You’ve already holidayed in Bali for the past 5 years so this year you’ve come to check out the up and coming island of Lombok. After spending an amazing couple of weeks getting off the beaten track, visiting pristine beaches, hitting up beach bars and shacks, dancing the night away, a Rinjani climb you thought you would never recover from, walks through the jungle to see black monkeys and rice terraces, you’re now ready to slow down the pace, get some RR and head over to the Northern Gilis (Gili Trawangan, Air & Meno) from Lombok. 

Using public transport in any country can be a bit overwhelming, in SEA it normally involves haggling which some people love and others hate.

Here I would like to lay–out the transport options for getting to the Gilis from Lombok and offer some price guidelines. You can use private car, shuttle bus, public local boat, public fast boat or private speed boat.

Step 1: Getting to the Harbour

You can do this by using a private car, this is a great option if you’re in a group, but if you’re a solo traveller, travelling on shoe–string it can be a little expensive. 

Those on a shoe–string can get a shuttle bus from either Sengiggi or Mataram to Bangsal Harbour. 

Departure time from Mataram: 7:30AM 
Price: 60K per person (min. 2 people per booking)

Departure time from Sengiggi: 8AM 
Price: 60K per person (min. 2 people per booking)

Private car to Bangsal Harbour allows more flexibility as you can go at any time of the day, and from any Lombok location.

Kuta Lombok to Bangsal Harbour: 500K
Airport to Bangsal Harbour: 400K 
Mataram/ Sengiggi to Bangsal Harbour: 200K
(max. 4 people & luggage per car)

Step 2: Getting a boat

When you arrive at Bangsal Harbour, you will have a few different boat options. 

Public Local Boat: 

If you’re going to Gili T, the public boat ticket office is in the building located on the left-hand side of harbour (when facing the ocean). 

A public boat ticket to Gili T will cost you 22,500 per person (please note that this is different to the price displayed on your ticket, this is because tourists are subject to a small tax).


If you’re going to Gili Air or Gili Meno you will need to go to the public boat ticket counter on the far right-hand side of the harbour (when looking at the ocean). 

A public boat ticket to Gili Air costs 19,500 per person (please note that this is different to the price displayed on your ticket, this is because tourists are subject to a small tax).

A public boat ticket to Gili Meno costs 21,500 per person (please note that this is different to the price displayed on your ticket, this is because tourists are subject to a small tax).

Public local boats operate between the hours of 8AM–5PM, they leave roughly every hour but depart only once capacity has been reached 30-40 people. In most cases you will share your journey not only with locals, but also with fresh produce and food heading to the Gilis, sometimes building material, furniture, cooking gas and gallon bottles of water. 

Public Fast Boat:

The public fast boat office for fast boats to all 3 islands – Gili T, Gili Air & Gili Meno is located on the far-left hand side of the harbour tickets are sold from a smaller counter, on the seafront. 

Fast boats depart every hour, between the hours of 9AM-4:30PM. The price is 85K per person.

Approximate departure times are as follows: 

09.00 AM – 10.20 AM – 11.20 AM – 12.20 PM – 13.20 PM – 14.20 PM – 15.20 PM – 16.20 PM

TOP TIP:
Many people are overwhelmed by the touts at Bangsal Harbour who can be quite forward in their approach to “help” tourists to buy tickets for boats. When you arrive at the harbor head straight to the ticketing office and purchase your own ticket, don’t allow a local to buy it for you. If you have luggage with you, you may be approached by locals who would like to carry your luggage to the boat for you, please be aware that you will be expected to pay them (around 50K) for this service. 

Hassle free transfer to the Gilis!!! 

If you would like a hassle-free transfer to the Gilis without any of the worry of which office to buy the right ticket to the right island from, then pre-book your car transport and private speed boat in advance. Private speed boats leave around the clock, and depart from either Teluk Kodek Harbour or Teluk Nara Harbour. Prices for a private speed boat start from 350K (during normal working hours 8AM-6PM). But increase in price slightly after 6PM and into the night.