Gili Trawangan

Horse drawn carts, wild goats, cows on the beach and...(legal!) magic mushrooms? Gili Trawangan (a.k.a Gili T) was like a modern day maenads bacchanalia paradise. 

That odd combo aside, Gili T was a mostly peaceful island where you can walk in the middle of the street without fear of being run over by a car or motorbike (a nice change of pace from Ubud)—be sure to look out for bicycles and horse carts, though. 

The sunrises here are stunning, the sunsets dreamy, and the sea is calm, warm, crystal clear, and full of fishies...so don't forget your goggles, and an underwater camera! 

True to form, we only had a limited amount of time (48 hours) to enjoy the island and it's 'I'm-in-no-hurry' way. Though we passed on the mushrooms, the island still felt pretty magical. 

GETTING THERE

The Gili Islands aren't as difficult to reach as they seem—it's a bit of an adventure getting to them, but that's half the fun. Our adventure started with a car ride, followed by a plane ride, followed by another car ride, a boat ride, and finally, a bumpy walk down the beach (we came to find that wheely suitcases don't roll so well in sand).  

Though I'm sure the Gilis are relatively easy to reach on a whim, we had to do some planning in advance to make our transition from Ubud to the Gilis as seamless as possible as there were quite a few parts to manage.....and if one got screwed up it was likely to have a domino effect. 

We started with a one hour drive from our villa in Ubud to Denpasar's International Airport (Ngurah Rai International Airport). Side note: We were headed to Lombok, which is considered a domestic flight. 

Our wait in the airport was longer than our actual time in the air—the flight from Bali to Lombok was about 32 minutes total...we didn't fly too high either which gave way to some pretty stellar window seat views. There aren't a ton of airline options, but we chose Garuda Indonesia and had a great experience. 

When we landed in Lombok we found that our wait for our luggage was also longer than the flight itself. Once we collected our stuff we met up with our driver. We coordinated a ride through our Gili T hotel, but there are plenty of taxis ready and willing to bring visitors to their next destination.

From what we read, most people go in and out of Bangsal Harbor to get to and from the Gili Islands. While we assumed that was where we were headed we actually went to a small, newly developed harbor with drivers from Villa Ombak Hotel (they were neighbors to our Gili T hotel, and have their own dock). The drive from Lombok Airport to the harbor was about 2 hours (a perfect amount of time for a back seat snooze sesh).

new harbor

waiting for our boat to come in

incoming!

Our speed boat from the harbor over to Villa Ombak was quick, about 10-15 minutes. We shared the boat with 4 other people and made our way across the calm, cerulean water. The private driver + the shared boat transfer was 900,000 IDR for 2, which is about $67 USD. 

Once we arrived at the dock we only had a short walk over to our hotel. 

There are no cars or motorbikes on Gili Trawangan, so your only options are to hoof it with your bags or to call upon a horse drawn cart (this was not an option for us...watching those horses tote tourists and their bags in the insane heat seemed unnecessarily cruel to me). In some cases you'll find locals lingering near by who are happy to help you with your bags for a small fee—worth it if you've got a lot of luggage and need a hand.

STAY

There are a lot of options when it comes to accommodations on the island, and I actually let Ger take the reigns here. Hotels abound, and there are some hostels and AirBnBs to choose from as well. Ger had narrowed it down to a few choices based on location around the island and proximity to the beach. We eventually decided on a beachfront property, and Pearl of Trawangan was the winner. 

The property is upscale with the street separating it from the beach. There wasn't actually an option of walking straight from your room out onto the sand like we'd hoped for...but it was pretty close. 

We made our way from the Villa Ombak dock, luggage in tow, to the reception palapa where we were greeted with a welcome drink (coconut water and papaya—otherwise known as the nectar of the gods // my new favorite drink...sorry watermelon juice) and a cold towel. It was fucking hot so they were very welcomed treats. Check in was quick and easy and staff assisted us with our luggage to our room. 

Since we had booked this many months ago we had both forgotten that we added the “honeymoon package” to our room for shits and giggles. So, we were surprised, and amused, when we came in to find this sweet set up. 

Our 'Ocean View Room' was spacious, bottled water was provided daily (you cannot drink the tap water on the island, or anywhere in Indonesia for that matter), and our balcony was way bigger than we expected. Our room looked out over the beach, and in the morning we had front row seats to stunning sunrises and a perfect view of Mt. Rinjani (our next destination after Gili T!). 

sunrise reflections

gotta love a good view from bed

We had read that nighttime noise was an issue virtually everywhere on the island, but we didn't notice that at all. The only issue to speak of, really, would be electricity—and that was hardly an issue. We're not exactly sure if the entire island runs on the same generator or not, but a few times we did experience a total black out (for someone who is terrified of the dark this wasn't exactly ideal). 

The first time it happened we walked out onto our balcony and saw that the entire strip of hotels and restaurants to our right and left were also out. Despite my initial fear (I've been dealing with a fear of the dark since childhood, so we've established it's not a “phase”...I'm 27 and still haven't grown out of it) it was actually pretty cool to see everything shut down. It only lasted a few minutes at a time, too, so it wasn't much of an inconvenience. 

EAT & DRINK

Pearl Beach Lounge
An obvious choice for us, Pearl Beach Lounge is Pearl of Trawangan's (our hotel) on-site dining option. The Pearl offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner on-site with a selection of vegetarian// vegan // gluten-free friendly options. 

There are a few dining spaces throughout the property, two of which let you dine with your toes in the sand—which is now officially my favorite way to dine. 

birthday boy enjoying a birthday beer 

Dinner is served ocean-side starting at 6pm. No reservation needed, though it might not be a bad idea to make one. The atmosphere is incredible...as the sky turns that perfect sunset sherbet color you might actually have to pinch yourself. This is reality.

I'm pretty sure 75% of our dinner conversation went something like this:
“This place is unreal.” 
“This view is unreal.” 
“These summer rolls are unreal.” 
“Maggie, you've had those 3 times already.” 
“Yeah but I haven't had them on the beach. So they're unreal when I'm eating them over there, but they're even more unreal over here.”
“Is this real life?”

You get it. 

Pearl Beach Lounge, its food, and its views? All unreal. 

summer roll on the beach

summer roll at the restaurant // lounge palapa ... still unreal, but not as unreal

Kayu Cafe

Probably my favorite restaurant on the island, Kayu Cafe was about a 15-minute walk from our hotel. The space was rustic, but air-conditioned inside (with the heat and humidity this was a real treat). Kayu Cafe also has an open-air terrace space that looks out over the beach. 

They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner here, too, with a variety of veg-friendly and gluten-free-friendly meals as well. 

the veggie rice bowls are amazing

We had both breakfast and lunch here. In my opinion, lunch was better...but of course I forgot to photograph that. I'm really picky when it comes to breakfast food—like I prefer oatmeal dry rather thank cooked...something that my Grandma yells at me for every time she catches me eating it. 

Anyway, I decided to give their oatmeal a try and asked for it without milk, thinking that this would mean it would come out dry the way I liked it. It also came with assorted berries, and I asked for a side of banana and chia seeds, too. 

This is what I got. 

That is not dry oatmeal...and if you look closely enough you'll also see that those are not chia seeds. They're black sesame seeds. We both had a good laugh at that. Fortunately, I happen to love sesame seeds, too, so I didn't mind. The berries were so tart my mouth is watering just looking back at this photo. The bananas were good, though! So breakfast wasn't a total fail. 

The island tries to adhere to some eco-friendly // sustainability practices. I was elated by the absence of plastic straws at most establishments—Kayu Cafe included. If only America would get on board...

Much to the chagrin of my new hubby, in my opinion no trip is complete without a little souvenir shopping. There are endless shops around the island, but Kayu Cafe offers a variety of natural and organic products. Worth perusing! 

Malibu Beach Club

To be honest, Malibu Beach Club isn't the spot we were looking for, but it turned out to be a suitable alternative. We were making our way to the "Sunset Side" of the island as per the birthday boy's request, and we intended to hang at The Exile for the evening. 

Side note: If you're walking around the island at night it's a good idea to bring at least one flashlight with you. There are some street lights, but they don't do much to illuminate the road...and you'll definitely want to avoid stepping in piles of horse poop on your walk. 

On our way to the Sunset Side, we encountered a group of goats hanging out // balancing // sleeping on what looks to be the ruins of an old building. I can't really begin to describe just how strange Ger found this, but I just thought they were super cute and had stellar equilibrium. 

We'd been walking for about 15-minutes, not entirely sure if we were close to The Exile or not when we happened upon Malibu. It was mellow, nearly empty, had some good tunes playing, and a quintessential beach bar aesthetic—someday we'll have a house crafted out of bamboo where we can recreate this easy, breezy style. 

Anyway, once I stopped drooling over the decor, we decided to check it out and then continue on to The Exile. 

like can i just live in this chair, please? 

birthday boy! 

watermelon juice + vodka = win. gerald's face = blue steel?

A few watermelon + vodkas (for me) and Bintangs (for Ger) later we decided....mmm, we're probably not moving. Until we were told we had to. Like, soon. Apparently—unbeknownst to us—most bars and kitchens close early (around 10:30-11:00pm), so with a nice buzz we headed back to Pearl of Trawangan. 

We later learned (like, in the airport heading home when the information no longer served us) that bars "party nights" are on rotation. One bar gets to stay open late (around 3:00-4:00am) per night, and it changes every night. 

Jiggy

For a good time...a.k.a a boat party, beer pong tourneys, and shrooms...look no further than Jiggy.

Night Market

We never actually made it to the night market, and considering the serious case of Bali belly I was suffering from I'm not terribly sad to have missed it...but I've heard good things. Worth a visit if you're looking for a different dining experience! 

EXPLORE

My favorite thing about Gili T? You can walk around the entire island in about 2 hours.

I mean, how often can you really say that you've walked around an island!? We decided to head out really early—just as the sun was coming up, before the heat really kicked in, and before the horse carts, bicycles, and other visitors are out on the streets—and explore the island during quiet time.

Aside from a few locals doing clean up and a few joggers, it felt as if we had the entire place to ourselves. It was almost eerily quiet in some spots.

With our goggles and waterproof camera in hand, we searched for a spot to do a little solo snorkeling. I know it's a little weird, but snorkeling kinda freaks me out. I'm not a total scaredy cat, and to be fair my first snorkeling experience in Florida didn't exactly set me up to love the activity (the water was inundated with jellyfish—as soon as I stuck my face in the water I could've stuck my tongue out and touched it...it was that close to my face).

So, rather than paying for a snorkeling boat trip we thought we'd test the waters ourselves. We were probably about 30-minutes into our walk when we found a good spot to jump in (we were on the north east side of the island).

We have a FUJI XP underwater camera, and it served us well. The water is crazy clear, too, so that definitely helped. There weren't a ton of fish where we jumped in, but we did get to see a few cool little guys!

A quick perusing of Gili T instagram shots would show you pristine beaches, cozy bungalows, Bintang bottles in the sand, and the swing to end all swings. After our mini-snorkeling expedition we were in search of the swing in the middle of the ocean. I'm quite fond of swing sets, and a swing in the middle of the ocean is probably as good as it could ever get.

Fortunately for me we happened upon not one, but two swings. Absolute bliss is an understatement.

Ger couldn't even resist! 

After this swing, we found it. The mother of all swing sets y'all. If you have a swing that beats this please tell me where it is so I can visit.

I swear, I could not get out there fast enough

Peaked at 27.

The only downside of this swing? The ridiculously slippery and huge rocks you have to clamber over to get out to them. Worth the bruises and cuts, though, promise. Also, I'm incredibly spastic, so there's a good chance that you can make it out to the swing and back to shore unscathed. Hats off to you if you can.

After spending a solid amount of time on these swings I could've stepped in a fresh pile of horse shit and been ok with it. I was that zenned // blissed out.

On our way back we crossed paths with a few more goats...these ones Ger found much more normal as they were not congregated around, and balancing on, cinder blocks. We also encountered a huge herd of cows on the beach, too. That was a bit more unexpected than the goats.

By the time we were about 1/2 way around, the island started to wake up. Shops and restaurants opened and we got to grab a few more mementos of Gili T to bring home.

If you are able, take the trip around the island...especially in the morning!

GOOD TO KNOW

Coral:
We were totally unaware that coral would be everywhere on the beaches. So much so that in some areas it was actually hard, and painful, to get into the water. Had we known, we definitely would have brought water shoes with us.

There are some spots where it's a non-issue, but if you've got sensitive feet // don't want to search for a good spot to jump in bring a pair of water shoes with you!

Garbage:
The island is definitely a lot dirtier than we expected...apparently this is a problem around Indonesia, and one the island is making efforts to rectify. Do the earth a favor and deposit your trash in a garbage can or recycling bin and not onto the beach. Pretty please.

Walking around the island:
If you're going to do this early in the morning like we did keep in mind that pretty much every place is closed. Be sure to bring some waters (it gets hot! and it's a long walk), put on sunscreen before you leave (there is very little shade), and bring a snack (because no one wants to get hangry on a two hour walk!).

Sea Turtles:
This place made me feel weird. I hope I just got the wrong impression and that they are actually doing some good to converse the sea turtle population.

I believe it was called the Turtle Hatchery. There are a few tanks with the cutest little baby sea turtles inside.

For a fee, you can buy a sea turtle and set it free into the ocean. In my opinion it seemed like a gimmicky tourist experience and had little to do with actually helping the sea turtle population thrive.

To be honest, it made my heart hurt seeing these guys swimming around in tanks. We did not choose to support the business as we weren't entirely sure that it's genuine in honoring its mission to protect and preserve the sea turtle population.

If you've been here before and it is in fact a reputable spot and worth supporting please leave me a comment and let me know (that way others can see, and support, too!).

Until next time, Gili T.

Stay tuned, Lombok is up next!