This is a really easy trip to take, going from Lombok to Gili Islands – Air, Trawangan, and Meno (It’s just a 15 minute ride on a fast boat and it’s likely that you’ll spend more time waiting for a boat that you will actually spend on the boat itself! There’s also the “turn up and get the slower boat” option, which I’ve covered. The main thing you’ll need to decide is what time you want to go to the Gili Islands from Lombok. And how you want to pay of course. Here’s our guide on how to get to the Gili Islands from Lombok, as well as our experiences going from Lombok to the Gili Islands too.
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Where are the Gili Islands
The three Gili Islands, Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan are just a 15 minute fast boat journey from Bangsal Pier on the island of Lombok. The Gili Islands are only a few kilometers from Lombok and there are up to 20 fast boats that run this route each day depending on the season with Gili Air being the closest to Bangsal pier.
How to Go from Lombok to the Gili Islands
There are two primary ways to go from Lombok to the Gili Islands, both involve boats, one faster than the other. One you’ll have to pay cash for, the other you can book online. Both of these options leave from Bangsal Pier, which is about 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Sengiggi.
I’ll cover both the fast boat and the slower boat options, as well as the times and prices of both of them. If you’re in a hurry, then THIS is the easiest way to get to the Gili Islands from Lombok.
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The Easiest Way from Lombok to Gili Islands
By far the easiest way to go to the Gili islands from Lombok is to take a fast speedboat. Book early for the best availability.
How to get to the Gili Islands from Lombok
There are more than 20 boats a day from Lombok to the Gili Islands. And these are just the fast ones. There are an indeterminate number of slower boats from Bangsal Pier to the Gili Islands because they go when full (about 30 passengers), or when someone pays for the absent people to “fill” the tickets as it were.
The Fast Boat from Lombok to the Gili Islands
The guaranteed way to get from Lombok to the Gili Islands is to prebook and prepay the fast boats. They run from 08:45 in the morning until 16:00 each day. Schedules may change during Ramadan, but you can check the fast boat timetable from Lombok to the Gili Islands here.
The price of the fast boats is the same per person regardless of the time of day that you travel, although there are at least two different companies running this route. It’s best to just pick the time that you want to leave. Make sure that you’re there an hour before the fastboat leaves to board it. You can take up to 20 kilos of luggage per person on the fast boat to the Gili Islands.
And then the next thing that you need to check is that you’re booking the ticket to the right island. Gili Air is the closest to Lombok, then Gili Meno, and then finally Gili Trawangan.
Check the timetables and book tickets from Lombok to Gili Air here
Check the timetables and book tickets from Lombok to Gili Meno here
Check the times and buy tickets from Lombok to Gili Trawangan here
There’s no need to print your tickets, at check-in just just show the PDF ticket that you’ll get over email.
Note you’re likely to find people, who say they work for the fast boat company who will try and carry your bags onto the boat for you. They probably don’t. And they WILL expect to be paid for it.
The Slow Boat or Ferry from Lombok to the Gili Islands
The slow boat or slow ferry from Lombok to the Gili Islands also leaves from Bangsal Pier Or Bangsal Port, depending on what mood your taxi driver is in. First to get to Bangsal Pier just get a taxi from your hotel. You can use Grab or Bluebird here on Lombok. Download the apps and manage it all through the app.
It’s the usual story at this pier, there will be lots of people trying to sell you things, ferry tickets, fast boat tickets, and accommodation, but you’ll want to head directly to the ferry ticket booth. It’s right by where are boats are docked. And there’s a board there indicating that the slow boat is 23,000 IDR or so and there’s a huge sign that indicates that it’s the official ferry ticket booth. Despite the dirty great Easybook logo above it, the only online booking option that they have is for a 13:30 fast boat trip, so ignore that.
Buy your ticket and then wait. The boat goes when it’s full. Or when they’ve decided that they’ve filled it enough. You shouldn’t be long. The last slow boats leave Bangsal Pier for the Gili Islands at 17:00. If a full boat group of people turns up then they might put another one on, but best to get here earlier in the day.
We’d been waiting 25 minutes, with about 8 other people when two rather loud travellers turned up. They’d just hiked Gunung Rinjani, well to the crater anyway. It had been two days since they had a shower. They had a loud (clearly designed to be overheard) discussion about how if we all bought the remainder of the tickets for the ferry, then we could leave NOW.
The additional cost for the rest of the tickets? Well considering we were tickets 8 and 9, and they were the next to turn up, it was still quite a bit. Our tickets are the equivalent of US$1.50 each. There needs to be 30 people on the boat before they’ll go. We ignore the passive-aggressive discussion that we’re clearly supposed to join in.
And so they pay. And the boat goes early. Win-win for all concerned.
You can’t book this slow boat to the Gili Islands from Lombok online, so just rock up and I hope you get a quick departure, or benefactors like we did, to speed you on your way.
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- How to go from Bali to Lombok
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Map of Ferry Piers for going from Lombok to the Gili Islands
You can also see the ferry piers for going from Lombok to the Gili Islands on the full map here
The quickest way to get from Lombok to the Gili Islands
The quickest way to go to the Gili Islands from Lombok is to take a fast boat. You’ll also of course need to get to Bangsal Pier, which is where the fast boats to the Gili’s go from. The easiest way of getting a transfer from your accommodation in Lombok is to ask your hotel and get them to arrange it for you. The fast boats to the Gili’s leave from Bangsal Pier and it’s there you’ll need to get to. You can pre-book a fastboat from Bangsal Pier to the Gili Island of your choice here.
The cheapest way to go from Lombok to the Gili Islands
The cheapest way to get to the Gili Islands from Lombok is to take the slow boat. You can’t book this boat online, you have to just turn up and line up, and buy your ticket (it’s about US$1.50 in Indonesian Rupiah). Wait until it fills up and then it will leave.
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Final Words on How to Go from Lombok to the Gili Islands
You have two choices for this route, you can either prebook and prepay the scheduled fastboats, there are about 20 a day, depending on the season. Or you can turn up and take your chances with the slow boat. The slow boat is cheaper but it doesn’t run to schedule and it only goes when full, or when someone pays for the unfilled seats. Good luck! And enjoy the Gili Islands.
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