Lombok’s north-west coast runs for about forty kilometres from the provincial capital, Mataram, up to the harbours opposite the Gili Islands. The road between them is one of the prettiest drives in Indonesia: it climbs over a series of headlands, each with a view of a palm-fringed bay below and, out to sea, the three Gilis lined up in front of Bali’s Mount Agung.
Bangsal is the public harbour for the islands — functional, hectic, and notorious for touts, though far easier to handle once you know the routine. A few kilometres south, the sheltered bays of Teluk Nara and Teluk Kodek are where dive centres, hotels and private speedboat operators keep their jetties, with none of the hassle. Our getting there guide explains exactly how each works.
Senggigi itself is a string of bays rather than a town. It boomed in the 1990s and has been quieter ever since, which gives it wide beaches, big resort gardens and prices well below Bali’s. It makes sense as a first or last night around a flight, as a base for day trips — waterfalls, Sasak villages, the Secret Gilis — and for anyone who wants a hotel pool and a car at the door as well as a day on the islands.
Highlights
- The coast road from Senggigi to Bangsal, bay after bay, with the Gilis offshore
- Sunset behind Mount Agung from Senggigi beach or the Malimbu viewpoints
- Pura Batu Bolong, a Hindu sea temple on a wave-cut rock
- A stress-free crossing to the Gilis once you know how Bangsal works
- Narmada water palace and the shared Hindu–Muslim temple at Lingsar
- Macaques on the forest road over the Pusuk pass
In pictures: Senggigi & the harbours
How long to stay and where to base yourself
Most travellers need either no nights here or one: fly into Lombok in the afternoon, sleep in Senggigi, and take a morning boat when the sea is flat and the public boats fill quickly. If you want a mainland base for touring, two or three nights is plenty.
Central Senggigi has the restaurants, shops and mid-range hotels. Mangsit and the bays to the north are quieter and closer to the harbours, with boutique resorts on the sand. The Sire and Medana peninsula, just beyond Bangsal, holds a few of Lombok’s most luxurious resorts, some with their own boats to the Gilis. Mataram is a working city with business hotels — handy for very early flights but not a holiday base.
