The Gili islands are a true paradise. Really all of Indonesia is largely a paradise but the Gilis are something special. I met a local on Gili Air who had barely ever left the island even though Lombok and Bali are both short boat rides away — and he had the means to go whenever he wanted to — but why leave a truly perfect paradise? That’s good sense.

The Gilis are comprised of 3 islands: Gili Trawangan (just called Gili T), Gili Meno and Gili Air. All of the islands sit right next to each other, just off the coast of the much larger island, Lombok. They each have different personalities and different reasons that one would travel there. Gili T is more of the party island, big for snorkeling and dive trips, too. Gili Meno is for honeymooners. It’s the tiniest and super quiet. And then Gili Air is the best of both worlds — social if you want that but chill if you don’t, or whatever mix you want in between. I had the best time on Gili Air and extended my stay because of the lovely locals and travelers I was lucky enough to meet and hang out with.

gili t

• Rent a bike, ride around and explore. The only means of transportation on all of the islands are horse cart and bike.

• Take one of the horse-drawn taxi carts to/from your accommodations. It’s a little bumpy but so cool to experience.

• Le Pirate is where I stayed. It’s on the northwest end of the island. Most of the busy-ness and people are in the main town on the southeast end of the island so it was pretty quiet up there. The rooms are all cute, individual, teal-and-white-painted cottages scattered around the property. The beach in front of the hotel is not very swimmable because of all the coral but it didn’t bother me at all because the shell finds were INCREDIBLE. Like mind-blowingly good. And watching the tide go in and out each day was also fascinating to watch. It was a great beach to walk up and down. Plus the property has a nice pool and you can go swim in non-coral beaches just a 10 minute walk down the road if you want.

• I also heard M Box Hotel is a fun place to stay if you want to be in the main town.

• Do a loungey dinner and sunset drinks on the beach at Casa Vintage (on the west side of the island). Delicious Jamaican food and a super friendly staff. One of many beautiful sunset spots on the Gilis. I’d go here constantly if I lived on Gili T.

gili meno

• This island is known as the honeymooner island — because that’s primarily who comes here. I came solo but ended up enjoying the quiet time and solitude. But really the whole point of coming here is to do a lot of relaxing, a lot of nothing at all. Maybe a lot of sex probably but who’s to say.

• Biru Meno Bungalows is where I stayed. It was a good location (10 minute walk from where the boat drops you off on the island) and a good price. I’d say stay at Seri Resort for a higher end experience.

• I took a groovy group snorkel trip (with a few honeymooning couples) for $10 that was awesome. Saw lots of sea turtles, fish and some cool underwater sites. You can take snorkel trips from any of the 3 islands for probably the same price.

gili air

• My favorite of the Gilis! I had the best time here. Within my first hour on the island, I met this awesome new buddy on the beach named Amanda — and she had already made some local friends so we all hung around together the whole time I was on the island. We rode bikes all over, went to beach cafes for sunset, went out at night, grilled fish at a local family’s house — it was wonderful. Some of my favorite memories from my solo trip around Asia were made in Gili Air.

• I stayed at Zipp Bar + Bungalows. It was conveniently-located (a short walk from where the boat drops you on the island) but this island is so perfectly small that staying anywhere on the island really wouldn’t make a huge difference in your stay.

• I went to a fun party one night at Legend Bar. I’d recommend popping by there and some of the beach bars on the north end of the island.

• There are some cool, local restaurants in the middle of the island and all around the edges — so be sure to cycle/walk all over to find them all. I lurved Pachamama and The Mexican Kitchen.

• The island takes about 25 minutes to walk from top to bottom so everything is in walking distance. It’s not too small, not too big. To me, it’s JUST RIGHT.