The next stop on our tour of Indonesian islands was Gili Air, a tiny island near the coast of northwest Lombok. We reached Gili Air by fast boat shuttle service provided by Bluewater Express, which was a much more organized and professional outfit than the fast boat company we used to reach Nusa Lembongan from Bali. The Gili Islands are made up of a group of three small islands – Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno. We had heard that there was a big party scene on Gili Trawangan and that there was that not much to do on the smallest island of Gili Meno. We decided to visit Gili Air, which is known for its laid back atmosphere yet still has a decent number of nice restaurants and accommodation options. It is small enough to walk around the whole island in under two hours. There are no cars or motorbikes on Gili Air and bicycles are quite popular with locals and visitors for getting around.
Gili Air’s beaches are gorgeous and we watched the sunset every evening from one of the many restaurants with seating on the beach. Our primary goal while on Gili Air was to enjoy some downtime to refresh and recharge. We stayed in one of only seven bungalows at the charming aZa Zil Bungalows. It was extremely hot in the middle of the day on Gili Air so we took advantage of our accommodation’s lovely pool area in the afternoons and spent the hottest part of the day lounging by the pool. We had not relaxed by a pool at all on our entire trip thus far and it was really nice. We also used the down time to figure out future travel details. The people at aZa Zil Bungalows were wonderful hosts and made us a vegan-friendly version of their fruit pancakes each morning for breakfast. They also had a water bottle refill station as do many places in Gili Air.
We rented bikes from one of the many local vendors on the beach and rode around exploring the island. We quickly discovered that the sand is rather deep for bike riding on the beach on some parts of the island but the bikes were great on the paved interior roads.
Vegan and vegetarian dining options are widely available on Gili Air and most of the food seemed rather inexpensive. One of our favorite meals was at the locally owned Hello Lumbung Warung. The night we dined there the power on the whole island was temporarily out of service so we enjoyed our meal of homemade spinach noodles with tempeh and vegetables in an Indonesian pesto style sauce outside by candlelight. We also had heavenly smoothie bowls and iced coffee drinks at Flowers & Fire Cafe, which is part of a beautiful yoga garden resort. Our most splurgy meal was at Perla Nera, where we enjoyed an amazing vegan lasagna made with the freshest ingredients accompanied by homemade focaccia bread and followed by a decadent vegan ice cream dessert. It was a wonderful dining experience thanks to their lovely outdoor courtyard dining area and exceptional food and service.
Vegan Lasagna 
Oreo Ice Cream Dessert
There are stalls all over the island selling the same snorkeling trip that goes to all three of the Gili Islands on glass bottom boats packed with up to 50 people. The trip seems to leave hourly and only cost 100,000 IDR (about $7.00 USD) so we decided to give it a try. There were about 30 people on our boat and they took us to four different snorkeling spots. All the islands have crystal clear water and beautiful coral gardens. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the snorkeling. Even with such a large group there was usually room to spread out and enjoy the underwater view.
The only place we went that was ridiculously crowded to the point of being unpleasant was the underwater sculpture off the coast of Gili Meno shown in the photos below. The sculpture is actually quite beautiful and serves as an artificial reef that attracts many fish but it also attracts a zillion tourists trying to take photos. The photos below took a great deal of patience and persistence to capture without people in them.
We also stopped on Gili Meno at a pre-selected restaurant for a very sub-par lunch. All in all I enjoyed the snorkeling trip and you really can’t complain due to the price.
Gili Air is a beautiful island that seems like a great destination for those seeking a slower pace to spend time just relaxing and soaking up the island’s beautiful beaches. It is also amazingly affordable for such a gorgeous tropical destination. Three nights was just the right amount of time for us to spend there. As has been our experience everywhere in Indonesia, the locals were quite friendly and helpful and made us feel welcome at every step of the way. It was perhaps the most relaxing few days we have had while traveling thus far.
