The Gili Islands are located northwest of Lombok. The journey to reach them was an adventure. The thing is, if you rely on the “locals,” it seems like they are doing you a favor in terms of costs, but in reality, while they do make your life easier, you end up paying more. It’s worth noting that understanding how things work is not easy. There are no ticket offices as we know them, prices are not clearly displayed, and it’s all very confusing! Which boats go where, fast, slow, small, large, reliable? Moreover, it’s extremely hot, and you just want to get there, so you don’t think much. In the end, you rely on them and hope to reach your destination. Our boat, the Golden Queen, which sounded promising from the name, was indeed gold-colored but repainted with brush strokes a few centuries ago. Let’s just say that the safety services on board were at least questionable; a couple of crew members were bailing out some water with buckets from the engine area just after we set off, but then everything was fine ;)
Indian Ocean waves, we got a nice sunburn outside and got wet (inside it was -20 degrees, we couldn’t stay there), but overall, everything went well, and we arrived. Our accommodation was in a beautiful garden with palm trees and many lotus trees, very well maintained. There was also a pool. The room, well, it was large but not very clean and quite run-down, but it had a fan and air conditioning for a really good price, about €55 per night for three people.
The islands can be explored on foot or by bike; there are also horse-drawn carts, but the horses seemed to be suffering, so it’s better to use a bike, which costs very little, about €4 per day.
The coral reef is stunning, although unfortunately damaged in some areas by who knows what. I tried to ask but didn’t understand. Communication is difficult; English is known but limited, even by those who deal with tourists, so you have to figure things out on your own ;)
We also took a trip to Gili Meno, even smaller than Trawangan and heavily damaged by the 2018 earthquake. However, it’s absolutely worth seeing these islands; you have to make do, it’s hot, everything is a bit “run-down,” but they offer dreamlike water and beautiful beaches :) The food is good, and the pace is relaxed, overall very nice.
We spent very little on good food and all the activities we did, for example, a half-day trip to the 3 Islands with a private boat for 400k each, which is €20.
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