Gili Air

Gili Air is the most easterly of the three Gili Islands off Lombok.

Gili Air is the smallest of the Gilis and its closest to the Lombok mainland, making it popular with honeymoon couples and travelers seeking a quiet retreat. It has a population of about 1,000 and administratively lies in the West Nusa Tenggara province. The island offers excellent snorkeling and scuba diving off its east coast, and turtles can be seen along the coral reef.

Understand

Of the three Gilis, this is the island closest to Lombok. Traditionally, Gili Air was seen as the domain of families and couples wanting a quiet, off-the-beaten-path escape, while the rowdier hoardes had their fun on Gili Trawangan. With Trawangan now up scaling so obviously, more and more backpackers seem to be choosing Gili Air as their primary option. This island has more of a rural, established feeling than the other two, and it is no surprise that many of the local Gili Islanders seem to prefer living on Gili Air, and that it has the highest permanent population of about 1,800.

Orientation

Most of the accommodation and other tourism facilities are on the south and east coasts, facing Lombok. The boat landing is in the centre of the south coast. A coastal path leads you around the perimeter of the island, and a leisurely stroll all the way around will take about 90 minutes. For such a small island, the maze of paths that criss-cross the island can get surprisingly confusing, but these always lead back to the coast path eventual.

See and Do

Dive shops
There are three dive operators with offices on Gili Air. All of them are independently run outposts of Gili Trawangan based shops. They offer a full menu of PADI dive courses and fun dives.

If you intend to learn to dive or advance existing qualifications, and wish to avoid all the temptations of partying whilst doing so, then Gili Air is the ideal base.

* Blue Marlin, (northeast coast)

* Dream Divers, (southeast coast)

* Manta Dive, (southeast coast)

Snorkeling

Any of the dive shops will also be able to organize snorkeling trips for you, including hire of gear. Alternatively, there are some good spots where you can snorkel from the beach. Try almost anywhere along the east coast where the fringing reef is fairly healthy and close offshore. Be careful walking in the shallow waters though as there are a lot of very spiny sea urchins in amongst the sea-grass. Equipment can be hired from almost any cafe or shack close to the beach for about Rp 30,000, or your hotel will be able to help you.

Surfing

Gili Air hardly registers a blip on the global surf scene, which is somewhat surprising. There is a poorly known, barreling right hander off the south coast called Play gili. This is by no means a straightforward wave, breaks over some very sharp coral and is best left to experienced, skilled surfers. It does not always roll, but when it does this is a good wave. Best first stop for any surfer is Ozzy's Surf Shop, where the local crew will be keen to rent you a board and chat about the conditions.

Walk

The circular walk around Gili Air is very pleasant indeed. The highlight for many would be the awe-inspiring views of massive Mount Rinjani towering over Lombok.

Fast Boat From Bali

Operator	Bali (dep.)	Lombok (dep.)	Travel time	Schedule	Price
BlueWater Safaris	Benoa (8AM)	Teluk Kode (11AM) Trawangan (11:30AM)	2 hours	Daily	Upon Request
BlueWater Safaris	Nusa Lembongan (11AM)	Trawangan (12:30PM)	90 mins	Daily	Upon Request
Gili Cat	Padang Bai (9AM)	Teluk Kode (11AM) Trawangan (11:45AM)	2 hours	Daily	Upon Request
Island Getaway	Benoa (8AM)	Trawangan (11AM) Teluk Kode (11:30AM)	2 hours	Daily	Upon Request
Wahana Gili Ocean	Padang Bai (09.00 am / 02.00 pm)	Trawangan (11.00 am / 03.30 pm) Teluk Nara, Lombok (11.10 am / 03.40 pm)	80 mins	Daily	IDR 500,000 each
Redline	Benoa (8AM)	Trawangan (10.30AM)	2.5 hours	Daily	Upon Request

Note:Departure times are fixed, however, The Operators reserves the right to cancel or modify the schedule subject to poor weather conditions in the interest of passenger safety.