Photo Diary: A Day in Gili Air, Bali

OK, prepare yourself… after reading this post you’re going to REALLY want to book a trip.

Let me rephrase that… after seeing the glassy clear blue seawater, the fresh white sand and the royal blue skies in these photos you’re going to have to literally hold yourself back from jumping on the next boat to Gili Air. Get ready…

After two days on Gili Trawangan we were eager to see more of what the Gili Islands had to offer. So on day three we woke up early and set off for Gili Air.

There are 2 different ways to travel from island to island while in the Gilis. The first being to hire out a private boat from one of the many vendors on the main strip of Gili T who are constantly looking to sell scuba and snorkeling trips as well as other excursions.

The other choice, the one we opted for, is to take the public boat from the main strip.

The public boat ticket office is right on the main strip where your ferry boat to get to Gili Trawangan would’ve dropped you off. If you have trouble finding it ask any of the shop owners or vendors and they’ll point you in the right direction– the Balinese are nice like that!

Here it is on the map:

Public Boats depart from Gili Trawangan at 9.30am and 4.00pm daily and cost about IDR 40,000 (AUD $4.00) each way. The trip takes about 30 minutes in total and makes a stop at Gili Meno before arriving at Gili Air. Boats leave from Gili Air at 8.30am and 3.00pm. 

The boats get pretty packed with locals and backpackers alike so try and get to the front of the line to get a decent seat for your journey.

The ride itself is pretty smooth and comfortable for the short distance you’ll be traveling. And the views are unbeatable!

Gili Air was exactly what I expected from the Gilis. Totally chilled out, laid back, and relaxed. It’s Gili T with about 10% of the storefronts and 10% of the crowd. There’s room to walk leisurely along the paths and really take in the island feeling you get there. People take it slow.

We wandered along and took a tour of the brand new Hotel Ombak Paradise (part of the same Ombak family as our resort on Gili Trawangan) where the purchase of any drink grants you access to their gigantic luxury pool and beach loungers.

But snorkeling was the true aim of our game on Gili Air and we asked around until we found the recommended snorkeling spot on the island. To find it follow the road along the water’s edge toward the right when you get off of the ferry boat. Stop when you read Scallywag’s Bar and Zipp Bar. It should take you about 7 minutes to walk so no need to take a cimodo.

Along the way you’ll find loads of people selling snorkels and fins. We rented ours for the day for about IDR 50,000 (AUD $5). We headed to Zipp’s bar and rented beach loungers with an umbrella for IDR 25,000 ($2.50) for the day. Here was the view:

Renting the loungers was great because we could leave all of our stuff on the lounger and feel good about its safety while we were out swimming with the fishes.

Gili Air was the Gili paradise I had expected from the Gili islands and I SOOOO wish we had had more time there.

Until next time! ❤

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