Idyllic Indonesia: Lombok & the Gili Islands
Widely considered to be Indonesia’s next great tourism hotspot, tiny Lombok is often overshadowed by its more popular neighbor to the west, Bali.
My initial research about the island promised it was Bali 30 years ago, unspoiled by traffic and rows of mega resorts.
It sounded like my kind of place and now that I’m here, I’m anxious to see it for myself.
However, my decision to make a stop in Bali on the way to Lombok cut my originally intended length of time on the island in half. So I’ll need to make the most of the two days I have here.
My short flight from Bali was scheduled to land at noon but (as I’m quickly discovering after traveling within Indonesia for a few weeks), Lion Air has a very “relaxed” opinion regarding on-time departures.
Yet again I find myself staring at my watch as my scheduled departure time flies by without comment from the gate agents (for those of you keeping score at home, I’m now 0-3 in on-time arrivals within Indonesia).
Senggigi Beach
I finally land around 1pm and grab a cab for the 45-minute drive across the island to Senggigi Beach, known as Lombok’s original tourist town.
Located on the western side of the island, I’ll be spending the next two nights at the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort which my driver assures me is the best hotel on Lombok.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to book through these links, I receive a small commission, which I will undoubtedly blow on more flights (it’s a vicious cycle). All of this internet voodoo takes place at no additional cost to you.
The drive is beautiful along well-paved roads and I briefly wonder if I should have just rented my own car to try to see a little more of the island.
We finally arrive at the hotel just before 2pm and amazingly, I score yet another tremendous upgrade, again to an oceanfront suite. My room has a wide balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean, what a shame I’ll have no time to appreciate it!
With just one full day in Lombok, I know exactly what I want to do.
So after settling in, I head down to the hotel’s dive center to try to book a trip out to the Gili Islands for tomorrow.
Ten minutes later, I’m booked for tomorrow morning on the full-day Gili Island Snorkeling Trip to Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, & Gili Air. Mission accomplished!
With my plans for the next day firmed up, I spend the rest of the day exploring Senggigi Beach and relaxing by the Sheraton’s gorgeous pool.
A Day Trip to the Gili Islands
The next morning I meet the rest of my small group bound for the Gilis in the hotel lobby at 9am. Getting to the islands is pretty easy from Senggigi and after a 20-minute drive north along the coast, we arrive at a small harbor and board our boat for the day.
Situated just off the western coast of Lombok, the Gili Islands are three coconut-palm-shaded dots of sand set against a turquoise sea.
They can be reached from Bali by speedboat but are just a short hop away from the western coast of Lombok.
Long popular with the backpacker set, Gili Trawangan is the largest of the three and home to the most lodging options and an energetic nightlife scene.
Gili Meno is the smallest and the least developed.
And Gili Air is perhaps the perfect blend of both with several lodging options and a more relaxed vibe. It’s also the closest to Lombok and is known for the best beaches and terrific snorkeling.
Snorkeling in the Gili Islands
We begin our day with a stop at the Gili Air Resort to drop off the 4 people doing a Discover Scuba dive at the dive shop for their morning instruction.
Then our guides take the remaining 3 of us to a spot between Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno with clear, jade green waters and a perfect reef for snorkeling.
We spend the rest of the morning right there, exploring the expanse of reef and following after schools of colorful fish.
It’s an entirely enjoyable way to spend the morning but I’d been told by the German girls I met in Sulawesi that there are tons of sea turtles around the Gilis and I haven’t seen a single one yet. Not to worry, promises my guide, our afternoon snorkeling and dive spot is known for an abundance of turtles.
Satisfied that I still had a lot more to see in the Gilis, we climbed back aboard the boat and headed back to Gili Air to meet up with the dive group for lunch and a little beach time at the resort. Lunch was fantastic and I spent some time afterward relaxing by the pool before it was again time to board the boat and head out to our afternoon dive spot.
This time we stopped at a reef between Gili Meno and Gili Air and the divers-in-training back-flipped into the water with their instructors while my fellow snorkelers and I jumped in to search for turtles.
And it didn’t take more than five minutes before our snorkeling guide was victoriously pointing out the first one. I followed the turtle closely with my camera as he glided through the water before floating to the surface for a quick breath.
I am just fascinated by sea turtles; they’re so much fun to watch in the water. So beautiful as they drift gracefully through the ocean minding their own business until some group of paparazzi snorkelers and their cheeky guide come along to interrupt an otherwise perfectly pleasant day.
I’m not sure why but our guide persisted in annoying the turtle, not in a harmful way but by blocking its path, touching its shell and (I think) trying to create a good photo op for me. It was totally unnecessary, of course, because I was perfectly content to follow the turtle from a respectful distance and take a few photos and video.
When I got the sense that the first turtle had tolerated our presence long enough, we moved on in search of another one and found it almost immediately. In fact we saw half a dozen sea turtles during our afternoon snorkeling trip and I was thrilled. It was exactly the kind of day I was hoping for in the Gili Islands!
By 4pm it was time to re-board the boat and begin the scenic ride back to Lombok. Though the weather had started out a bit overcast that morning, it had turned into a brilliantly sunny day and the Gili Islands looked like little dots of tropical paradise as we passed them.
I’d hoped to get a look at Lombok’s star attraction, mighty Mount Rinjani – Indonesia’s 2nd highest volcano – but unfortunately it was obscured by clouds the whole time I was on the island. Regardless, I think I was incredibly lucky to see as much as I did during my short stay on Lombok. It’s definitely a place I would love to return to again someday.
But for now, it’s time for bed as I’ve got a 3:30am wake-up call set for my 6am flight tomorrow.
Next stop…Jakarta!