🇮🇩 How we traveled to Gili Air and what actually happened | Indonesian Gili Triplets series [EP1]

#coupletravel #indonesia #GiliAir #GiliMeno #GiliTrawangan #Lombok #tlttravel #GiliTriplets

💡 This series includes our trips from Lombok to Indonesian famous Gili Triplets: Gili Air - Gili Meno - Gili Trawangan with the highlights of:
🐎 4 days in bustling Gili Air beach town
🏝 A day trip to Serene beautiful blue beach in Gili Meno and we met lots of Turtles! 🐢
💃 4 days in party island Gili Trawangan/Gili T

💡 This EP 1 shares some tough moments of our trip from Lombok to Gili Air, including scams and challenges we faced. It's not meant to discourage travel, but to offer insights and help others avoid similar issues.
01:57 First encounter: The controversial harbour
12:24 Second: The horse cart
16:21 Third: Our Hotel
35:30 Fourth: Power off

Here are some travel tips in Gili Air to make your trip easier
❓ What is Gili Air
Gili Air is one of the three famous Gili Islands, located off the northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia. It's larger than Gili Meno but smaller than Gili Trawangan. Being the closest of the three to Lombok, we decided to begin our trip there, and we're so glad we made that choice!

❓ Is Gili Air worth it
ABSOLUTELY YES! Gili Air shares similarities with Bali, but it's more compact. It boasts a lovely beach town with a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and beach clubs. Mini-marts are easily accessible, and there are many clothing shops as well. Gili Air gives off a modern, Westernized vibe. If you love Bali, you'll immediately vibe with it

❓ How to get to Gili Air from Lombok
🚕 We booked a private transfer, and Mr. Tarik picked us up from our hotel. His rates were comparable to those of Grab, and we highly recommend him. His English is excellent, he's a responsible and punctual driver, and he was always willing to share more about Lombok. Mr. Tarik also made our trip significantly easier, as you'll see in our video.
🚤 Public fast boat from Lombok Bangsal Pier 85k/each (only 10 minutes) and it leaves every hour, the slow boat is just 25k/each but it only leaves when it filled up.
So our tips are:
• Arrange a Grab driver to travel to Lombok's Bangsal Pier. Keep a close eye on your luggage.
• Proceed directly to the ticket counter and purchase your ticket. All necessary information will be printed on it.
• Wait in the waiting area to avoid harassment from scammers.
• Locate your boat at least 10 minutes prior to its departure time.

❓ How to move around Gili Air
4 wheels vehicles and motorbikes are not allowed on the islands so there is no taxi or tech drivers. You can move around by:
🐎 Horse cart ride
👍 You can find them everywhere, very accessible and good for trip with a lot of luggage
👎 Unlike Gili Trawangan, where horse cart fares are regulated by authorities, pricing on Gili Air is highly variable, you shouldn't pay more than 100k. Additionally, horse carts are unable to access our beach area due to the soft sand

🚲 Bike rental
Internet price: 50 - 100k/bike/day
Our hotel price: 150k/bike/day
👍 The price is more reasonable than the horse cart and it's realy a uniqueness that giving a pure beach town vibe
👎 Cannot drive on the sand so we had to drag them everytime we go back to the hotel. Also (*) remember to always lock it with something else because not everyone is sober while all the bikes look the same!

👣 Walking around Gili Air
Gili Air is a tiny island so it's possible to walk all around the island in one hour, no joke! But you will see how various the town is, from busy party beach town to quiet rustic residential area

❓ Where to stay in Gili Air
Gili Air offers three distinct areas, each with varying accommodation options, from affordable hostels to luxurious villas:
12:50 The Harbour Tourist Area: This area is very modern and lively, bustling with restaurants, beach bars, coffee shops, and a wide range of tourist services.
16:06 The Beach Side Area (Our Side): This area is more low-key and serene. It's relatively new, so there's ongoing construction.
23:49 The Residential Area: This area has a rustic, jungly, and hippie vibe with hostels.

💬 We didn't like our beach side as the construction and dust were not the best for a beach holiday, we would go for the central if we think of coming back.

❓ What to eat in Gili Air
As we are foodies, we try everything. Since the first several arrival days seem to be too hardcore, we went for Italian food and gelato, and it turned out that Italian food on Gili Air is TOP-NOTCH with burrata! Check out our favourite beach front Italian food restaurant
🍕 MAMA PIZZA --- https://g.co/kgs/1LpUocG
🍝 BELLA CIAO --- https://g.co/kgs/rwDsCpG
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