The three islands Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno in the northwest of Lombok are a popular travel destination for tourists and digital nomads visiting or living in Bali.
They are the islands people usually refer to, when talking about “the Gilis”. To reach them, you can depart from a number of harbours in Bali.
In this article, we will cover each of those starting points and what you should know when departing from there.
Things to know for your trip from Bali to the Gili Islands
- Leave early enough to get to the harbour. Traffic is usually heavy and we recommend adding an extra 30 to 45 minutes of travel time to the time google maps estimates.
- Most harbours charge a harbour tax of 10k IDR per person (a little less than 1$). It is advised to bring this money in cash.
- Pack your valuable items in your hand luggage to make sure nothing breaks when backpacks and suitcases are loaded into the boats.
- Do not plan your return from the Gili Islands on the same day as your plane out of Bali. Depending on weather conditions boats can be cancelled from time to time.
- Times and distances in this post are estimates and might vary.
How to get to Gili Trawangan from Bali
The most popular way to travel from Bali to Gili Trawangan is taking a ferry, often called speed boat or fast boat. There are multiple routes you can take, depending on where you are in Bali.
Padang Bai to Gili Trawangan
Location: East Bali
Getting to Padang Bai: 53 km from Kuta, 51 km from Canggu, 37 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 1h 30m with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm
Price: Between $11 and $30, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. There can be a price difference of up to $20 so we definitely recommend booking your ticket online and as early as possible. The most used platform to do so is 12go.asia.
Good to know: If you want to work while waiting for your boat, Puri Rai offers local food and Wifi.
The harbour zone is closed off for Grab & Gojek taxis. They are allowed to drop you but will not be able to pick you up when you return. Local taxis are available though. Some boat operators offer shuttle busses to popular locations in Bali. These usually include multiple unexpected stops along the way and take way longer than a direct taxi. If you want to save money and don’t mind the time you can consider this option, however we do not recommend it.
Serangan to Gili Trawangan
Location: South Bali
Getting to Serangan: 10 km from Kuta, 20 km from Canggu, 30 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 2h 30m - 5h with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 6:30 am and 1:30 pm
Price: Between $20 and $40, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. Ticket prices depend on the demand, which can be higher from this port. To ensure you get the best fares, we recommend to book your ticket in advance through 12go.asia.
Good to know: The harbour of Serangan is a relatively close departure point from popular destinations like Kuta or Seminyak. That combined with less frequent ferries departing than from other harbours, boats can fill up quickly and it is definitely recommended to book your trip early.
Sanur to Gili Trawangan
Location: South Bali
Getting to Sanur: 12 km from Kuta, 21 km from Canggu, 25 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 3h - 5h with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 7:55 am and 1:30 pm
Price: Between $15 and $35, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Same as the above, tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. To easily book your ticket online and be able to compare fares, we recommend checking 12go.asia.
Good to know: The route from Sanur takes the longest and you should check the durations before booking your ticket. Some routes transfer through other ports, hence the longer durations. If you live close to Sanur, it might be worth departing from this harbour and saving time in the taxi.
How to get to Gili Air from Bali
The departure points from Bali to get to Gili Air are pretty much the same as to get to Gili Trawangan, since most of the boats continue to Gili Air after dropping off passengers on Gili Trawangan. The main difference to going to Gili Air is the time you will spend on the ferry and the price you will pay for your ticket.
Padang Bai to Gili Air
Location: Northeast Bali
Getting to Sanur: 53 km from Kuta, 51 km from Canggu, 37 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 1h 30m to 3h with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm
Price: Between Between $12 and $30, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. There can be a price difference of up to $20 so we definitely recommend booking your ticket online and as early as possible. The most used platform to do so is 12go.asia.
Good to know: Ferries to Gili Air might stop on the way to drop off travelers on Gili Trawangan.
If you want to work while waiting for your boat, Puri Rai offers local food and Wifi.
The harbour zone is closed off for Grab & Gojek taxis. They are allowed to drop you but will not be able to pick you up when you return. Local taxis are available though. Some boat operators offer shuttle busses to popular locations in Bali. These usually include multiple unexpected stops along the way and take way longer than a direct taxi. If you want to save money and don’t mind the time you can consider this option, however we do not recommend it.
Serangan to Gili Air
Location: South Bali
Getting to Serangan: 10 km from Kuta, 20 km from Canggu, 30 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 2h 30m - 5h with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 8:00 am and 1:30 pm
Price: Between $25 and $40, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. Ticket prices depend on the demand, which can be higher from this port. To ensure you get the best fares, we recommend to book your ticket in advance through 12go.asia.
Good to know: The harbour of Serangan is a relatively close departure point from popular destinations like Kuta or Seminyak. That combined with less frequent ferries departing than from other harbours, boats can fill up quickly and it is definitely recommended to book your trip early.
Sanur to Gili Air
Location: South Bali
Getting to Sanur: 12 km from Kuta, 21 km from Canggu, 25 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 3h - 5h with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 7:55 am and 1:30 pm
Price: Between $16 and $40, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Same as the above, tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. To easily book your ticket online and be able to compare fares, we recommend checking 12go.asia.
Good to know: The route from Sanur takes the longest and you should check the durations before booking your ticket. Some routes transfer through other ports, hence the longer durations. If you live close to Sanur, it might be worth departing from this harbour and saving time in the taxi.
How to get to Gili Meno from Bali
Gili Meno is the smallest of the Gili Islands and less frequently visited by tourists. In the past, options to get there were limited but luckily more and more operators offer direct trips from Bali to Gili Meno.
Since the water around the Gili Meno port is quite mellow, you will potentially transfer to a smaller boat along the way.
Padang Bai to Gili Meno
Location: Northeast Bali
Getting to Sanur: 53 km from Kuta, 51 km from Canggu, 37 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 1h 30m to 2h 30m with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 9:30 am and 1:30 pm
Price: Between Between $18 and $30, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. There can be a price difference of up to $10 so we definitely recommend booking your ticket online and as early as possible. The most used platform to do so is 12go.asia.
Good to know: Ferries to Gili Meno might stop at Gili Trawangan before going to Gili Meno.
If you want to work while waiting for your boat, Puri Rai offers local food and Wifi.
The harbour zone is closed off for Grab & Gojek taxis. They are allowed to drop you but will not be able to pick you up when you return. Local taxis are available though. Some boat operators offer shuttle busses to popular locations in Bali.
These usually include multiple unexpected stops along the way and take way longer than a direct taxi. If you want to save money and don’t mind the time you can consider this option, however we do not recommend it.
Serangan to Gili Meno
Location: South Bali
Getting to Serangan: 10 km from Kuta, 20 km from Canggu, 30 km from Ubud
Taking the ferry: 3h 45m - 5h 45m with delays to be expected
Departure times: regularly between 8:00 am and 9:00 am
Price: Between $35 and $40, depending on season and booking time
Buying a ticket: Tickets can either be booked online or purchased in person at the harbour. Ticket prices depend on the demand, which can be higher from this port. To ensure you get the best fares, we recommend to book your ticket in advance through 12go.asia.
Good to know: The harbour of Serangan is a relatively close departure point from popular destinations like Kuta or Seminyak. That combined with less frequent ferries departing than from other harbours, boats can fill up quickly and it is definitely recommended to book your trip early.
The boats from Serangan might stop at one or multiple ports along the way (Nusa Lembongan, Banggsal, Senggigi) hence taking longer than other fares.
Amed to the Gili Islands
You might wonder what happened to the boats departing from Amed harbour. As of March 1st 2023 Amed harbour was officially closed since the unofficial “harbour” did not meet the legal requirements as an embarkation port.
The operator FreeBird Express continued to sell tickets for this route until 22nd of May, 2024 but will be moving their services from Amed to Padang Bai.
Fun fact about the Gili Islands
Did you know that the word “Gili” means “Island” in the local Lombok language Sasak and that there are far more than those three popular Gilis around Lombok?
There’s even a group of Gilis called the “Secret Gilis” further south on the west coast of Lombok that you could visit for a day trip.
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