Gili Trawangan or Gili T

Gili Trawangan (Terawangan), or simply Gili T, is the largest and most visited of the three Gili Islands off Lombok.

Understand

This is the largest of the three Gili Islands with an estimated permanent population of about 800.

Trawangan was the first of the three islands to attract visitors in any numbers, and it was backpackers who led the way. In the 1990s the island developed a reputation as a wild party destination with cheap accommodation, no police, plentiful weed and mushrooms, and readily available harder drugs. Whilst that is still partially the case, Trawangan has matured into a destination that has a far wider appeal.

The thriving dive industry of the Gili Islands is centred here (although some operators have outposts on the other two islands), and since about 2005, the island has gone through a massive development boom, and a number of upscale sleeping, eating and drinking establishments have opened. Any visitor to Trawangan should be prepared for a real mish-mash of fellow travellers; some will be ensconced in US$400 per night, unashamedly Bali-style villas, while others would be quite happy to kip on the beach after a tough day on the mushies.

Orientation

Most of the accommodation and other facilities on the island are on the eastern side, sheltered from the winds and rough seas of the Lombok Strait which sometimes batter the opposite side of the island. Boats dock here as well, on the beach just north of the market. The presence of a concrete jetty often confuses first-timers - just ignore it, as a rather unfortunate engineering miscalculation (or no calculation at all) caused the jetty to be built at the wrong level. The tide is virtually never high enough to allow boats to sensibly and safely use the jetty. It is a rather amusing white elephant.

A footpath circumvents the whole island and various tracks criss-cross, nearly always leading back to this coastal path. The area set back behind the east coast beachfront establishments is where most of the locals live (and where there is a lot of budget accommodation), and is known simply as "the village". There is a low lying hill in the southern centre of the island, which is easily reached from the tracks heading southwest from the back of the village.

See and Do

Gili Trawangan is the centre of a thriving dive industry on the Gili Island. All of the operators have their main dive shops located here. There are about a dozen active dive sites, and all of the shops run a regularly rotating program of daily fun dives to one of more of these.
Fun dives are not really what Gili Trawangan is about though, and it is much better known as a teaching centre. The operators are very professional, the warm waters relatively unchallenging (although some sites have fairly strong currents), and the visibility usually good. All of that makes for an ideal teaching environment, whether you are a first timer, or a diver looking to extend your qualifications.

Snorkeling

The easiest spot to find some productive snorkeling is off the main beach, north of the boat landing. If you start north of the beach (about where you can see seaweeds growing at low tide about level with Gili Meno's northern extent), and go with the current back towards to the most crowded sunbathing area, you will likely need to kick only when you want to stop to look at something! The healthy corals are around the area where the wall drops off and the deeper water begins. Nearer the shore you will find only dead coral. Turtles can be seen often, and also the occasional trigger fish amongst the more common reef inhabitants. At low tide it is dificult to get in without reef shoes. Always watch out for the waves smashing you into the coral that are just below water level.

A better coral reef is off the northwest coast, but you have to be very keen to go through the hardship of getting out there. The only access to the reef involves walking over a substantial area of dead, sharp coral, and back again when you have finished. If you are a keen snorkeler the effort is worth it, and you are very likely to have the waters to yourself.
Small, purple jellyfishes are sometimes plentiful around the island, and they seem to love stinging snorkelers. The reaction is one of considerable irritation, but the stings cause no serious harm.

Surfing

Gili Trawangan has a fast right hander which can really pump with the right conditions. The best waves are at high tide, and the underlying reef can be sharp so booties can come in handy. The surf break is off the south coast - just follow the locals who wil be out and jogging with their boards whenever the surf is decent. You will find no shortage of locals eady, willing and able to rent you board. There are a few breaks off Gili Air and Gili Meno, but they are more difficult to reach and smaller. The best season is the January-June wet season, with swells from 3ft up to 6ft. Daily conditions can be checked out at Magic Seaweed.

Walking

There are some lovely walks to be had on the island, although the perimeter coastal track is perhaps not as scenic as those on Gili Meno and Gili Air. A leisurely stroll all the way around will take 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on just how leisurely you are.
The hill in the south can be easily reached by taking one of the tracks that lead west or southwest from the back of the village. Dawn and dusk are the best times to climb up here. The sunset views back towards Bali are quite lovely, and in the mornings the sun rises over majestic Mount Rinjani on Lombok. On the top of the hill there is the remains of a World War II Japanese gun bunker.

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.