The Gili Islands, Trawangan, Meno and Air lie just off Lombok, Indonesia. Trawangan is the largest island followed by Air closest to Lombok and then Meno which lies in the middle.
Gili Trawangan might be the largest of the 3 lozenge shaped paradise islands but it’s by no means huge. Only 3kms long by 2kms wide, it’s small enough to easily navigate ones self around either by foot, bicycle or a cidomo – the horse and cart transport which is the backbone of the islands transportation system. These long suffering horses carry not only tourists around the island, but all the food and drink supplies shipped in from Lombok, including heavy sacks of concrete and building materials. There is no motorised transport on the island.
There are lots of places to stay and if you go in low season October-April there is no need to book. Take pot luck and find something when you arrive. Unless you stay in one of the hotels you can find somewhere reasonably cheap. Stewart and I stayed at Indigo Beach which was a little off the beaten track (6 minutes walk from the beach) and paid 200,000 Idr per night including breakfast.
The Gili’s are a water babies heaven. Surfing, snorkelling and diving are the main events here. On our last day we hired a glass bottomed boat and went snorkelling off Meno and Air. The coral is teeming with tropical fish and turtles.
There are elements of Magaluf to the island but if you venture right instead of left when you arrive then you will be spared the teeming bars, budgie smugglers and beer bellies.
Our favourite haunt was the Gili Café which served up great food and had a wonderfully good-humoured team of hard working staff.
Supran was my jolly driver. He speaks excellent English and loves his horses. He has 4 horses in total and they work in shifts of just 4 hours so as to not overwork them. His taxi is no.29 and he can be contacted on 087889243207 – tell him that Lottie sent you!
Lottie Nevin - The Red House Diaries 
Lovely photos. Gili T is such a beautiful spot. I snorkeled with a turtle in the wild (great luck) while there and had plenty of Bintangs. Thanks for taking me back 🙂
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It is something else! We were very lucky too. We saw quite a few turtles and one came up to the surface and swam alongside us for a while. It was a wonderful, unforgettable experience.
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What a beautiful country you live in. STUNNING!
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It is pretty damn gorgeous!! Thanks April xx
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You got up close and personal with that pony! Nice job!
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I did indeed Sherry! 😀
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Love the photos, especially that beautiful child! What’s 200,000 ldr worth?
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Thank you! 200,000 Idr is £13 or $20 US. Not bad for a beautiful room breakfast and a swimming pool all to ourselves!
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Good grief! What a great deal!
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Looks a super place, Lottie. The horses are good but must get fed up carrying concrete. The modern day version of pit ponies. I’m not sure I could live the life full time but it is very tempting. I’m not a water baby so are there lots of birds?
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There are lots of birds. I saw a beautiful kingfisher and quite a few others that I’d not seen before.
Yes, you are right, they are like modern day pit ponies. I think their lives must be very hard – it reminded me a bit of Black Beauty.
I’m back in Jakarta now for a few days and it’s like I’ve stepped off one planet and gone to another totally different one!
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Lottie, yours is one of my most favorite blogs to have discovered on the A to Z Challenge. I just love your photos. Thank you. So beautiful.
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You are lovely! Thanks so much Susan – I’m so pleased that you like the photos. Indonesia is a great country, so diverse and so much to see – So much excites me here, in truth I could spend all day every day taking photographs if I had the chance!
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Lottie, May I have your permission to download one of your photos today and use it on my blog post for this Saturday, with a photo credit and a link back to your blog?
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Of course you may, I’d be thrilled for you to use any of my photos! 🙂
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It sounds like you had a wonderful time. It seems very peaceful. I suppose it helps not having cars! Lovely photos, Lottie. xoxo
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Enjoyed these pics a lot. I’m glad to know the man actaully treats his horses in a humane manner.
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