on our next credit card sign up bonus. (Yay! See comments) For the week we stayed, it was $250 or about $35/night. Mandy also purchased a 10-class pass which was discounted to about $6.50 a class instead of $9. Evidently, you can only get this deal upon check in. Considering it was high noon, and it seemed 10 degrees higher on the little island than the big island, the empty pool looked more appealing than anything.
In this pool, they did aqua clases two times a week. Mandy did her first one morning and while it was unique, she didn’t feel like it was nearly the same experience as on land. Plus, she, as well as several others, were too short to do a lot of the poses well so it felt a bit awkward. There were also two yoga shalas in the facility and about 3-4 class offerings daily.
Our “Superior Bungalow” was spacious with a private bath and ample comfy places to sit. Also, although several reviews said something about the mosque, you could barely hear it. Those people have no idea how lucky they have it on Gili Air and need to go spend some time on Java. 🤣
The bed and pillows were incredibly comfortable as well. It would be a bit difficult to relocate to “land of the board beds” after this….(bonus points if you know what we’re referring to?)
The bathroom, which we’ll also junk up in no time.
The neighborhood cats were already spreading the word regarding the bag of treats we have. By the first morning, we had already rented four for the week.
The outside of our bungalow. We especially liked it because we’re tucked away in the back, which was ideal for having our morning drinks, as we watched the chickens trying to stand up to the cats. Unfortunately they were too…chicken.
Breakfast was also included, which meant we were going on day 22 of catered mornings. It’s strange for us. Not that we’re complaining. The offerings were a banana pancake, eggs/toast or pesto veggies & tempe with toast. Note: you will NOT escape sugar-laden white bread in Indonesia, even at a snobby yoga joint where the majority of the health-conscious crowd are vegetarian/vegan/GF/dairy free or some combination of the above.
Another yoga shala, near a wisdom wall bursting with hippie expertise. All the equipment is laid out and wiped down for you before every class. This was a nice touch.
The front desk, which also sold yoga clothing with a 10% discount. Yep, Mandy jumped on that bandwagon too. Greg was quite relieved she finally felt compelled to replace her “baggy ass granny britches” she’s been practicing in since we were in Turkey.
Our place from the street gives an indication of what the thoroughfares are like on Gili Air. Not a single motorized vehicle and we are LOVING it.
A Play Date
Upon arriving to Gili Air, we were inundated with healthy and westernized food options galore. So, we chose something a bit out of the box by visiting the “Play Cafe,” which is Gili Air’s Ultimate Family Experience. As a child-free couple, you might wander why we gravitated to this place. It just looked unique and fun, and also had a great looking menu. (Plus, we pre-ordered the “no tantrum special” which they seemed to fulfill. 🤣)
It’s basically a way hippier and healthier version of a US McDonald’s, circa 1990’s. But, in addition to indoor and outdoor play areas, they have childcare assistants on site who we witnessed scoop up toddlers as soon as mom and dad arrived, as well as a stylish co-working space with fast WiFi. A perfect place for parents to get work done or just have a little “me” time.
The space is thoughtfully designed with things like kid’s toilet seats, complimentary diapers, and free bottles of cold water. The outdoor structures consist of swinging bridges, a teepee, sandboxes, rope swings and more. The told us we were allowed to play also! When else are we non-parents allowed to play on a playground without getting weird looks?! Also, the indoor play area featured a kitchen set made of bamboo. Refreshing to see kid’s toys not beholden to plastic.
Of course, you can guess the first item on the menu…Greg settled for tomato quiche, which took way too long to serve (almost an hour.) This was the only downside to this place though the staff did everything they could to apologize for the delay and keep us happy while waiting.
Mandy’s baba ghanoush with SOURDOUGH not white bread! Finally 😋 We spent $9 on the two items which was pricey for here, but also quality.
While we were waiting for Greg’s dish, one nice thing the staff did for us was cut up a cashew fruit for us to try. If you read one of our previous posts on the cashew fruit, you might remember that it’s poisonous. Evidently, the fruit itself is fine to eat, so long as you stay away from the shell of the familiar-looking bulbous nut butt. In this process, Mandy also confirmed that that nut is the best part and the fruit made her face do this. Quite bitter…clearly why it’s better off as a jam.
Unlimited free water for our wait. Unless you’ve traveled in a developing country, you probably don’t understand what a gift this is. Greg also enjoyed his refrigerated cloth they gave us to drape around our neck.
A Snorkeling Adventure
Lombok’s Gili Islands are renowned for their fantastic scuba and snorkeling sites so we were eager to check out life under the sea. We first tried to snorkel off the beach on Gili Air, but this was quite un-fun due to shallow waters, coral underfoot and choppy seas on the days we rented our gear. Thus, we decided to join a day tour organized through H20 yoga for $8/each to be floated four stops further afield. Here we experienced hoards of tourists, often clumped together as one massive unit where you constantly got accidentally finned, as the guide tried to whisk the blob safely through the rapidly-moving currents using his voice to point out every single turtle along the way.
Needless to say, if you’re not a strong swimmer, wear a life jacket. Your provided flippers are a must. Also, you really need to pay attention, keeping your ears regularly above the water so you’re following the right group, and getting back on the right boat, or you might end up in China.
Despite a bit of mayhem, it was ultimately worth it. We encountered loads of tropical fish and more sea turtles than we’ve ever seen in our life (around 20). And fortunately, they remarkably didn’t seem to be the least bit affected by the human presence.
In fact, our favorite moment was when a giant turtle glided straight at and then directly underneath us. We were practically face to face. So wish we could have captured those doe eyes to share with you. Ok. We may need to invest in a go pro one of these days…
We’ve now snorkeled three times in Indonesia….Karimunjawa in Java, Amed in Bali and the Gili Islands. The water, beaches and lack of crowds were best in Karimunjawa; the overall coral, sealife and beach access in Amed, and the turtles of the Gilis. So it’s hard to pinpoint which was the best experience for us, but regardless days in these waters were always a joy.
In our boat, every seat was filled, mostly with white European dolphins, the guide joked at one point. (Glad he didn’t say whale). We were as usual the only Americans, although we saw more on Gili Air than anywhere else in our Indonesian travels. You might also notice there is a small green hole on the floor upfront. That would be the glass “bottom” boat we were promised. 😆
Oh! Wait a minute. That says CLASS bottom boat. Well, geez. We didn’t realize the euro dolphins were that poor….
Two of our stops were as described at the beginning of the post. The third was at this dazzling underwater sculpture garden which acts as an artificial reef to help marine life evolve. Of course it looked nothing like this internet photo because it was absolutely swarmed with humans, some naturally flowing downstream and others trying to salmon it upstream to get a second, or first look because your boat drops you off in the wrong place. (This was us.)
Amongst this chaos, we observed a sea turtle who decided to surface, looking like a celebrity coming out of a limo. (Minus the fancy dress.) He didn’t look particularly frightened, but then again, god knows what a turtle is thinking. Naturally, there were a couple of euro dolphin paparazzis who decided to touch him, ensuing a flare-up from an in-the-right yet vocal activist, which resulted in an argument while scores of byswimmers were bobbing up and down, kicking and flopping every which way. Real safe. Fortunately, we (and the turtle), got the hell out of there quickly after that.
Taking a breather with a coconut smoothie during lunch on Gili Meno, known as the honeymoon island. We ordered a fish sandwich and a veg curry dish as well, all for about $8.50.
Oh, that water….<sigh>
The last spot we snorkeled before returning to Gili Air around 3 pm was finally amidst some perfectly tranquil water featuring some beautiful intact coral. Now, this was more like it!
More Thoughts on Gili Air
As we wrapped up our week on fun-sized Gili Air, we were definitely ready for a change of scenery. Although having regular smoothie bowls and lots of time for yoga and meditation was wonderful, it was quite touristy so it simply didn’t speak to us like many other places we’ve visited in Indonesia. In fact, in didn’t really feel like Indonesia at all. While this may work quite well for some, we simply missed the immersion.
One thing Gili Air, a size of two square miles (5k), did quite well was easy access to both the sunrise and the sunset. The entire west side is packed with seaside bars and restaurants offering two for one happy hours, where cocktails can be found for about $2.50 each and the sleepy sun tucks itself behind Bali’s Mount Agung quite cozily. The surf is also incredibly calm and shallow here making it ideal for kayaks and stand up paddle boards.
Too much sun was also an easy thing to acquire on Gili Air as indicated by the shimmer across Mandy, enjoying her last Indonesian coconut. These cost about $1.60 here which is a slight markup from other parts of Indonesia though not crazy. (Note: because we’re on Gili Air where showing skin is more acceptable, she is wearing the shirt she bought from a Vietnamese sales girl in the “sexy” not “no-sexy way.”) 🤣
She, however, is not flossing while walking through the village, which is deeply frowned upon. Despite the signage, we saw many a bare butt plastered to bike seats…no doubt to the horror of the conservative locals. Funnily there is also a dog on this poster of which there are none on the Gilis.
Gazing towards Lombok during the setting sun.
One of the things we really appreciated about the Gilis is they were free of motorized vehicles. This means your only choice is to bop around by electric scooter, bicycle, your own two feet or horse taxi, which would sometimes come barreling down the narrow pathways faster than a car. And the signage was adorable. Even in the days before smart phones, you can tell it was very easy to get around here.
The dirt or sand lined streets near the harbor were always clogged with tourists, but the further you went back, the people fanned out and it became a lot more pleasant.
One really nice thing about Gili Air was the environmental efforts it made with recycling, water bottle refill stations, and even a no-waste store where we were able to fill up our shampoo and conditioner bottles.
The Poke Bowl restaurant was also a recommendation. Although we didn’t splurge on the pricey poke bowls, we did shell out the most well spent $3 all week on a simply sensational buttery brownie. Oh….wow…it’s been awhile!
Like a mini Goa, it wouldn’t be a hippie haven without loads of workshops…. coconut oil making, sound baths, wellness lectures and yogic options. Our hippie-dippie option of choice was a “Waning Moon Ceremony” for $9/each at H20 Yoga (where we stayed.) It featured meditation, sound bath, journaling and some astrology. Greg was severely outnumbered by a room full of emotional women. Lucky him. 😂
Another unique class Mandy took was a Hatha Yoga class using a bamboo pole for alignment which added a whole dimension to the practice. Although Greg tried to take a photo of her while in this class, he couldn’t see where she was standing and didn’t want to be a total creeper so he just took a quick snap of these people’s behinds.
Other classes she took included vinyasa, morning flow with core, hatha, breathwork and qi gong. Overall, the quality of the classes was quite good, but the lack of more intermediate or advanced options was disappointing. If you’re looking for a more challenging power class, the best was Vinyasa Flow. All the rest were mostly just zen.
The authentic side of Gili Air featured a mosque at its heart whose sound filtered throughout the island. It was also interesting to see local homes, most of which were folded into the interior.
Gili Air was a perfectly pleasant place to roam. It took a little over an hour to completely encircle it, and the alleys and streets that knitted together the perimeter were often empty and tranquil.
The beaches encircling the island were white, both in people and in sand, but typically narrow and interspersed with broken coral which didn’t feel too happy on bare feet. Although there were a lot of people, it was still always quite easy to find a special spot of your own.
Bikes were available for rent throughout the island for about $3.30/day. However, much of the island couldn’t be explored by bike because of the deep sandy paths where the wheels would simply get stuck and people would have to walk them through. We really didn’t see the point of renting a bike as soon as we witnessed that little nugget of info. Also on the perimeter, one could find loads of beach bars and restaurants for lounging. We’re not really into lying in a chair all day so this wasn’t too exciting for us.
The east side of the island had more compact dirt paths, and offered live music and bonfires at night. There was also a lot of construction…and the Indonesians are not tidy builders!! They seemed to be completely redeveloping their boat harbor which seems to be a good decision. Hopefully this will make it a bit more organized in the future.
While on Gili Air, our breakfast was taken care of, so we typically enjoyed a big lunch out and a small dinner in. Unfortunately the kitchen at H20 didn’t have anything in it, including a knife to cut fruit, so we typically just had yogurt, cereal and bananas. When we went out, we’d typically rotate cheap Indonesian meals at warungs for about $5-7 for both of us, with western temptations. Going clockwise, the Indonesian meals pictured include 1. Chicken Rendang, Gado Gado, fish curry, more Gado Gado and Tempe/tofu rendang (middle).
Rendang is soooo good! It’s a traditional Indonesian dish often from West Sumatra. It is a rich, slow-cooked meat dish, typically made with beef, (but ours was chicken and vegetarian) simmered in coconut milk and a blend of aromatic spices such as lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger, and chilies. This was the first time we’d seen it readily available and it was excellent.
Every western meal we found ourselves involved with included those beloved French fries so we had more of those than we’d had since South America. They were good for the first meal, but after that we were ready to return them!! We also had smoothie bowls, hummus and veggie wraps, vegan burgers and local “tacos” made with chicken and peanut sauce. These meals were anywhere from $4.60-$12 for two people. After our meal at Play Cafe, we tried to avoid super touristy overpriced places where prices were inflated.
Our favorite joint we went to three times ended up being the Pineapple Resto, which had a big menu with cheap prices, including smoothie bowls for $2.30 which were often more than double any place with “bowl” or “vegan” in its name.
And as always in western inundated haunts, we had to cram some “Mexican” in las bocas. As usual, it left a lot to be desired to fulfill our cravings, but at least it was fresh and had a local flair, even offering one made with grilled jackfruit, which was quite interesting. Three tacos at the Burrito Project were about $5, so still reasonable.
The island is scattered with cats underfoot everywhere you go. Some of our favorites included the three-legged Panda, Grumpy Cat, and the Three Musketeers which were regular visitors who demanded kibble each morning at our bungalow.
Boats at the harbor, amongst endless accommodation options.
