The sights
Gili Nanggu
The star of the day trips: a low, wooded island ringed by soft white sand, facing the green hills of the mainland. The beach on the landing side shelves gently into clear water, and a path through the trees leads round the island in twenty minutes.
ℹ️ 15–20 minutes by boat from Tawun. A small landing or entry fee is charged. Simple food and drinks may be available; bring your own water.
Nanggu’s house reef
A few steps from the beach, clouds of sergeant majors, butterflyfish and parrotfish gather round anyone who enters the water. Further out, beyond the sea-grass, patches of hard coral and giant clams lie in three to five metres.
ℹ️ Snorkel gear can be rented from boatmen or on the island. Best at mid to high tide. Please do not feed the fish or stand on coral.
Gili Sudak, Gili Kedis and Gili Tangkong
Three neighbours a few minutes apart. Sudak has shady restaurants serving grilled fish at tables in the sand. Kedis is a perfect miniature island — a ring of beach, a clump of trees, a swing — with decent coral on its seaward side. Tangkong is larger and quieter, with long empty beaches.
ℹ️ Included on most boat circuits. Small landing fees may apply on each island. Lunch on Sudak is usually paid separately unless your tour includes it.
Gili Gede
About four kilometres long, hilly and green, with half a dozen hamlets linked by footpaths and not a car in sight. Life goes on at the pace of the fishing boats. The channel between Gede and the mainland is a popular anchorage for yachts sailing between Bali and Komodo.
ℹ️ About 10–15 minutes by boat from Tembowong. Walk the coastal path, kayak the bays, or take a boat to the outer islands. No ATM.
Gili Asahan, Gili Layar and Gili Rengit
West of Gili Gede the islands get smaller and the reefs better. Asahan has a long white beach and a well-loved boutique resort. Layar and Rengit are barely inhabited, with table corals, turtles and reef fish in shallow, clear water and usually no other boat in sight.
ℹ️ Reached by local boat from Gili Gede or Tembowong, or on the “5 Secret Gilis” day tours. Bring everything you need.
The Sekotong coast
The mainland peninsula is worth the drive in itself: a winding road past mangroves, pearl farms, salt pans and fishing villages, with the islands appearing one after another offshore. At its far western tip is Bangko-Bangko — Desert Point — one of the most famous surf breaks in the world.
ℹ️ Tawun is about 1.5 hours from Senggigi, 45 minutes from Lembar ferry port. Desert Point is a further rough hour and strictly for expert surfers.
East Lombok: Gili Kondo, Bidara and Kapal
On the opposite side of Lombok, facing Sumbawa, another group of islets sits in very clear water: Kondo with its white beach and casuarinas, Bidara and Petagan with mangrove channels, and Kapal, a sandbar that appears only at low tide.
ℹ️ Boats leave from the Labuhan Pandan area on the north-east coast, roughly 2.5–3 hours by car from Senggigi. Usually visited on organised full-day tours.
