Put the lime in the coconut…. Gili Islands, Indonesia

Do you like beaches with powdery white sand and turquoise water? Do you like places with no cars? Do you like seclusion? Do you like dancing on the beach until dawn? ……… Then why are you not in the Gilis?? If you haven’t heard of this place you should look it up. It is a set of 3 tiny islands (you can bicycle around the largest one is less than an hour) off of Lombok where there are no cars, white sand, endless diving, snorkeling and beach parties and friendly locals just for good measure.

After a 6am pick-up by Wayan in Balangan, we arrived in the Gili Islands, Lombok just before lunch via the fast boats from Pandagbai, Bali. The fast boats are a pretty easy ride and only take about 1.15hrs, if the water isn’t too rough you can also enjoy the view riding on the roof which Kait, Clegger and I did. We had pre-booked our stay at D’Harbour hotel before we arrived and much to our delight the place looked even better than it did in photos. Our home for the next few days were gorgeous thatched roof bungalows set among gorgeous gardens conveniently located behind one of the islands hotspots for food and beach partying - which we absolutely took advantage of. It was a bit more costly than our usual places but at only $30/person/day we weren’t exactly breaking the bank.

Our home for a few days

After settling in and feasting on tacos in the D’Harbour bar (which the boys did on a few occasions since these tacos were so good) we headed immediately to the beach.  Although there is not much surfing on the island we did manage to find the one spot where they rent boards and there are some very VERY minor waves that you can surf for about 2 hours a day. This small beach bar where you rent the boards was run by some of the best Island locals I have ever met, they were the epitome of island life and just spent every day hanging out on the beach and surfing…they even showed off for us by surfing on their heads – no joke.

Amazing beach with Lombok in background

Jonny w/ his massive board... only way to catch these mini waves

Jonny and J.J headed out to catch a wave

Clegger making her way out for a surf

After a few hours of surfing and exploring the island we headed back to our bungalows to get ready and dine on the beach before heading to the islands best (and only) Reggae bar, Sama Sama, for the night’s party. We danced to reggae, partook in the local vodka and danced until well into the evening before we all started to fell asleep; ok well I pretty much fell asleep, so we headed home. The next day we rented bicycles and nursed the effects of the night before at the various secluded beaches around the island. That night we uncovered an amazing night food market just minutes down from our hotel so we took in some local favorites and the boys put down some fresh fish.

Investigating the fish before purchase

Checking out the local favs

Carts in the night market

After the night market we headed back to D’Harbour, who happened to be hosting the nights big party so we enjoyed some Bintangs and danced in the sand until before we knew it, it was 4:30am.

Beach party bonfire

Making some local friends

On our last day on the island we decided to take our rented bicycles on a cruise around the entire island to explore. After discovering an amazing beach bar at 11am …well beach hut with drinks is probably a better description, we decided to turn it into an island pub crawl as well. Over the course of the day we uncovered the islands most private beaches, homestays and bars, away from the backpacking masses, which just added to the magic of the Gilis. Our final stop for the day was a hidden spot on the north end of the islands for sunset.

One of the amazing hidden spots on the island

Cheers!....it's 12 o'clock somewhere

Sunset yoga poses

That night we had one more delicious dinner in the night market before heading back to D’harbour for some gentle Bintangs and a few hands of Shithead (our new fave card game). Next up 3 days on the Rinjani volcano in Lombok!

OOO_Talia and Jonny