Pulau Terawangan Travel Guide

The insiders obviously know that it's called Gili Trawangan or even Gili Tralala... no wonder, if the first sign upon arrival in "my paradise" (which has no cars, scooters, police, just small carts pulled by donkeys and 1 main street) in front of the eateries says "f***in fresh magic mushroom today"."one-way trip to the moon", etc. This magical island is surrounded by extremely tricky currents and white sand beaches, a strong nightlife and one of the best laid-back "beach nation" incrowd I've seen during my travels. Snorkelling is excellent with abundant marine life (daily dozens of turtles, occasional reefshark, bump parrotheads, etc.), though not for poor swimmers due to extreme fast changes in current. The locals are not getting friendlier or safer with the wealth they make on the spending youngsters, so travelling alone is not recommended, but the place itself is worthwhile any risk. A strong recommendation for the backpacker who wants to take a good rest.

Gilli Trawangan is larger than its neighbors Gilli Air and Gilli Meno. It is more popular with lots of restaurants, villas, nightclubs and activities. It could be very noisy at night depending on the location of your villa. But there is still more to do here than the other Gillis. It is better to stay here for few days and visit the other islands by small boat (about 15-20 minutes) for a day. You could snorkle at Gilli Meno which is famous for the sea turtles (but we saw one just at the beach at Gilli Trawangan too). Villas are a little bit more expensive here though in August you could usually bargain (between $30 and up versus $15 and up at Gilli Air for a 1bedroom villa). I think the Gillis are a perfect get away from swarming Kuta and the beaches are much safer.

The largest island of the 3 gili next too each other; This one is the party island, the east side is full of bars and restaurants. also the most crowed island of the 3 Gili's. You can walk the island around in 2hours there is also a little hill you can climb for fantastic views!!!! The sunset is really awesome on the west side of the island, for me the best place i ever saw such a beautiful sunset!!!!