How did we get there?
The Gili Islands are easy to get to in under a couple of hours by ferry from a number of locations on mainland Bali, most commonly Padang Bai or Sanur. These 2 ports are an easy taxi or mini bus ride away from Kuta/Seminyak/Ubud etc. You can buy tickets for the ferry when you get to the port.
Where did we stay and for how long?
The Gili Islands are a must visit place in Bali. The Gili’s are made up of 3 islands, Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno. Gili T is the most popular island and has the most going on. Popular with backpackers and tourists there are lots of restaurants and bars and plenty of accommodation to choose from. Gili Air is the slightly quieter island but still with plenty of cafes and beach bars and Gili Meno is kind of known as the honeymoon island with fancy resorts.
We actually spent a few days on Gili T and a few on Gili Air so we got a mixture of the lively bars and the more chilled out atmosphere.
What did we do whilst we were there?
If staying on Gili T I would recommend staying at ‘The Pirate’. It has super cute blue and white beach huts with air con and hammocks, a pool and a beach bar and is situated on the best side of the island to watch the sunset. The accommodation that is slightly out of the main strip, around the other side of the island tends to be nicer but you may want to hire bikes to cycle back into the main town for dinner etc. This side of the island has plenty of swings in the sea, bean bag beach bars and uninterrupted views of the sunset without all the ferries coming and going.
If staying on Gili Air, I would recommend staying quite close to the main centre as walking at night around the island is a little spooky as it’s so quiet and there are hardly any lights. And it is hard to cycle as a lot of it is sand! There are a lot of quirky cafes and bars and even outdoor cinemas. This little island is lovely!
Whichever island you stay on, make sure to do a boat trip. They take you out for the day and you get to visit all the best spots around the islands, with plenty of stops for snorkelling and you should get to swim with turtles too!
Swimming, snorkelling, cafes, sunset cycles, happy hour cocktails – if this is your thing then I would recommend a visit to the Gili’s!
Adventures with H 