You're looking at what is my 5th time on the Gili Islands,
and I don't want to say that I'm an expert, but...
In this video, I'm going to be covering how to get to the Gili's from Bali,
your accomodation options, food recommendations,
where to go out in the party scene,
snorkeling, diving, how much your time on the Gili's will cost, and much much more.
So let's jump into it.
So, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you're traveling from Bali Padang Bai to the Gili Islands,
and you're gonna need to book yourself on a fast boat.
There are so many different fast boat companies to choose from,
but some that come to my head straight away are Eka Jaya,
which is the one that I take,
Ostina, Freebird, Golden Queen and Semaya One.
Like I said, I usually take Eka Jaya.
It costs around 725,000 IDR, or around 50 dollars return.
I find the website pretty easy to use,
but a lot of people will book tickets through a middleman,
so like maybe you're booking a taxi to Padang Bai, and the driver will book your ticket for you.
Sometimes this can be cheaper,
sometimes it can actually be more expensive, so just be careful who you book with.
So, we've just arrived at Padang Bai,
which is 9 out of 10 times going to be the port that you leave Bali to go to the Gili Islands.
We booked with Eka Jaya, so the first thing I had to do was go there
and pick up my boarding pass and my return ticket.
I also parked my bike there for 10k a night, which is really reasonable.
I'm only going for 2 days, so that's really handy.
We got here a little bit early, so we went to a restaurant.
There's plenty around and I got myself a mango juice, which is great,
and now I'm at the harbor
waiting for the boat.
You do have to remember that you do have to pay a 10k tax to get into the boat.
Things in Bali don't tend to run electronically,
so if you loose your paper return ticket,
you're gonna have to buy another one when you want to leave the Gili Islands.
And now it's time to get on the boat.
As you step on, the guy will take your boarding pass from you,
and the boat takes around an hour and a half, 2 hours, to get to the Gili Islands,
depending on where it stops first.
Sometimes it stops at Gili T first, sometimes it stops on Lombok first,
so the time can vary.
Bear in mind that sometimes the sea can be pretty choppy,
so if you do suffer from seasickness,
I would recommend taking a motion sickness tablet before you board the boat.
So, you know how to get to the Gili Islands,
but which one do you choose to stay on?
Well, I would recommend Gili Trawangan.
It's definitely my favourite island out of all of them,
it's the biggest one and it has the most food option,
it has the most options for partying and it has the most accomodation options for sure.
However, GIli T does get a little bit busy and a little bit louder sometimes,
so if you're looking for a more quiet vibe, then I would recommend Gili Air.
I stayed here before the pandemic in 2020 and although it was busy,
it was still relaxed and very chilled out.
Like I said, there's not as many food options,
and there's not as many accomodation options,
but there's still a lot of place to eat and stay on Gili Air.
Gili Meno is the smallest of the 3 islands, found in the center of the other 2,
and from what I hear, it's where families tend to go,
so if you're travelling with kids, it definitely might be an option for you to take.
I don't know about the food or the accomodation options, I haven't spent a lot of time in Gili Meno.
I think maybe if you want that chilled, relaxed, not very many people vibe,
try it out.
If you don't like it, then you can move to one of the other islands.
So 4 out of my 5 times I've been to the Gili Islands, I have stayed on Gili Trawangan,
so my guide is going to be primarely focused on this island.
However, a lot of the information I'm gonna say about like water activities and snorkeling,
and watching the sunset, this could all be carried over to Gili Air as well.
So on Gili T, there's a ton of accomodation choice.
Everything from hostels to luxury,
to homestay, to villas, to guesthouses.
Just bear in mind that most of the food options and party options
are actually on the east side of the island near the port, where the island has built up the most.
So I would really recommend staying this side,
or if you're not too bother by having that direct beach access,
then maybe just towards the centre of the island, a little bit away from the hustle and bustle,
could definitely be beneficial.
Now, once you get to your accomodation, I really recommend taking your shoes off
and just leaving your shoes off for the entire time you're there.
You're living the island life now, baby, and you do not need shoes.
Unless you really like shoes, in which case keep the shoes on.
The places I've stayed and that I would recommend that are probably on a more of an upper budget
are Villa Almarick, which rounds at around 100 dollars a night,
really nice, towards the north-east side of the island,
on the beach and great snorkeling.
You can go from your room, walk across the road,
get into the water, go snorkeling,
and there's corals and turtles right on your doorstep.
When I went with a group of friends, we actually rented out a six-bedroom villa
between 8 of us, and it was perfect,
it was massive, lovely pool, lovely garden,
lovely kitchen, perfect for drinks, perfect for before you go out,
perfect for after you've been out,
and at the moment this runs around 283 dollars a night.
But if you split that between 6 to 12 people, it's really not that much.
I also recommend staying at Manta Dive.
This is a place where people come to dive, but it's also a restaurant with great food,
and an accomodation with great bungalows and rooms.
It runs at around 50 dollars a night, and honestly the community is great there,
and it's slap bang central in the built-up area of Gili T,
so you're so close to all of the food and the drinks.
Finally, during my last visit, me and my girlfriend stayed with her family
in a place called Villa Rumah Rinda,
and I would recommend this as well.
It has so much potential to be a really nice villa,
but it's good enough as it is, it's a two-bedroom villa,
and it runs at around 110 dollars a night at the moment, so if there's 4 of you,
that's pretty tasty, I'll take that.
So, moving on to more solo travel friendly budget options,
maybe you're a budget backpacker, these are for you.
The first one I recommend is Mad Monkey,
which is actually found on the west side of the island,
but you might recognize the name because this is a chain of party hostels across SE Asia,
and they just recently opened after the pandemic,
and they run events there if you want to meet people, that's great for that.
And the rooms are only 11 dollars a night for a dorm.
So there's a couple of other options that I've googled for you guys.
I haven't actually stayed at them myself,
but there's Havana Hideaway that offers a double room for 20 dollars a night,
so if you're a couple or there's 2 of you, that's 10 dollars a night each, which is really really good.
And then there's one more called Gili La Boheme,
which I don't know, I don't know where it is, I haven't been there,
but it's 4 dollars a night.
It says you'll be staying in a tent, so I don't know what that entails,
but if you stay there, let me know in the comments, I'd love to know what it's like.
So the first thing you'll notice when you first arrive on the Gili Islands
is that there is a distinct lack of motor vehicles,
and that's because there are none on the island.
There are 2 main modes of transport on the Gili's.
One is horse and cart,
which I fully do not recommend, because these horses are not treated very well,
they're made to work all day in the sun with very little food and water and break.
So please, just avoid them.
The other option is bicycle, which I fully do recommend,
and I think is the best way to see the Gili Islands.
Vehicle acquired.
They cost around 60 to 80k a day, depending on where you rent them from.
Sometimes you can just pick them up at the port,
other times, like today, the hotel will provide them.
But this is the number 1 form of transport that I would recommend in the Gili Islands.
However, if you are booked into accomodations on the west side of the island,
where the sunset is, I do recommend hiring a bike as soon as you arrive,
because the walk there is gonna take you around 45 minutes.
So definitely hop on a bike and get over there as quick as you can,
because it is hot on the Gili Islands.
I have a friend who lives in the Gili Islands called Catherine,
and she's let me know about the local boats as well,
so I have the times and the prices here for you, let me read them out.
So the public boat from Gili T to Gili Air runs at 9:30 am and 4 pm,
and the boat back from Gili Air to Gili T runs at 8.30 am and 3 pm every day,
each way costing 45,000 IDR, or around 3 dollars.
And there's also a public boat from the Gili's to Lombok
that runs all day from 7 am to 5 pm,
but it doesn't run at a schedule,
it just leaves the island when it's full,
so it might be worth checking with the multiple information points around the island
to see when the best time is to grab this boat and where to get it from.
The public boat to Lombok only costs 20,000 IDR or just over a dollar.
I was really surprised the first time I got to Gili T
with the range of food options they have on the island.
I thought it was gonna be very limited, but it turns out there are so many different places to try.
Again, I've worked with my friend Catherine, she's given me some recommendations
because I haven't spent nearly long enough on the island to try everything.
So when it comes to food on the Gili Islands,
you can obviously eat as cheap or as expensive as you like,
and some of my favourite places to eat on Gili T are...
The Banyan Tree.
You have to try the zucchini lasagna.
It's the bomb, it's so so good that I have it every time I come back.
Manta Dive.
Best for breakfast, in my opinion.
Nothing beats the dude.
Kayu Cafe.
I can't actually remember, but I've eaten there a couple of times and it was great.
And Fat Cats, which I found out on my last morning, does all you can eat breakfast buffet
for 100,000 IDR,
between 7 am and 11 am.
And if you're wondering if I ate all of that food, the answer is...
No. You just need to go up the stairs.
And on top of this, some of Catherine's recommendations are:
Regina Pizza, Francesco's Pizza,
Hellocapitano Cafe, Coffee & Thyme,
see what they did there with the name?
Sasak Bistro and Jali Kitchen.
For watching the sunset, Catherine recommends Window Bar,
The Exile and Casa Vintage.
Finally, Catherine says that you should go to Gili Teak for sunbathing and brunch,
Pearl Resort and Pondok Santi for a fancier and classier meal,
and Tiki Grove if you want to try some good Mexican food.
Finally, for this section, I just want to mention that there are tons of local food options as well.
Just walk around looking for the warungs,
and you'll get Indonesian food for really really cheap if you're travelling on a budget.
Also, you can get really cheap food in the night market,
which is going to be the next section.
Just for you guys, I have made a Google Maps list which I've linked down below
that pins all of my food recommendations on Gili T.
Gili T night market is something that's really special and it opens every day around sunset.
It's a great place to go and try out some local food,
especially seafood, there'll be a ton of vendors there with freshly cooked fish
that have been captured that day.
Captured? I don't wanna say captured. That sounds awful!
Fresh seafood that's been sourced that day.
And it's actually really interesting inside.
There's a range of food to choose from, and even if you're not planning to eat,
I recommend just going in and have a look around just for the experience.
Just bear in mind that although it's local food,
the night market food here is a lot more expensive than it is back in Bali.
Everyone's favourite part of Gili T: the partying.
Catherine has actually broken down the schedule for the week for me to share with you guys,
so I'm gonna read that now.
Mondays is at Blue Marlin Dive centre,
Tuesdays is at Sama-Sama Reggae bar,
where they have amazing live music followed by a Gili bar crawl.
Wednesdays is at an Irish bar, and there's also a Gili boat party, if that's something that you're into.
Thursdays is another Gili bar crawl, I think that starts from Irish bar,
and then Fridays is again Sama-Sam for that crisp live music
followed by a good night out at Jungle Club.
Other places Catherine recommended are Ombak Bar,
Evolution and Tequila sunset Bar,
I wanna throw my own personal recommendation of Lava Bar,
they have dart sets go play, as well as a swimming pool.
I've had some really good nights there, so I think you guys could have some really good nights there as well.
It's worth just pointing out as well that Mad Monkey Hostel also throws events,
and it's a really good place to go and meet new people and have a really good time,
so if they're throwing an event, make sure you get to it.
Again, just for you guys, I have linked below a Google Maps list
that pins all of the party places on the island I've mentioned,
so you can go and find them yourself.
Being a chain of islands, Gili's are well known for its water activities
including diving, snorkeling and there's a third one that I wanna tell you about soon.
Snorkeling trips are inredibly easy to arrange.
Every man and his son will be offering you a snorkel trip as you walk up and down the main road,
and I'm sure your accomodation will probably offer you a snorkel trip as well.
The most popular snorkel trip is the Gili 3 islands trip,
and this costs around 800,000 to 1.2 million,
depending on who you book with. That's around 50 to 80 dollars for a private boat.
And if you're a budget backpacker, or you're travelling on a budget,
you can also book onto group tours.
I've never personally done this, I think they fill up the boat with 15 to 20 people,
and it costs around 150 to 200,000 IDR per person.
However, if you're a group of 4 or more of you,
it's definitely, definitely worth getting that private boat,
because it means that you can choose when to leave, whether that's in the morning or in the evening,
it means that you can move at your own pace, you don't have to worry about the rest of the group,
and you can pretty much do what you want. You can also arrange with the boat captain
for them to bring like a cool box with ice, and you and your friends can bring some beers
and enjoy some beers while you're snorkeling.
The 3 island tour usually takes you to the Bask underwater statues,
turtle point and a couple of coral gardens,
as well as stopping off at Gili Air for some food, depending on what time of the day you go.
I actually made a full video about this when I went to the Gili's at Christmas, I'll link that down below.
So there are 2 times a day that I recommend that you leave for your snorkel trip,
and that's eaither really early in the morning around 7/8 am,
to get the best visibility in the water.
It doesn't really matter how early you leave these days,
the tourists are back, so you're not really ever gonna have this place to yourself.
So I would actually personally recommend that you leave around 3 or 4 pm in the evening,
get a few hours of snorkeling in and then watch the sunset from the boat with beers, music and friends.
This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip when I went with my friends a couple of months ago.
The Gili's are well known for their tight-knit diving communities,
and there are tons of dive sites around the 3 islands,
including popular places like Shark Point to see the sharks and the shipwreck,
Manta Point to see the manta rays, obviously,
and a couple of coral reefs stops as well, like Han's reef and Deep Turbo is the other one.
I'm not entirely sure how much dives cost, but I think they're different in different places,
but after a quick Google, these are the prices that I found.
A single fun dive at Gili Divers cost 540,000 IDR, or around 36 dollars,
which includes a dive master and equipment rental.
The price for an open water PADI certificate at Trawangan Dive is 5.9 million,
or around 360 dollars.
A lot of places as you walk around will also offer like half day introductory dives
for people that just want to try it out, I'm not entirely sure how much this costs,
but I think it changes from place to place.
So, if you're looking to get into the diving community there,
I think the best places for you to stay are Manta Dive,
Trawangan Dive, Blue Marlin Dive,
Gili Divers, Freedive Gili or DSM Divers.
So the final water activity I want to tell you about,
this is not advertising the Gili's at all,
is sub winging.
Sub winging is essentially holding on to a plastic paddle called a subwing,
and being pulled behind a boat on a rope,
and whether you point the subwing down makes you submerge,
or point the subwing up, that means you come back up.
And it's so much fun!
I took my friends there last time and they all absolutely loved it.
If you can hold your breath for long enough,
it's really really good fun to cruise along the ocean floor at around 10 or 15 meters deep.
It's so zen you feel like you're part of the ecosystem,
and it's one of the best things I have ever done.
Honestly, it's like freediving, but without the effort of freediving,
and like I said, it's not advertised, so unless you watch this video, you won't know it's there.
I'll leave the number of the guy in the description below if you want to book.
The Gili Islands are notorious for their sunsets.
So if you're not enjoying the sunset from the boat after a snorkel trip,
I recommend that every evening you make your way to the west side of the island
and go and watch the sunset.
The sunsets on the island are perfect every single day,
so you gotta make sure you grab them as often as you can.
On this side of the island, there are a range of different beach bars
with bean bags out on the beach for you to sit down and enjoy the sunset with a nice cold drink,
some friends and some music.
This is also the side of the island where you can find all of the popular Gili swings.
However, last time I was there, I noticed that all the swings had actually been cut down,
so now there's just a gate in the ocean, which is not as instagrammable.
There's also locals walking up and down the beach offering you sunset horse riding on the beach
or in the ocean where they take videos and photos of you.
If this is something that you're into, I think these horses look a lot more healthier
and they look a lot more happier, I don't think they're used to pull carts around the island,
so if this is something that you're interested in, then maybe give it a go!
Okay, so it's the end of your paradise island retreat,
and that means it's time to go home and unfortunately that means it's time to put your shoes back on.
Do you remember that return ticket I told you to keep safe at the beginning of the video?
Well, now you need it, so get that out and put it in your pocket.
This is probably gonna be the most important piece of information
I'm gonna tell you in this video, so listen up.
Make sure you get to the harbor at least 1 hour before your fast boat leaves to check in.
Quite often, these companies oversell tickets to their boat
because they know if it fills up and you can't get on,
you have to buy another ticket with them to get home.
So don't be that person.
I was that person once, it's not fun watching the boat ride away without you,
so make sure you get there an hour early to check in.
So now you've checked in early, got your boarding pass, secured your seat on your boat home,
you've probably got at least an hour to kill,
so go have a bimble around the island, grab some food, grab some snacks,
have one last explore and back around 15 minutes before the boat is supposed to leave.
Quite often, these boats are actually late,
so the chance of you leaving on time are very slim.
And now it's just the case of getting back on the boat and riding all the way back to Bali,
or actually, if you're not going back to Bali and you haven't bought a return ticket and you go into Lombok,
I fully recommend the local boat. I have got it before, it's only 20,000 like I said earlier,
and it takes around 20 minutes to get to Lombok.
I hope you found this useful, subscribe for more!