July 27, 2026, 1:50 pm | Read time: 6 minutes

It smells terrible. Gasoline? Possibly. It’s definitely soporific as you look around the ship’s belly. We don’t want to sleep. So we head up to the deck. Along with a crowd of party-loving backpackers, we sway for about an hour and a half with chart-topping music over the water toward Gili Air. The first stop after leaving Bali’s Padang Bai: Gili Trawangan. And suddenly, the boat is almost empty.

The party crowd has left the ship. Only a few couples, solo travelers, and us—three friends on our way to the third of the hyped dream islands from Bali—remain. We arrive quickly since the middle and quietest island of the trio, Gili Meno, is not being visited today.

Arriving on Gili Air, we set off to find a place to stay. After a few meters of sweating under our overly packed backpacks, a Balinese man approaches us. His name is Gd, and he tells us about dreamy cottages we must see. We follow him and finally see what we had imagined in our Gili dreams: small bamboo huts in a green garden full of palm trees and colorful flowers, the sea just a two-minute walk away. We stay.

Imperfect Paradise

We quickly fall in love with this little island idyll called Gili Air. How could we not? The white sandy beach encircles the entire island, with palm trees everywhere. And the sunset looks every evening as if it were Photoshopped for the hashtag #skyporn, only to transition into a show-off sky. Well, of course, even this paradise isn’t entirely perfect. Trash is omnipresent. On land and in the water. The tourist masses overwhelm the small island, just like its sister islands Trawangan and Meno. Because there are many tourists. Very many.

Only One Danger Lurks on Gili Air

Besides locals and dropouts, the island is mainly populated by traveling hippies and backpackers, as well as couples on romantic vacations and families. Parents, in particular, can rejoice, as they have little to worry about regarding their children here. There is no traffic on Gili Air except for horse-drawn carts, bicycles, and skateboards. And you can’t really get lost on the small island, which can be circled in 90 minutes.

Aside from the usual sea dangers, apparently, only one other danger lurks for tourists here, as Gd explains to us: Komodo dragons. If they bite, it can be fatal in the worst case. But if you don’t corner them, they are generally harmless to humans. We learn this just before we set off through the island’s interior, where the remaining Komodo dragons are said to live. The beach party we want to attend on the first evening is on the other side of the island. We take the shortcut. We don’t see any dragons.

Also interesting: Why Lombok is the new Bali

Nude Bathing and Dancing Under the Starry Sky

Although Trawangan is clearly the party island of the three Gilis, Air also fulfills the beach party dream. Just more relaxed. There’s one party per evening (at least in March), always in a different bar. All right on the beach. So on the first evening, we end up at Legend—a bar that truly lives up to its name. A light cloud of grass hangs in the air. People sit and lie everywhere, some dancing under a starry sky to booming electronic bass. A bit away from the dancers, a traveler plays guitar, delighting strangers and friends gathered around him with his smoky dark voice.

Nearby, a few people are illuminated by the moon, naked and happy about the bathtub-warm seawater. All along the beach, you see small groups of people and couples who have found each other here. Only disturbed by locals who maintain order. Because there are no police officers.

Also interesting: Nusa Penida – this island off Bali is still a real insider tip

Monsoon Rain and Mega Views

The island is small. If you’re not leaving the next day, you’ll see people again. On the beach, in one of the many beach bars, for example. They lure you in during the day not only with local and international food and smoothies and sometimes surprisingly good coffee. Not a secret, but definitely a tip: Mowie’s.

Especially the dream view of the turquoise water and the surrounding islands can be enjoyed in the colorful cushions and small bamboo beach huts. And sometimes longer than planned. It rains every day. Not drizzly, unpleasant rain. Monsoon rain. We only caught the end of it. But it was enough for the monsoon experience. The rain also finally did in the already sparse internet.

Also interesting: The best Bali has to offer

After a good week in this total work of art called Gili Air, we stand at the harbor again. Waiting for the small ferry that will take us to Lombok. A small boat, like the ones we’ve seen and photographed repeatedly, docks. With backpacks on our backs, we wade barefoot through the turquoise sea, hoisting ourselves and our luggage into the small boat. It quickly picks up speed. Gili Air gets smaller. We look back longingly. None of us have had enough of the little dream island. Ten days later, we’re back.

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More tips and inspiration about Gili Air are given by TRAVELBOOK author Anna Wengel in the following podcast episode of In 5 Minutes Around the World:

Where Exactly is Gili Air?

The three Gili Islands are located in the Bali Sea and actually belong to Lombok. From Padang Bai on Bali, it’s about 60 kilometers to Gili Trawangan, the largest of the Gili Islands. Gili Meno is situated right between Trawangan and Gili Air. The latter is thus closest to Lombok.

How to Best Reach the Gili Islands?

There are several ways to reach the Gili Islands: Those traveling from Bali can reach the three islands from the coastal town of Padang Bai by speedboat in about two hours. It’s a bit cheaper with public ferry service, but the trip takes more than twice as long and first goes to Lombok, from where you then transfer to smaller boats to the Gili Islands.

Vacationers can also fly from Bali to Lombok and then take a speedboat to the Gilis in about 30 to 40 minutes. The public ferry from the port in Bangsal on Lombok takes about two hours.