Staying safe and sane on the Gilis

The Gilis (meaning Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, off the NW coast of Lombok) have been firmly on the banana pancake trail for yonks.

Each has their own vibe: Gili T is the party island and the most developed of the three, Gili Meno is the quietest of the three, and Gili Air is somewhere in between (although large parts of the western coast and interior of Air are still barely developed). I spent a few nights on both Meno and Air. Meno is definitely more my style and I found it a bit prettier than Air, but Air had better swimming and snorkeling in my opinion (especially around the southern half of the east coast).

The lack of motorised traffic, the happy and relaxed other tourists, the plethora of restaurants, cafes and accommodation at all price points: all of it lulls you into an idyll.

This will do nicely (SE of Gili Meno)

But there are a few things to be mindful of -- to ensure your holiday stays idyllic.

First, the currents around the islands are very strong. I noticed this especially around Gili Meno. For most of the north and west coasts there is a fringing reef, which can only be swum over at high tide, resulting in quite shallow water on the inside of the reef at lower tides. But once you're over the reef into the deeper water, there are very fast-moving currents running parallel to the beach. I noticed quite a few people get into trouble along the north shore, fighting against the currents not to be swept off, shouting for help from the snorkel trip boats. 

I also noticed the boats would throw a life preserver to, or turn on the engine and go chasing after, tourists who were from their boat and got swept away. But they ignored the cries for help from tourists who weren't from their boat. Luckily everyone I saw get into trouble managed to either get rescued by their boat, or reach the fringing reef and get over it into the safer, shallower water. But it must have been a scary experience for many -- I saw one woman burst into tears as soon as she was safely in the shallows.

Snorkel boats crowding around Nest (a collection of underwater
statues) on the west coast of Meno

Even on the west shore of Meno, which is very popular with snorkel boats due to underwater statues, the current is quite strong pulling you south, and the reef has few boat channels allowing you to exit the water at low tide. I ended up swimming quite a long way further down the island than I'd intended, just trying to find a way to get back to shore.

So my advice is this -- pay very close attention to the conditions, check where the boats runs are down current from your desired snorkeling or swimming location (as you'll need these to get past the fringing reef at low tide), and be especially careful when you're on your own. Oh, and wear swimshoes as you'll need to walk over lots of broken coral to get to deeper water -- these are not soft, sandy bottoms in the main.

The next piece of advice concerns how you get to the Gilis. Most people visit by speedboat from Bali, but the speedboat operators have a reputation for being cowboys -- we're talking overcrowded boats, going out in bad weather. I personally wouldn't feel safe going that way. The slow ferries to Lombok, being larger, are considered safer.

Bangsal, the main port on mainland Lombok for the Gilis has a reputation for being a hole, filled with hustlers, but I actually didn't find it any worse than any other transport hub in SE Asia, so you don't need to try and avoid it, despite what Lonely Planet says.

Sunset from the west coast of Gili Meno, looking at Gili T in the
foreground, and Bali's Mount Agung in the background