One of the three mini islands near Lombok has a charm that can make anybody fall in love with it. Its a no motor vehicle island. Horse carts and bicycles are the only mode of transportation.

The island has magical powers to make you stay more than you plan to. The water is as blue as the sky.

WHAT I DID apart from chilling and meeting travelers:-

Every eve: Sunset

The sunset would be the most memorable one of your life with hues of orange, yellow, purple, blue.. The glittering water when sun is setting is breathtaking. It makes you forget time and all the worries. The restaurants have an amazing sit out areas with bean bags to enhance your experience.

On Day 1- Island bicycle tour

During the day enjoy a healthy breakfast by the poolside of your hotel. Later rent a bicycle, pack swimming necessities and go for an island tour, which can be covered in 1.5hrs if at all your mind is not lured by the pristine blue waters calling you to take a dip.

On Day 2- Snorkeling

Snorkeling tour are offered by all shanty located every 10 feet. Costing around 100K per person for a group boat, which will cover the statue point, turtle and the corals. Getting off the boat 3 times is a task for people like me who are scared of depths, but its worth the experience. (They provide life jackets for non/amateur swimmers 😎) Once in the waters you would become a part of the marine and wouldn’t want to hop back in the boat.

Every night- Eat, drink and party

The island has a variety of eating options ranging from fine dinning to street food, to restaurants with special dinner offers.’Ocean 2‘ is a good budget restaurant with waterside seating for dinner. They circulate an offer of any pasta at 25K and pizza at 35K. Yes there is a catch, the portion size is small. But you can fill up with the complimentary soup and salad counter. If looking for fancy dine then ‘Egoiste‘ and ‘The roast house‘ are some options.

Want to have a drink and chat , or sit alone and listen to live music, or want to dance till you drop, Gili T is an amalgamation of all. Open bar with a DJ and a fire juggler performance is where I went the 1st night. Amazing vibe, straight drinks for 30K and cocktails for 40K, funny Bartender (Harry) and decent crowd,what else can you ask for.

Nasi goreng with a view

The 2nd night I stepped into the ‘Irish pub’ as it had all the young travelers. But this is not it, if you still want to party more, ‘Jiggy boat party’ will fulfill your wish. Its a yacht party starting at 2pm and ends at 8pm. 1st drink is on the house, charges per person is approx 150K.

Where I stayed- The Laxmi villas

I know the name sounds boring but the boutique villa was a small paradise. Also it fit my budget. Its a 10 min walk from the ferry point. The rooms are clean, air conditioned and bathroom has hot and cold shower.

Gili T has a lot of hostels as well, naming some ‘Gili Divers’, ‘Gili castle’ , ‘Beach Bum’, ‘M box’, ‘Gili mansion’. They all are well maintained hostels with air conditioned dormitories.

Gili air and Gili meno are neighboring small and much more peaceful islands. Choice is yours…