The Gili Islands

Selamat Pagi!

Since moving to Bali, we have had the opportunity to visit the Gili Islands several times.

Friends joined us for their holidays, so we went with them to show them this little corner of paradise.

Wake up 6 am, the shuttle to take us to the port of Padangb ai came to pick us up directly at home, in Canggu . We have decided to travel with the company Ostina , so there is the possibility of requesting a transfer from your Villa or hotel which drops you off directly at the port of Padangbai in order to take the boat there.

After 1h30 on the road, we arrive in Padangbai ready to take the boat.

After a few checks, in particular that of the covid vaccination certificate, here we are on the boat, the trip takes about 2 h 30.

During the crossing, if you are lucky, you can observe dolphins and whales. In addition, they offer many drinks including sodas and bintang .

2h30 later , we arrived at Gili T.

After about ten minutes of walking, we put our suitcases at Kelapa Villas , a hotel that offers many Villas of all sizes. I highly recommend this place, our villa was incredible.

It is the ideal place to stay with friends, family or couple.

In Gili T, there are no scooters, so everything is done on foot, by bike or by horse-drawn carriage.

We rented bikes directly from the hotel, it makes getting around quicker and more fun.

The best known activities on the island are snorkeling with fish or turtles.

We went to a beach east of the port, there are not many fish, however, the turtles come to eat there every morning.

I recommend that you go there during high tide, because otherwise the access is difficult you have to walk on many stones and corals.

It's amazing, you can see about ten turtles there.

On Gili T, you will find many bars and warungs where you can eat very well. In addition, the sunsets are magnificent with a clear view of Mount Agun.

For our second day, we decided to spend the day in Gili Meno , the island just in front of Gili T is only about ten minutes by boat.

You will find many small boats on the beach that can get you there, we went through Robert , as we have used his services before on our first trip here.

Gili Meno is the smallest of the 3 islands, but it is worth the detour.

There are some very good hotels including the United Colors of Gili where we stayed during our previous stay. A hotel located in the middle of the island too cute and very comfortable that I highly recommend if you decide to spend a few days on Gili Meno . 

For this time, we are just passing through and decide to eat at Warung Umar located on an incredible beach in Gili Meno .
The owners are very kind and we eat very well, all in an idyllic setting.  

Just 2 minutes walk from Se Warung is the Turtle sanctuary .

You can see baby turtles there and release them if they are old enough to be able to live peacefully in their natural environment.
We were lucky and were able to release a turtle that day.
A very moving and magical moment. 

On the other side of the island is an iconic place of Gili Meno , the statues .
To get there it 's very simple, you just have to land in front of the large Bask sign (it's a large hotel under construction) and swim about fifty meters before arriving at the statues.

After a busy day, we return to Gili T.
The rest of our stay was very CHILL: Snorkeling , beaches, Sunset

The Gili Islands are an ideal place to disconnect and see fabulous landscapes.