Gili T: Paradise a Short Ride Away from Bali
Only a 2 hour boat ride away from Bali, you can find white sandy beaches lined with coconut trees and crystal blue water. The Gili Islands have long been known as a tropical island paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the mainland.
Gili Trawangan is the most developed and the biggest of the 3 islands. It takes around an hour to bike around at a leisurely pace. On this island you will find the most accommodation and food options, and the best nightlife. The main boardwalk is still being rebuilt after the 2018 Earthquake, but besides that, the island is open for business!
What to do?
Beaches and Swimming: We found that some of the best beaches were located around the southern part of the island. Keep in mind that the beaches around the Gilis do have reefs around them, so some parts you would need watershoes to swim in.
The beach in front of Pondok Santi Resort was kept well maintained, as well as the beach around Pearl Beach Lounge. In the North East, the beach in front of Villa Almarik is best for turtle spotting.
Snorkeling and Diving: There are so many sites to dive and snorkle around Gili T. From swimming with turtles at Turtle Point, to exploring shipwrecks and seeing black tip reef sharks. While the reefs around the Gili’s are not as active in comparison to the ones in West Papua, you can still see some really cool underwater life, including sea horses and manta rays, that you **
The two dive companies we recommend are Manta Divers and Gili Divers. Both helped the local communities tremendously after the August 2018 earthquake by contributing both financially and physically to the rebuilding efforts on the island.
You can organize snorkeling trips from the many tour offices lining the board walk. Majority of these trips include lunch and drinks. If you are looking to get the best price, then skip the tour offices and just approach any of the men hanging around by the boats on the beach, and ask them to take you on their boat. This should cost around $80 USD for a private boat tour (you can split that between 5 people) that will take you to 3 different spots.
Best Sunset Spots: We have seen some of the most epic sunsets ever in the Gilis. The sun sets on the west part of the island, so head over there to one of the beach restaurants and watch the sun go down. We really liked hanging out at Casa Vintage for the sunset, and taking advantage of the happy hour drinks specials from the other bars nearby.
No trip to the Gilis would be complete without a photo on the swings at sunset, and you can find many of these swings set up along the beaches on the west. Our favourite water swings here were 50 metres south of Le Pirate, and they were rarely busy.
You can also book a sunset cruise from any of the boat men along the harbour. If you are looking for a luxurious sunset cruise which includes sunset cocktails, you can organize that through Pondok Santi onboard their boat, Princess Margaux.
If you are up for it, you can also hike up to Sunset Point and watch the sun set from a high altitude.
Night life: Gili T is part of the typical South East Asian backpacker tour, so the night life here is lively. The Sama Sama Reggae Bar, The Irish Bar (Tir Na Nog) and the Evolution Bar among the liveliest on the island. There is also an organized Gili T Island Pub Crawl every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Where to stay?
Luxury: We stayed at the Kelapa Villas and at the Pondok Santi. Both are very lovely and have private pool villas, but Pondok Santi is definitely more upscale. Pondok Santi also has direct beach access, and has the nicest boat on the island, the Princess Margaux, if you fancy a sunset cruise. The food there is also the best food we have ever had at a resort- the steak, salmon, fish tacos, and blueberry cheesecake was our favourite.
Mid-Range: Gili Tree House and Le Pirate
Budget: Gili Flush Harmony and Emalia Homestay
Where to Eat?
Jali Kitchen: We loved the peanut butter burger and tempe burger here
Kayu Cafe: The Mexican bowl here is incredible!
Casa Vintage: We loved the Jamaican stew here
La Dolce Vita: Tasty Italian cuisine
Tiki Grove: Polynesian Restaurant- obsessed with the tuna bowls!
Karma Kayak: Delicious local eats
Manta Dive Restaurant: This spot is perfect for when you get off the boat and need an ice cold beer and chili fries.
There was also a fantastic thai restaurant on the beach on the main strip that had the best penang chicken curry we have every had- we just cant remember the name!
GETTING AROUND ON Gili t
On the islands, there are no motorized vehicles permitted. Your only way is to get around by push bike or horse-drawn cart. The cost of a bike rental for the day is around $5 USD, while you should not pay more than 150,000 for a horse cart anywhere around the island. We tried avoiding taking the horse carriages as much as possible as the horses are kept in horrible living conditions and given salt water to drink. We actually chose to walk 30 minutes in the blazing heat with our bags to avoid taking the carriage, and are hoping that if more tourists boycott this unnecessary cruelty, they’ll start implementing electric scooters or bicycle carts instead.
HOW TO GET TO THE GILIS
We recommend using Blue Water Express to get to the islands. Blue Water Express has a door to door pick up service (for Seminyak, Kuta, Uluwatu and the surrounding areas) and will take you right to their harbour near Sanur. This means you won’t have to worry about getting there from your accommodation. Blue Water Express leaves everyday at 8 AM, and it takes around 2 hours to get to Gili T. You can also take Blue Water Express to Gili Air. On the way back to Bali, the boats leave Gili T around 11:15 AM and get back to mainland around 1:30 PM.
Blue Water Express not only has a stellar safety record (which is a rare gem to find in South East Asia), but they also offer water and candy on board. They are committed to keeping the islands clean and plastic-free, which is a major bonus for us and why we chose to use them for all our boat trips.
GETTING FROM ONE ISLAND TO ANOTHER
It is relatively easy to get between the islands and depending on your budget, there are 3 different ways:
The first one is to rent a private speedboat, which costs around $60 to get between the islands. This private transfer will leave whenever you want it to, and you can easily arrange this through your hotel or by the tourist agencies along the board walk.
Another, more budget friendly alternative is to pay for a semi private boat transfer, where you will be sharing the boat with a few others. These boats leave at set times during the day, and cost around $8 per person. It takes around 10 minutes to go from one island to the next. Tickets can be bought at the boat agencies along the board walk at the harbour.
The last, and cheapest alternative, is to take the public ferry. The ferry operates twice a day, typically leaving between 8-9 am and 3-4 pm. The ferry costs $4 per person and takes around 30 minutes to reach Gili Air from Gili T, with a stop in Gili Meno. Since we were on a budget, we opted for this method of transfer.