THD | Eat the world
No dogs, no cars, no police; that’s the motto in the Gili’s. Instead, what you’ll find are bikes, horse-drawn buggies, cats and magic mushrooms everywhere. Gili Trawangan is one of three Gili Islands, the others being Gili Meno and Gili Air, and is the most popular of the three islands, especially with young Aussie’s on holiday. My boyfriend and I stayed on Gili Trawangan (Gili T) for 5 days after visiting Bali and The Penida Island Region; it was our last stop before heading to New Zealand this past January. We wish we had known what to expect here before arriving, and there’s definitely some things we would have done differently. Hopefully this guide will steer you in the right direction if you’re thinking of a visit. Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning a trip to Gili T.
Balinese, Indonesian, English
Indonesian Rupiah (Rp); $1 US = ~14,000 Rp
Tip: Exchange currency in Bali before arriving, as there will be far fewer places to do so on the islands. Also make sure to bring plenty of cash with you because many businesses only take cash.
Like the majority of Indonesia (and unlike Bali), the Gili Islands practice predominantly Islam. All this will mean for you is that you’ll hear prayer over a loud speaker a few times a day. It’s also a good idea to remove your shoes before entering most businesses and homes.
The average temperature in Gili Trawangan is comparable to Bali, so around 80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. This is also a tropical climate that yields high humidity, and since the islands are close to the equator, you’re much closer to the sun here. Also not unlike Bali are the afternoon thunderstorms and showers, so best to plan your beach/excursion time for in the morning if at all possible, especially during the rainy season.
There isn’t an airport on Gili Trawangan, so you will need to arrive by boat. We used Blue Water Express and had a great experience. They leave from a few different locations around mainland Bali, most of which are close to the airport.
Unlike Bali, you won’t find any cars on Gili Trawangan, or paved roads for that matter. The main modes of transportation here are bike and horse, but the island is small enough that you could feasibly walk many places without either. When you arrive on the island, the easiest way to get you and your luggage to your hotel is by horse and buggy. It will set you back less than $10 and is a much better option than walking through the dirt roads with your bags. Your luggage wheels will thank you. Shane and I ended up renting bikes to keep at our hotel the whole time we were there, setting us back about $2/day each. Both bike rentals and horse/buggy hire can be found along the beach all around the island.
Though Gili Trawangan is a small island, we managed to find at least a few places we would go back to in a heartbeat. However, the island is also riddled with over-priced tourist traps that serve mediocre food at best. The easiest way to avoid these restaurants is to stay away from the flashy-looking places on the shore, mostly on the east/southeast side of the island where it’s most congested.
This was the most recommended warung on Gili T, per Lonely Planet, so we were excited to stop in. Our visit was good and bad. Good in the sense that the food was great. Our mie goreng and nasi goreng (yes we ate that about a thousand times) were both really flavorful, and probably some of the best we had in Indonesia. However, there are literally flies everywhere. EVERYWHERE. It definitely affected our experience negatively. There were several woman prepping produce for the night market right next to the warung, so that might’ve been why, but honestly there’s flies everywhere on this island. Something you pretty much have to get used to if you’re going to enjoy yourself at all.
We were absolutely shocked to find such delicious, authentic Italian pizza on a tiny Indonesian island. The restaurant is open-air, like most restaurants in Gili Trawangan, and somehow the owner (also Italian) manages to sling pizzas for the whole place by himself all night. It’s really impressive to say the least. Service is just so-so, but the pizzas more than make up for it.
The crust is soft and chewy with a nice char on the outside, the sauce is sweet and fresh, and the toppings are simple, intentional and delicious. We came here twice in the 5 days we were in Gili, ordering a pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza, and two Nutella pizzas total. If you like Nutella, that pizza is an absolute must. We ordered one with just Nutella and chocolate and added banana to another — I’d say stick to the pizza sans fruit.
Holy vegan food heaven! We ate here twice while staying in Gili Trawangan, and for good reason. For starters, this place is super adorable. Rather than sit at tables, you get your own suspended platform with pillows and a table. The servers are all legitimately either stoned, on mushrooms, or are that freakin’ happy all the time. And the food was just absolutely delicious. I didn’t miss animal products for a single second eating here, and the pasta dish I ordered had one of the freshest tomato sauces I’ve ever tasted. I highly recommend this place overall.
This is a super cute shop right across from the beach on the southeast side of Gili Trawangan serving donuts, ice cream and other baked goods. We ordered a Nutella donut and this bacon and cheese donut, both of which were not that good. The donuts themselves were stale, and the toppings on the bacon and cheese donut were not fresh. The parmesan tasted like old pre-grated parm and the bacon was flabby and cold. The only delicious part about these donuts was the Nutella, but how do you really screw that up?
Sadly, we didn’t get to eat a full meal at Kayu Cafe, and I wish we had. We wandered into this Cafe on our way out, so we only had time to grab some snacks. The place was pretty full, and literally everything I saw coming out of the kitchen was beautiful. We ordered two wraps, which were pretty good, some peanut butter Oreo balls and raw chocolate truffles. The peanut butter Oreo balls were like freakin’ heaven. They were so so so good that I honestly am not sure why I haven’t recreated them at home yet. The raw chocolate truffle was intense. It was extremely bitter, as it was about 90% cacao I believe. I didn’t care for it too much, but that is just preference. I knew what I was getting myself into. lol
I can’t believe I didn’t take any photos of this place, but here’s a link to check some out. This is the only beach-side restaurant on the island that we enjoyed. Tables, hammocks and lounge chairs are scattered all across the sand among several trees strung with lanterns and lights. Obviously this place has major points for ambiance.
CVB is also on the west side of the island, which means a couple things. For one, the west side of the island is definitely the more pleasant. If you’re going to stay on Gili T, pick the west side or the southern tip. Second, the sunsets are absolutely epic. We sat down and each had a fresh blended juice (watermelon for me) and ordered a few things off their menu. The entrees and app we ordered were both pretty good. We ended the meal with a special dessert, Snickers cake, which wasn’t all that amazing because the caramel on it was hard af, but it scratched the itch.
Our day trip to Lombok from Gili Trawangan was pretty cool, as you can see from this pic of me and the Tiu Kelep Waterfall. We took a boat over to Lombok and back for about $10/person round-trip and rented a motorbike at the port for about $12 once we arrived. It took us about an hour to motorbike to the start of the hike for this waterfall, and the hike itself didn’t take much longer than an hour round-trip. It was a huge culture shock riding around this island. There was a gorgeous mosque every couple kilometers it seemed like, and all of them were filled with people praying. I wish we spoke Indonesian because it would’ve been cool to hear what they were saying over the loud speakers during the prayers, but oh well.
Another thing to mention; we had intended to try and hike up to the top of Mount Rinjani, a volcano whose crater is filled with water, but they do not allow hikers to go up during the rainy season. So, if you’re coming to Lombok specifically to hike this volcano, best to go between April and November.
Sadly, I would not necessarily recommend going snorkeling off of Gili T, unless it is to see some of the man-made underwater art installations around the islands. We wanted to go on a snorkel trip here to see this one in particular, but the weather didn’t hold up for us. This cute as heck sea turtle is the coolest thing we saw that day. So, I wouldn’t chalk it up as a total loss, but sadly the reefs surrounding the islands are completely toast. It was actually pretty depressing to see so much death.
There are no regulations protecting these reefs, and it is up to the local guides to instruct visitors on proper reef behavior, which they did not. The whole trip was very careless and felt rushed. It also would have helped if we had been given any sort of instruction on how to snorkel properly. I ended the trip with an ear ache from swimming too deep too fast. This is the closest we could get to the sea turtle without any proper snorkel training. lol
We made use of a few resorts around the island. They have beautiful pools, spas with super cheap services, and even hookah lounges like at Pesona Beach Resort. We didn’t have anything to eat here, but we ordered a hookah and a couple fancy drinks to keep us entertained. Also, it’s worth noting that the beach you see behind us is basically what the beach looks like all around the island, more or less. It’s really not suitable for “laying out by the beach”, and swimming is tough because the ocean floor is extremely rocky and shallow.
We ventured to the west side of the island another day and laid by an amazing pool at the Hotel Ombak Sunset as well. We didn’t even have to pay to use the facility, just bought a couple fresh juices at the bar and we were set. And if you do anything at these resorts, it should be spa treatments. Bali/Gili is known for extremely inexpensive services (think $10 hour-long massages, $15 facials, $7 manicures, etc). I personally went to Azure Spa, which is at the Pesona Resort (where the hookah is), but there are so many around the island. For less than $50, I got a massage, facial, deep conditioning treatment for my hair and a manicure. #winning
Pictured is Shane enjoying his magic mushroom shake at Labalaba… doesn’t he look happy? Magic mushrooms are a no-go for me (terrible experience in Amsterdam), but if you’re into it they sell them at tons of places around the island. Many locals will just pass by saying “mussroom mussroom” to the tourists. So, ya know, keep your ears peeled. If you’re not into magic mushrooms, there are fresh coconuts all around the island that are super delicious and really hydrating.
Gili Trawangan is a party island. That means you will find plenty of bars, live music and late night festivities to fit your fancy here. We, personally, didn’t go out drinking, but we did stop by an Irish bar called Tir Na Nog for their “famous” Wednesday night party. Since we’re old af, we expected the party to be rocking at 9PM when we arrived, which it was not. lol So, we didn’t really get a taste of the Gili T nightlife. We did however meet the owner of Tir Na Nog, who was pouring some terrible looking drinks behind the bar for his friends in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey. He ended up being a super nice guy who came to Gili for vacation and just never left. Don’t you wish you could do that?
I also want to mention, we did not have the most amazing time on Gili Trawangan. Our hotel wasn’t great and was in the middle of the island. This meant we had to walk through muddy streets and flies everywhere we went. Even when we were by the beach there were still flies. The locals pestered us to buy things every step we took. We thought this would be a relaxing island getaway, but it felt more like a port of call for a major cruise ship without any of the Western luxuries.
The only reason I would consider coming back to Gili Trawangan is to eat at Pizzeria Regina and Pituk Cafe. If we do come back, I would definitely stay on the west end of the island away from the congestion. Plus I would splurge on staying at a nice resort. There is also the option to see Gili Meno and Gili Air, but since the roads (and flies) are the same, I’m not sure how excited I’d be about going there either.
I hope that this guide serves you well and makes planning your trip to Gili Trawangan a little bit easier! If you have any thoughts, feelings, opinions, recommendations, additions, etc for this guide or any others, please tell me about it in the comments below!
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Stay hungry!
