This post was originally from March 2, 2025

On Wednesday morning we left Senggigi early to take a bus to the harbor in Lombok. We said ‘later Lombok’ and boarded a little boat that took us to the nearby island of Gili Trawangan.  

The Gilis consist of three islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. Each one is remote and beautiful, but Gili T is definitely the most popular with tourists. This is where we’d spend the next two nights and do a half day snorkel excursion. 

When we first got there it was a bit of a mission. Gili T has banned all motorized vehicles. This helps maintain the island’s peaceful atmosphere and eco-friendly ways. There are a few ways in which you can get around the island – of course there are your own two legs, but you can rent bicycles or Escooters or hire horse-drawn carts which are called codomos. The comodos are used quite frequently to transport people and their luggage to their hotel, but sadly it was pretty clear that the horses were not treated well so none of us used this service. Have I mentioned that Indonesia is hot? Well, other than that mountain homestay in Java it has been HOT with a capital H! In the blistering heat this made for a challenging feat, but once we got to our hotel, the place was paradise and made it all worth the buckets of sweat! I do have to give a shout out to Kris. I was still close to fainting so she took my bag for a huge portion of the trek. Thank you Kris!!

Our snorkel excursion took us to 3 main spots. The first took us to a shallow area that is abundant with sea turtles. They like the grassy area to eat on and we got to see a few hanging out there doing their thing. Next, we went to the famous Nest statue off the coast of Gili Meno. This massive statue depicts 48 life size couples embracing with mermaids curled on the sea floor.  The statue was put there to help the reef grow and allow for more sea life to flourish. As we swam up to the statue it was pretty incredible. There were hundreds of vibrantly coloured fish and you literally could swim through the different schools.  It was so cute to see their puckered lips swim past you with no care that we were there. Our last stop allowed us to take our time and explore the area. We stumbled upon another green turtle and got to follow it as it swam around us going up for air and then circling around us some more. This was a magical way to end the amazing excursion. 

I don’t want to sugarcoat things. Yes the snorkeling was amazing, but there was a part of it that really emphasized how tourism and overpopulation is ruining nature. As we were swimming there were several times when I would look around and see garbage bobbing in the water with us. It makes me sick to think how destructive human behaviour can and how garbage floating in the beautiful sea most definitely be prevented.

Before returning to Gili T we had lunch on Gili Meno and visited a turtle sanctuary. The purpose of the sanctuary is to increase the turtle population by protecting the turtle eggs from predators, letting them hatch naturally and raise the young turtles for about a year. The turtles are fed every two hours from sunrise till sunset and the turtle tanks are changed every day by pumping salt water from the sea. Eventually once they are old and strong enough, the turtles are released back into the sea. 

By Friday our time in Gili was up and it was time to take an hour and a half speedboat back to Bali. The ride wasn’t too treacherous and soon enough we were back in our starting hotel in Sanur. Saying goodbye to everyone is always really sad. Our guide Hendri has been such a gem. He was always smiling and laughing and so proud to show us his country. Saturday we also bid farewell to Kris and AJ as well as David and Ally. This next bit would allow Liza and I to explore solo. 

Here are just a few more shots from Gili ~