Bali and the Gilis are about fifty kilometres apart across a deep, fast-flowing channel. Four places on Bali’s coast send boats across it. Padang Bai, on the east coast, is the main port, with the shortest regular crossing and by far the most departures. Serangan and Sanur, near Denpasar, save a long drive from the southern resorts but add an hour or more at sea. Amed, in the far north-east, has the shortest crossing of all on smaller boats.
Halfway between them, the islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan have their own direct boats to the Gilis, which makes a neat island-to-island route: Bali, the Nusas, the Gilis, and home by a flight from Lombok or a boat back to Padang Bai.
This hub looks at the journey from the Bali side: what each harbour is like, what to see if you spend a night there, and which tickets are worth booking ahead. The crossing itself — operators, sea conditions, safety and the harbour fees that surprise people — is covered in detail in fast boats & getting there.
Highlights
- The shortest regular crossing to the Gilis, from Padang Bai
- A swim at Blue Lagoon or Bias Tugel before the boat
- Leaving from Serangan or Sanur without the two-hour drive east
- Black-sand Amed, Mount Agung above it and the quickest hop of all
- Combining Nusa Penida’s cliffs with the Gilis without returning to Bali
- Dolphins and flying fish in the Lombok Strait on a calm morning
In pictures: the Bali Gateways
How long to stay and where to base yourself
You do not need to sleep near a harbour: operators collect from hotels across south Bali and Ubud for morning sailings. But a night in Padang Bai the evening before removes the dawn drive and lets you take the first, calmest boat — and the village has two good beaches. Amed deserves two or three nights in its own right for snorkelling and diving. Sanur is an easy, family-friendly base with boats to the Nusas on its doorstep.
If you are including the Nusas, allow at least two nights on Nusa Lembongan or Nusa Penida before crossing to the Gilis; the direct boats usually run once a day.
