Although Gili Air is closest to the Lombok mainland it is the most overlooked of the three Gili islands in terms of development. However, that is all set to change as the market here is geared very much towards the budget traveler and tropical island explorer. A lot of visitors actually prefer the grass roots atmosphere of Gili Air and the feeling of really being part of a close knit local community.


The circumference of Gili Air island is travelable by foot in around two and a half hours but be sure to pack some supplies as you’re heading well off the beaten track.

As with Gili Meno the pace of life is slow and endearing to those who really want to escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

The latest arrival to show how Gili Air is very slowly catching up with big brother Trawangan, is a new ATM machine. It is located on the east side in the middle of what you may call the main strip, basically the concentration from the harbour to another fairly new operation of bungalows called Bibi’s.

It takes all the usual cards like – Visa, master Card, even cirrus and Maestro. With the new power cable from the mainland Lombok installed, the time was right. It is a great advantage to visitors as they don’t have to take bundles of cash, and even though there are still some small “Mati Lampu” or power outages for a few hours here and there it means people may stay longer.