I freaking dig boat rides, y’all. If I had to pick between a boat and the strongest, cutest, comfiest donkey you’ve ever laid eyes on as my main forms of transportation, I’d choose the boat 84% of the time. Mostly for the donkey’s sake, but whatever.
So when I began researching the best way to travel from Bali to the Gili Islands, a set of 3 tiny, hammock-filled white sand wonders just off the coast of Lombok, I became slightly horrified at my options.
How to Travel from Bali to The Gili Islands
First off, you should know that there are really only three options, and zero of them are great. In my opinion, if you don’t have at least 2 nights to spend on the Gilis – specifically Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno or Gili Air – it’s probably better just to stay on Bali, simply for the sake of spending your vacation time wisely.
If you do choose to make the journey, and I do suggest it because the islands are beautiful, funky and relaxing, your options for getting there include:
Bali to The Gilis: Fast Boat Service
By far the shortest, easiest and most popular option, there are many, many fast boat companies that travel from Bali to the Gili Islands each day. Departure points from Bali include Amed, Padang Bai, Sanur, Benoa Marina and Serangan Harbor, and several fast boat companies include transportation to and from your resort as part of the ticket price.
But here’s the thing… boat safety in Indonesia, to put it nicely, is less than glorious. It also helps to know that the stretch of ocean you’ll be cruising across is the Lombok Strait, which at somewhere between 2,600 and 3,200 feet deep, is somewhere you definitely don’t want to sink.
When researching which fast boat to take, thinking things couldn’t possibly go that wrong in a 1 to 2 1/2 hour boat ride, I found an endless supply of horrifying TripAdvisor reviews that read like the Titanic of the 21st century, with tales of nearly sinking, water pouring in through the windows, thoughts of jumping ship into rough seas, crying, screaming, mass panic, a shortage of (or limited access to) lifejackets, no rescue boats, no communication with passengers, and several other tales of general awfulness. Not to mention the actual news stories of fast boats catching fire, exploding and sinking. Hooray!
My takeaway from all of this information, besides remembering to carry my snorkel equipment on my person at all times, was 1) to be flexible with our dates and travel only on days with calm, clear weather conditions, and 2) take the path of least resistance – where resistance is the amount of time things can go wrong – and depart from Amed, located only a 1 hour fast boat ride from the Gilis as opposed to a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour journey from other, more popular areas of Bali.
Amed may be a far car ride from south Bali, and you will have to spend a little cash to get there, but if you’re prone to bad cases of seasickness or day-ruining worry, it’s worth the journey. Plus, Amed is absolutely breathtaking and relaxing. Win win.
On our journey from Amed to Gili Air (with a quick drop-off on Gili Trawangan), we chose Pacha Express and had a great experience with calm seas, comfortable seating, and even a dolphin sighting! One thing to note, however: just because you book with a certain fast boat company doesn’t mean you’ll get that company, especially from Amed during slow season. Out of the 3 companies that offer fast boat service from this area of the island, typically only one goes out per day unless it gets fully booked, so it’s a luck-of-the-draw situation when it comes to boat preference.
On our return trip, feeling confident after our smooth journey on the way over and a forecast for calm seas, we chose to take the early morning fast boat from Gili Air to south Bali’s Serangan Harbor (with a quick pick-up on Gili Trawangan) with Marina Srikandi. While less comfortable and fairly hot, our 2 1/2 hour journey got us back to Bali safely and on time, and included a ride back to Legian.
Overall our experience was fine, and I advise anyone going this route to strongly consider weather conditions as a major factor of their journey. We made it safely with no issues, so I’d personally choose the fast boat route again if we decide to return.
Bali Fast Boat Tips:
- There’s no need to buy fast boat tickets before you arrive unless you’re traveling during peak season (mid December – January, typically). You’ll get much better prices than what’s listed online by asking around and haggling in person.
- Check the weather! Sites like Buoy Weather and Magic Seaweed offer fairly accurate estimates about what you can expect, wind and wave wise, on the day of your trip.
- If you don’t mind paying more for peace of mind, Gili Getaway and BlueWater Express seem to be the fast boat companies with the best reviews and safety ratings.
- Make sure they deliver on transportation to and from your accommodation if they promised it online or when you booked your ticket. When you check-in, you may receive a voucher as a receipt for this service. We had to argue with Marina Srikandi for this, but it worked.
- Give yourself an extra day to get back to Bali. Things go wrong, and boats may not show up, be overbooked, or cancelled altogether due to bad weather. Don’t leave the Gilis the same day you need to catch a flight back home; plan ahead, and give yourself extra time in case something goes wrong.
Bali to The Gilis: Flight + Taxi + Boat
If the idea of sketchy boat rides in rough waves is enough to make you seek alternate transportation methods, no worries! Simply strap yourself in for a quick 25 minute flight on the 5th most dangerous airline in the world, Lion Air, or the ever-so-slightly higher rated Wings Air or Garuda Indonesia.
Sigh.
Sure, chances are nothing will go wrong, but even after your flight, you sadly haven’t made much progress in getting to the Gilis. After landing in Lombok, you then have to take a 1 1/2+ hour cab ride to Bangsal Harbor, Teluk Nara or Teluk Kodek, where you’ll finally board the public ferry or hire a private boat charter for the final leg of your journey. And voila! Multiple hours later, you’ve arrived.
Also, keep in mind that this is the more expensive option, and Lion Air has strict regulations on baggage limits.
Bali to The Gilis: Ferry + Bus + Ferry
There are certain travelers who don’t mind moving at the speed of molasses to get to their next destination. I admire those people, and if that’s you, I highly suggest this route, which is questionably the safest, probably the cheapest, and absolutely the slowest.
First, get yourself to Padang Bai and buy a ticket for the public ferry from Bali to Lembar Harbor, Lombok. Currently, adult tickets are approximately 44,000 IDR. Ferries leave nearly every hour, and the journey takes somewhere between 4 to 5 hours, assuming you actually leave on time. But who gives a shit, right?! As we’ve established, you’re in no hurry. Plus, there are usually beds onboard if you’re willing to pay a little extra.
I suggest grabbing water, as well as a meal or two, at Padang Bai harbor before you depart, as there’s little in the way of good food once you step onboard. Also, while passengers have the option of bringing scooters aboard the ferry, I wouldn’t suggest leaving it unattended on Lombok while you go galavanting around the Gilis.
While you’ll be subjected to the same weather conditions as the passengers flying by on fast boats, the ferries are larger and have way less incidences of sheer terror.
Once on Lombok, you can arrange transportation on a shuttle bus, public bus, or taxi to Bangsal Harbor, where the public ferry (depending on the time of day) or a private boat charter is the only thing standing between you and the Gilis.
And that’s it, y’all. Also there’s apparently a helicopter company that will fly you to the Gili Islands, but I’ll leave that option for the people I’ll likely never be friends with.
Thanks for this! I was planning to travel to Gili for two days and return on the day I’m supposed to board my flight. But, now I realise that it’s a bad idea to return on the last day since boats can get cancelled and weather conditions keep changing.
Do you think it’s wise to go for a day and return by night? Or I’d rather stay in Bali?
Hi, Pooja! Thanks for reading. As far as I know, the last fast boats back to Bali typically leave about 12-2pm at the latest, which wouldn’t give you much more than 24 hours there. In that case, I’d suggest either staying on Bali or going to Nusa Lembongan, which is only a 30 minute ride one way and typically a safer bet to get back the same day. Best of luck!
In my opinion, Trawangan is the place, where everyone should go after relaxing on Bali.
Every year I visit Bali and every year part of all my time I spend on Trawangan. Fishing,
laying on beach, looking for party, you know. This year went to Gili on speedboat from easygili. com
These people know their job. But I felt bad as we drove. In the island internet is the worst 🙁
But you don’t need it! Now have a rest, man. Do what u want 🙂
Thank you so much for this post! Based on what I’ve gathered from various sites, my suspicion was that all of the travel options to the Gili Islands seemed to be a bit sketchy. Nice to see everything so succinctly and humorously stated here.
The speed boat explosion that took place in September 2016 definitely has me nervous, but other people’s recommendations of taking Lion Air into Lombok didn’t sound like a good alternative either. I had only read that you should avoid local airlines as they don’t adhere to international or stringent safety standards, I hadn’t heard that they are one of the most dangerous. Thanks for the info.
Hi, Stephanie! Yes, so sad to hear about the accident in September. I’m sure everything goes alright 99% (maybe 95%) of the time on the fast boats, but just keep an eye on the weather and the company you’re going out with and you’ll be alright. I’d still recommend it over the flight, though! Lion Air = no bagus.
It was an awesome post.We are planning to travel to Gill T. in Feb 2nd week for 2 days.
1)After all research and finally reading your post ..We will be opting for public ferry…as it is safe …though very slow.
2)Howz the sea from Bansal to gili T
Thank you
Hi Ravi, thanks for reading! Ferry should be a fun experience anyway – feel free to come back and let me know how it went so I can update the post.
The stretch from Bangsal to Gili is super short, so you shouldn’t have any worries there. Just be sure to agree on a price before you take off! Have fun, and enjoy your short stay on the Gilis!
Thank you.
Thank you for the information Kelsey!
The girlfriend and I will be reaching Padang Bai on the 3rd of August 2017 (Thursday around 1pm) and staying the night. Planning on taking a fast boat the next morning on the 4th (Friday) to Gili Trawangan where we have accommodation booked.
I know you mentioned not to pre book fast boat tickets but was wondering how easy are buying tickets a day before departure during August (apparently Peak)?
Regarding boat companies, we are looking for larger and newer boats like Eka Jaya. Safety is essential!
We are only staying the night at Padang Bai to catch the morning fast boats (9am) and it would be a shame if we didn’t get one.
Looking forward to some good advice!
Hey Andrew! I wasn’t there during peak season, so it’s hard to say whether or not you should pre-book. Since you’ve already arranged for everything and you’re worried about safety (meaning you probably wouldn’t want to jump on any boat that had two open seats to Gili T), I would say go ahead and book your boat tickets beforehand. You might pay a little extra, but that’s alright for peace of mind sometimes too.
As for that particular boat company, I haven’t heard much (or maybe anything?) about them, but their TripAdvisor reviews are pretty low. I’m guessing for a short trip on a mild weather day you’d be fine, but it’s really up to your discretion when you get there. Best of luck, and let us know how it works out!
Hi All, for your next trip to the Gili’s suggest trying Bali’s newest,largest aluminium fast boat Patagonia Xpress. The fast boat caters for 184 passengers in air conditioned comfort or you can hang out on top on the large sundeck. Boat travels daily from Padangbai to Gili Trawangan/Gili Air & Bangsal Lombok. Just contact http://www.patagonia-xpress.com if interested.
Great recommendation – we just used patagonia from padang to trawangan and you could not compare their boat with the small dangerous fast boats used by the other operators. From the start the operation was super professional, and the boat itself was the size of a ferry. We were shown a safety video,we had life jackets under every seat, plenty of spare seats to stretch out and all in the air conditioned seating deck, plus a film during g the journey. Cannot recommend highly enough and so relieved we chose them after seeing the other over crowded ramshackle vessels.
Good to know, Kathryn. Thank you!
Hi all, for the best ticket price fro Bali to Gili you can book through https://www.gilibestdeal.com they offer slightly cheap tickets here with their booking system.
thank you for this very comprehensive exploration of the options
one thing people should keep in mind is that the advice on prebooking is the opposite when it is high season
you have already booked accom on gili. what will you do when the better fast boayts have booked out? chance it on a dangerepus one or stump up $200 to fly ( because surprise surprise the plane fares are sky high when you are booking at the last minute in is the busy season)
I have just gone through this experience and was offered a ticket on gili getaway for the roof only – no more seats. other choice was $200 to fly to Lombok, another $30 for a car up to bangsai and then more money for a boat
to their credit gill getaway did not charge me full price
Good advice for high season, Tim! Did not know the ROOF was a viable seating option on a fast boat, but I will note that as another no thank you. 🙂
Loved reading this! I’m trying to go there and this really helps… And it’s also so much fun to read 😀
Thanks, Vanessa! Have a glorious trip, and don’t forget your sunscreen 🙂
This is the best information I’ve found on travel to Gili and I live in Bali! I was worried the public ferry would be crowded and less safe than the fast boats but it seems to be the other way around. We will be going to Gili for 10 days for we’re in no rush to get there. I’ll pack an extra bottle of whisky incase we get delayed. Thank you
Thanks, Miik! 10 days in the Gilis. Sounds like you’re doing it right! Have a whiskey drink for me and enjoy your slow (but fun and safe) journey!
Of all my travels in South-East Asia, I strongly believe that the sunsets in the Gili Islands are by far the most beautiful. I pretty much go every day to see what different colors the sunset will bring.
Hi Kelsey. Thanks a bunch for the great information. We are from Sri Lanka and planning g our honeymoon in Bali in this December. We are staying there 12 days and first 4 in Ubud and then 4 in Seminyak. Then we have booked a Gilli air hotel for 3 days. Had I read this earlier, we would have stayed in amed after seminyak and then gone to Gili. But anyway yours is one of the best things on the internet I found on traveling to Gili Since it is December, you think it’s wise to prebook our fast boat?
Hi Nival! Thanks for reading. Congratulations on your honeymoon trip, I’m sure it’ll be amazing! My recommendation would be to book through your hotel or directly through a tour office once you arrive in Seminyak. Four days should be plenty of time in advance, but just in case, maybe do a little google search with a couple of companies just before you leave to make sure they have somewhat open availability, that way you can book online or in Ubud if necessary. Best of luck on your trip, and congrats on the wedding!
Thanks Kelsey!
This made me laugh out loud! So true… have done option one and two many times but never the third, my gosh! Reading this because we are trying to see if we can charter a private boat to get there from Amed where we’re currently staying… don’t want to have to drive back to padangbai… you did forget to mention that even if you DO book a fast boat ticket online you can arrive only to be told that the boat isn’t running because not enough people booked… and also that Bangsal Harbour is full of swindlers and quite dangerous (speaking from experience). Love ya work x
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the extra info too; SPOT ON. Let us know if you find a private charter you’d recommend!
any more feedback on Patagonia? We will be on Bali going to Lombok in late November.
Liz, Patagonia Xpress no longer operate since December 2018