Skip to main content

Gili Islands

The Natives & History
A few years ago, sailors from Bugis, Mandar and Makassar (Sulawesi) occupied Gili Air and establish coconuts plantation and expand the fishing activities.
As visitors started to visit Lombok and some came to the Gilis on day trips and then began to stay for longer periods in local homes. The islands have become enormously popular. Their popularity may be a problem, as numbers sometime exceed the available rooms and put pressure on the island environment, especially the supply of fresh water and the capacity of septic system to cope with waste and there is always pressure to build more and better facilities.
Big business interests are trying to cash in on the popularity of the Gilis and the local government is keen to promote upmarket tourist development.
Gili Air and Gili Meno retained much of their unspoilt quality, but Gili Trawangan has become more touristy and pricy. The islanders are majority Muslims and visitors should respect their sensibilities. In particular, topless or nude sunbathing is offensive to them, even though they won't say so directly. Away from Beach, it is polite for women to cover their shoulders and thighs. Many visitors are appallingly insensitive to local standards and so many of them walk around in skimpy clothing that it's easy to get impression that the local people don't mind anymore. In fact, they do.


Activities
There are many options for an enjoyable holiday on the islands. You can rent snorkeling equipment, join a diving course, rent a kayak, go fishing, or take a glass bottom boat to see the magnificent coral reefs and fishes. There are no sights as such on the islands themselves, but the snorkeling and diving all around is a major draw.



The locals living on the island are pretty interesting. If you walk behind the main road you will see how the locals live which is much different then the beautiful bungalows the tourists stay in.

Scuba Diving
There are lots of quality scuba diving operations on all the islands. The coral around the islands is good for snorkeling, which can be reach from the shore. See rays and giant clams. A must see: Turtles Point, Meno Wall, Shark (harmless) Point. Dive Schools available on all the islands with many dive programs to choose, from beginners to advanced technical dives.



Snorkeling
While divers are able to regularly swim with black tip, those who prefer to just drifts in the currents with a snorkel, fins and mask are never left disappointed by the more than 6,000 species of marine life living just off-shore.

Fishing
Fishing is one of the highlight activities on the islands. Deep/bottom fishing remain the best on north west of Gili Trawangan. Carry your own equipment if you're not familiar with the traditional-style of fishing.

ISLAND'S HOPPING
Traveling between the islands requires either catching the infrequent shuttle boats or chartering one to take you across. The distances between the islands may seem swimmable, but do not attempt it — the currents can be fierce and several backpackers have died trying.

Comments

Popular

1. Big Ben - it's actually a huge bell inside the clock tower, which in turn is called the tower of Elizabeth II. 2. The font Times New Roman was created by the printers of the London newspaper "The Times" in 1931. 3. The population of London speaks more than 300 languages, more than in any other city in the world. 4. The London buses were not always red. Until 1907 on different routes in London operated buses of different colors. 4. The London buses were not always red. Until 1907 on different routes in London operated buses of different colors. 5. In the huge Westminster Palace in London there are 1000 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, eight bars and six restaurants that are not open to the public, but are financed from the state budget. Westminster Palace was specially built on the river bank so that it could not be completely surrounded by a crowd. 6. Some strange names of London streets: The Cyclops Stables, Black Boy's Lane, Bleeding Heart Street and Ha H...

Traveling to Ireland

Traveling to Ireland: breweries and pubs, castles and lakes, flowering gardens and luxurious architecture. Anyone who thinks that in Ireland, in addition to cheerful beer houses, there is nothing to see, he is greatly mistaken. Of course, the cult of beer and pubs is pronounced here, but this is not the only property of the Irish. Almost all the main attractions of the country are located in the territory of its capital Dublin or not far from it.  In Dublin, bypassing the topic of pubs still does not work out, since they are here at every turn, and two identical ones cannot be found. Names, stained glass, collections of beer, details of interior decoration are everywhere different. In addition to the interesting interior and beer, the traditional Irish pub is the sound of a violin, guitar and bagpipes.  But the pubs can be left for the evening, visiting the Guinness Brewery or visiting an entire pub quarter, and in the afternoon you can begin exploring other attractio...

TRAVELING IN FINLAND

Finland is among the top ten European countries by area, but there are not so many people living here. Nevertheless, getting here from point A to point B is easy. The transport infrastructure of Finland, which is air, rail and road transport, is at the most modern level and is extremely reliable.  The largest transport and tourist gate of Finland is, without doubt, the capital city of Helsinki. However, once in any other part of Finland, you can continue your journey quickly. convenient and no problem.  Trains in Finland are clean, spacious, comfortable and convenient. Trains run regularly throughout the country, from early morning until late at night. Landscapes outside the window delight the eye, especially when traveling through the eastern part of the country, known for its many lakes. When traveling long distances, we recommend using a sleeping car to spend the night with maximum comfort. In such trains there are special cars for the transport of cars. The smallest...