After coming back from Gili, I am thinking of writing a review of my trip but I have a little information of Gili Islands. My friends tell me to write a review, so readers can get some updated information and I finally decide to write this review.

Thank you for all reviews of Gili Islands on Pantip.com, especially a review from Nightbaron and Punjado.

This trip begins with seeing some pictures of my friend who used to travel to Gili Islands. The pictures are so beautiful with white sandy beach and crystal clear seawater. It looks similar to Maldives but everything is a lot cheaper.

I want to travel to all countries in AEC (ASEAN Economic Community). Now, it's only the Philippines that I have never been. After waiting for the time and the budget, let's buy flight tickets and travel to Gili Island!!!

Some basic information of Gili Islands, Indonesia.

Gili Islands are located not very far from Bali Island, where we have to take a fast boat around 2 hours from Bali Island and around 30 minutes from Lombok Island. So, this is some basic information of traveling to Gili Islands or you guys can look for further information if you want to travel in different routes.

1. Taking a flight from Bali >>> Fast Boat >>> Gili Islands (This is the most convenient)

2. Taking a flight from Bali >>> Ferry >>> Lombok >>> Public Boat/Fast Boat >>> Gili Islands

3. Taking a flight from Bali >>> connect to another flight to Lombok >>> Public Boat//Fast Boat >>> Gili Islands

4. Taking a flight from KUL >>> connect to another flight to Lombok >>> Public Boat//Fast Boat >>> Gili Islands

We choose the last choice because of the promotion price.

Traveling period: 27 April - 05 May 2016

1. Bangkok (DMK) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL). Flight FD 311. Time 07.10 a.m. - 10.15 a.m. (5 hours layover).

A promotion price is 990 THB without loading baggage.

2. Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Lombok (LOP). Flight AK 306. Time 15.35 p.m. – 18.45 p.m.

A promotion price is 315 THB without loading baggage.

Actually I want to fly from Bali back to Bangkok directly but the ticket price is really expensive...So, I decide to fly with a connecting flight.

3. Bali (DPS) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL). Flight QZ 554. Time 17.00 p.m. – 19.55 p.m. (It was delayed for almost 8 hours because there was a problem on the runway and the airport had to be closed at that time.)

The price is 1,700 THB without loading baggage.

4. Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Bangkok (BKK). Flight MH 774. Time 16.15 p.m. -17.20 p.m.

The price is 1,670 THB include everything.

The total price of flight tickets is more or less than 6,000 THB including everything.

One of the most important things to consider visiting here is that the sea and the beaches are really beautiful. The sea is beautiful with crystal clear water but there are many dead corals on the beaches.

Since the beaches on Gili islands are not totally white and mild like in Thailand, we should bring a pair of diving shoes because it's quite painful to step on dead corals on the beach.

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Lombok Airport is a small airport that has custom control around 4-5 sections. Every baggage has to be checked.

We can travel to the city from Lombok Airport by taking 2 different transportation types, which are:

Traveling by bus:

There is a ticket counter for bus at the airport. We are in a hurry at this time and we forget to take some pictures of the counter. However, you guys don't need to be worried about taking a bus to the city centre at night because there are shuttle buses running from the airport to the city centre throughout the night.

Traveling by taxi:

1.We can ask for prices and pay directly at a counter before the exit. There are many companies to choose but the prices are quite expensive and we can bargain just a little bit.

2.Once we walk to the front of the airport, we will see a lot of taxis parking outside and we can ask them to see a taxi before taking it. We choose a van for 4 of us with the price of 200,000 IDR. Additionally, we can ask the driver to pause and buy a SIM card for us.

Since we arrive in the evening and it's quite dark already, we will stay in Senggigi for 1 night and we will travel to the islands in the next day.

if you guys arrive around noon, you guys can take a taxi directly to Bangsal pier. It takes around 2-3 hours.

Currency exchange:

There are many currency exchange offices in Lombok but there are only 2 offices opened at the time we arrive. The others are already closed. The currency exchange rate is okay. We only exchange for 1 day. The rest we will exchange in Senggigi because we will get a better rate.

SIM card:

1. At the airport, there is only 1 shop that sells SIM cards and there are many customers in the shop. In addition, the driver tells us that we should buy a SIM card somewhere outside the airport because it's a lot cheaper.

2. If you guys take a taxi, you can tell the driver to stop somewhere on the way to buy a SIM card. We buy an XL SIM card for 100,000 IDR includes 5 GB for 4G Internet. The signal can be EDGE or no signal when we are on the way in the mountain on Bali Island. Additionally, the signal is quite week on the end of Gili T. Island.

Accommodation in Senggigi

@ Puri Senggigi Hotel includes breakfast.

Since we arrive here at night, we decide to choose a cheap accommodation for tonight. First, I was worried about this hotel because there were negative reviews on Tripadvisor. But it's quite good, not really bad as we thought. I booked a room via Booking.com and pay for the room price at the hotel for 225,000 IDR per night (We can pay by a credit card without any charges).

There is a restaurant next to the hotel selling fried chicken. It's open 24 hours like KFC and it tastes good. There is a supermarket next to the restaurant and it's open 24 hours as well...very convenient.

At breakfast, there are only 2-3 kinds of menus in buffet line such as fried rice, fried eggs and crisp rice. It tastes OK but I choose not to have breakfast here....Ha ha.

We spend 1 our traveling from Sengggi to Bangsal pier.

Yesterday, we made an appointment with a driver to pick us up with a price of 130,000 IDR, which is the same as the price of taxi. Unlike, the agency sends another driver to pick us up and he seems to behave quite badly. He comes with a van and asks for the price of 150,000 IDR. We tell him to drop us at Bangsal pier but he drops us at Fast Boat pier instead because he will get a commission from this pier. We argue with the driver for a while and we decide to take a taxi to Bangsal pier for 20,000 IDR.

** It's very important to ask the driver to drop us only at Bangsal because we are going to take Public Boat **

In fact, no cars can enter to the pier but I see some cars can enter through the gate of the pier and I just get confused. We can take a horse carriage or walk from the gate to the pier. It's only 400-500 metres away and we choose to take a walk.

Once we arrive to the pier, we walk to the left side of the pier and buy a ticket. I recommend you to take Public Boat, which is very cheap and very fast.

The price is 22,500 IDR. I heard from someone that the price is a around 10,000 IDR. However, everyone also buys at the same price, so I think they don't cheat on us.

There is a local grocery store at the pier, so we can buy something before taking a boat to the island. The prices are cheaper here.

Gili Islands have 3 small islands. Which are:

Gili Trawangan Island, which is the biggest and the most civilized island in these 3 islands. The other two are Gili Meno Island and Gili Air Island.

We decide to stay on Gili T. Island or Gili Trawangan Island for 4 days 3 nights.

We have to ride a horse carriage from the pier and the price is 100,000 IDR per way. We spend time around 20-30 minutes. It's quite far since it's located in another side of the island.

** The price of the horse carriage should be specified about where they can take us to and how much from this place to that place. **

Accommodation on Gili T. Island

@ Eden Cottages with breakfast.

We booked this by sending an E-mail to the bungalow's website, which is http://www.edencottages.com/.

We pay for a deposit via Paypal for 1 night and the price is 450,000 IDR. The other night we will pay in cash at the reception.

The accommodation is quite good. The atmosphere is quite calm because it's located among nature and it takes less than 3 minutes to walk to the beach. The concept of the bungalow is making every guest to relax with nature. Therefore, there's no Wi-Fi and TV signal in guest rooms. However, if guests want to watch movies, they can borrow DVD movies from the main building to watch in their rooms. There are hundreds of DVD movies to watch in your free time.

It's really dark in the evening on the way back to our hotel as well as the way along the beach from local restaurants. I recommend you guys to borrow a torch from the hotel if you are going out at night.

There is no supermarket in this area, which is different from the pier area. Therefore, we should buy things from the pier area before taking a boat and bring them here.

This is my breakfast that I had to order 1 day in advance.

Food & Drinks:

There are many restaurants in the end of the island but it's so quite. Some restaurants don't even have a customer. Some have only 1-2 tables. However, there will be more customers in the evening for watching the sunset.

Some restaurants have been decorated in unique and luxurious style. Some restaurants are quite simple. So, we can choose wherever we want, depending on our budget and our tastes.

For the pier area, it's so bustling like Pattaya + Samed island. There are many bars and restaurants and many tourist in this area.

The prices of food start from 20,000 IDR ++ per dish. Most of the dishes are dishes of fried rice and fried noodle. A dish of pizza is 100,000 IDR per dish.

A big bottle of Bintang beer costs 35,000-50,000 IDR. Most of bars and restaurants have "Happy Hour" but there are a few choices of cocktails that we can choose. Furthermore, some bars and restaurants put a little bit of spirits or liquor in cocktail.

If you guys are a fan of drinking, I would recommend you guy to drink beer. Although the prices are a little bit expensive, it's the most reasonable drink.

There are some restaurant that offer net prices and some offer ++ prices (taxes and service charge around 10-20%), so we have to ask or look at a menu before entering to a restaurant.

Most of local people in this island are Muslim, which are different from Bali Island. Therefore, there's no pork on this island. As I don't eat beef, I have to be careful while ordering food.

The prices of food on Gili and Bali Islands are really expensive. Unlike, the tastes are not great like the prices. It's difficult to find delicious food here.

There are many activities on the island, such as:

• Snorkelling - the price is around 100,000 IDR.
• Scuba diving course.
• Surfing course.

Or you guys can take a boat to Meno // Air Island.

For us, we decide to swim, ride a bicycle, take a nap and have a meal in different restaurant during these 4 days.

Another highlight that we shouldn't miss when we visit Gili Islands is watching the sunset and taking pictures with a swing on the beach.

Most of the restaurants that have swings are located in the middle between the pier area and the end of the island.

Whether you are staying around the pier area or in the end of the island, you have to walk at least 30 minutes to those restaurants.

Most people prefer to ride a bicycle or take a horse carriage to watch the sunset at those restaurants. After finish watching the sunset, they suddenly have to go back to their accommodations because it would be difficult to go back when it's dark. There are no streetlights in some area and it's totally dark.

One of the most popular restaurants is Ombak Sunset. However, I can see that there are only 6-7 swings in the sea.

The perfect time to take good pictures is during the sunrise and the sunset. It has quite different feeling with its own unique beauty.

We can't ride a bicycle around the island because there're no connecting ways in some areas. Sometimes, we have to carry a bicycle and walk on a sandy beach. However, seeing a beautiful view like this makes me forget how heavy it is.

The rental price for a bicycle is around 40,000-50,000 IDR per day, depending on our bargaining skills.

Accommodation on Gili T. Island

@ The Beach House includes breakfast.

We book rooms in this resort via Agoda using a credit card to deposit as the hotel policy. The rooms we book are a Studio room (around 1,500 THB) and Standard room (around 1,800 THB).

We called to Eden Cottages to book a horse carriage and a staff told us that the price was 100,000 IDR. However, when the horse carriage arrives, the driver tells us that the price is actually 150,000 IDR.

We tell the driver to drop us at the pier and we will walk to the resort as we used to ride a bicycle to survey this resort before.

The resort is very nice. There is a main swimming pool near the lobby. The restaurant of the resort is located next to the beach but all guest rooms are located inside the resort with garden view.

Staffs are really friendly and helpful. However, water is running quite slow and it causes a problem to someone who has long hair. My friends also complain about this since they spend too much time washing their hair.

The buffet line at breakfast has varieties kinds of food. More importantly, there are some dishes made from pork.

There are many supermarkets, restaurants and ATM machines around the pier, which is quite convenient for tourists like us.

We can swim in the sea. The beach is really clean but there are many boats parking here.

Many people are doing surfing here because this place has such high waves. If anyone wants to learn surfing, you can contact them directly. There are many surfing courses here.

Let's talk about how to get out from these islands.

If we choose to take a flight back from Lombok, we have to return on the same way we used to take at the beginning. However, we choose to travel like a circle, so we are not going to the same way that we used to take. The only way is to take a Fast Boat to Bali Island.

I would like to say that we are so stressful from searching for a boat company because there are many negative reviews and complaints on the Internet.

For the recommended companies, the prices are too high and beyond our budget (more than 500,000 IDR ++).

Finally, we decide to go with Marina Srikandi, which we used to consider at the beginning.

If we buy it via http://marinasrikandi.com/, we will get the price for 300,000 IDR. However, we decide to come to the pier first, to see boats from different companies before choosing one. Luckily, we see a boat of Marina Srikandi, which has really good condition. We wish the trip won't be cancelled or delayed. The price is 325,000 IDR.

This price already includes a land transfer from a pier to a hotel in Kuta or Ubud but we are not going to use this service because we already booked a car rental from Teddy Team.

We spend time for 2 hours from Gili T. Island. We depart at 9.00 a.m. and we arrive to Serangan Harbour at 11.00 a.m.

** Since there are many piers in Bali, we have to be careful in remembering which pier we make an appointment with a driver. **

There is nothing much about a tour program in Bali. We just follow a guideline from Blue Planet room on Pantip.com.

We use a service from Teddy Team. It offers such a great service and we get such a quick response via email.

The total price is 1,650,000 IDR and this price is divided by 4 (person). Therefore, the price per person is 412,500 IDR or around 1,150 THB / person / 4 days.

Day 05: Sunday, 01 May 2016 >>>> Ubud1 Car Rental 1 >> The price is 350,000 IDR.

Pick up at Serangan Harbour at 12.00 p.m.

Uluwatu temple on the cliffs. The price is 30,000 IDR.

Check-In at Desak Putu Putra Home. Stay 3 nights + free breakfast.

Day 06: Monday, 02 May 2016 >>>> Ubud2 Car Rental 2 >>> The price is 500,000 IDR.

Pick up at the hotel at 09.00 a.m.

Tegalalang rice terrace view.

** No entrance fee. **

Tirta empul: 07.00 a.m. - 17.00 p.m. The price is 15,000 IDR.

** If you guys want to buy something here, I recommend you guys to buy them here. Also, you guys should bargain a lot. I think this place is the cheapest one but there's no price tags.

Everything in Ubud Market is very expensive. The sellers are also arrogant. I recommend you guys to buy things at the shop near the exit. **

Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee.

** The price of Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee is 50,000 IDR, which I've heard from my friends that it tastes like normal coffee. **

Kintamani – With a view of volcano & Lake Batur. The price is 31,000 IDR.

Lunch buffet at Grand Puncak Sari. The price is 90,000 IDR, includes tax and services.

** We pay to the driver directly so we can get a net price. There are not many kinds of food in the buffet line. It tastes quite okay but there are many flies around this area. However, it has such a great atmosphere with volcano view. **

Besakih temple

** The driver will drive us inside the temple. We should prepare Sarong (A large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn by men and women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia) and wear it before taking a tour in the temple. **

Day 07: Tuesday, 03 May 2016 >>>> Ubud3 Car Rental 3 >>> The price is 450,000 IDR

Pick up at the hotel at 09.00 a.m.

Taman Ayun Temple 15,000 IDR.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple on the lake 30,000 IDR

Lunch >> Buyan and Tamblingan Lake

Goa Gajah: 08.00 a.m. -17.00 p.m. The price is 15,000 IDR.

Day 08: Wed, 04 May 2016 >>>> KL Car Rental 4 >>> The price is 350,000 IDR.

Pick up at the hotel at 08.00 a.m.

Pura Tanah Lot temple in the sea. The price is 30,000 IDR.

** Things are not really expensive here. Several shops offer price tags, which are visible clearly. **

Shopping At Kuta Area (Outlet)

** The driver takes us to buy some souvenirs at Krisna shop near the airport. The prices are quite good, not really expensive. So, we don't have to bargain a lot here. The price of T-shirts and sleeveless shirts starts from 20,000 IDR. There are many things such as food, bags, creams, etc. to buy for a souvenir. **

Check-In at 15.00 p.m. - Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Bali-KL. Flight QZ 554. Time 17.00 p.m. – 19.55 p.m. at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2).

** Why we are so unlucky?....The runway is out of order. Every flight has been delayed and some flights are cancelled.

Look at the departure time!!! We will arrive to KL almost 4 a.m. Our plan is not a plan at this time, since we have to take a taxi to the city centre and we finally go to bed around 5 a.m.

Our trip to central Vietnam also had a problem like this. A bus tire exploded once we almost arrived to Thailand....This is our travel experience once in our life....Just consoling myself.

P.S. There is no coupon for a meal at AirAsia but 2 meals have been arranged in a waiting room. We can eat as much as we can. **

Accommodation in Ubud

@ Desak Putu Putra Home Stay includes breakfast.

We booked this hotel via Agoda and our credit card has been charged a few days before arrival as of booking conditions. The room price is 520 baht / room / night. I think this hotel is the oldest one comparing to other 3 hotels on the same street.

The accommodation is really good comparing to the price. Our room is clean and there is a housekeeper cleaning our room everyday. However, the housekeeper doesn't change our towels for the entire stay (3 days).

We should order breakfast 1 day in advance. And breakfast will be served at the door.

We can walk to Ubud market, which is a little bit far (around 15 minutes). There are 2 restaurants at the beginning of the street selling fried chicken and toast...Both are delicious.

There are also some restaurants near the home stay and the prices are not really expensive. Also, there is a grocery store nearby, which the prices are not quite different from other supermarkets but we have to ask for the prices before buying.

My review is finally coming to the end at this time... If you guys have some questions, you can ask me anytime. I will try my best to answer all your questions. Finally, I hope my review would be useful for you guys to plan your next trip...Ahh..I almost forget to tell you guys that we can see Gili Meno Island from Gili T. Island. These two islands are really close together.