Family Guide Lombok & Gili Islands
Lombok
Lombok was once the sleepy neighbor to Bali who didn’t embrace tourism with the same enthusiasm. These days it is enjoying tourism with some incredible Villas and hotel stays. The beaches are heavenly and the nature more pristine than Bali. Lombok offers great opportunities for snorkeling, swimming and boating and discovering more of beautiful Indonesia. It is easy to do a day trip bt boat to the Gili Islands from here also.
Siri Beach
Located in North Lombok this is home to 5 star Lombok, with The Oberoi hotel, The Tugu hotel and the best collection of private beach front Villas.
Gili Islands
The three islands that make up the Gilis are Meno, Trawangan and Air. Each are beaitiful, with their own positive, and unique island vibes. GiliMeno is known as the romantic island, with empty sandy beaches and minimal development. Trawangan is the party island, with lots of clubs and hotels. Air, our family favourite, is the perfect mix between the others – all about the beach, and casual and fun places to hang out.
Snorkelling and scuba diving
Along with ideallic clean beaches and laid back-vibes, the Gili Islands are famous for their incredible coral reefs. There’s a surprising amount of live coral growing just off the beach and it only takes a short paddle into the lagoon to reach amazing marine life. You can see turtles, moray eels, starfish, reef sharks and even sea snakes.
While you can see great action in the shallow bay, for confident swimmers we recommend trying diving even if it’s your first time. With clear, warm water, huge amounts to see and affordable diving packages, it’s the perfect location for completing a PADI course or simply testing out a one-off dive. Manta Dive is the most popular diving school on the island, and are professionals at taking first-time divers out to the reef. You can also hire a local boat and just go snorkeling at surrounding reefs which is a day full of adventure also.
Enjoy the Food!
Not only is the food on the Gilis fresh and delicious it’s also affordable. You can easily eat out for a few dollars (which is ideal, because there aren’t many self-catering options), and the array of dishes on offer is great. Seafood BBQs are incredibly popular, with restaurants including Scallywags offering a huge selection of fresh fish, caught that day. These days you can also enjoy pizza, Mexican and great coffee… so don’t worry about finding options for the little travelers too.
Catch a horse and cart
When it comes to transport on Gili, you’ve got three choices – walk, cycle or jump on a horse and cart. This is popular with the lids for sure– the cute ponies are brightly decorated in bells and ribbons, with their carts being painted in all colors of the rainbow.
