Rather than catch the 2.5hr boat from Bali to the Gilli Islands (via Nusa Lembongan), we decided to fly to Lombok & explore that first.

As a poor sea farer, flights looked a better option & were in fact cheaper than the boat (£17pp instead of £35pp). The flight is 30mins, but we didn’t bank on a 3hr delay. However, after reading a recent blog by Never Ending Voyage their journey took a total of 5-6hr by boat so I still think we came off better.

Kuta Beach

Unlike its namesake in Bali, Kuta is still a quiet village (although it is currently being developed on a large scale). We arrived late at night at our homestay after two of the lads picked us up at the airport.

You can still find quiet stretches of beach completely to yourself despite the sprinkling of surfer backpackers & nomad parents with young families

Update: During our trip we found out more about the development work going on in the village & news that this quiet place is being turned into a $3 billion resort complete with roller coasters & a F1 circuit: how tragic. Read more here in this CNN Article.

Sengiggi

We needed to catch the boat from Sengiggi to the Gillis & dithered whether or not to stop over at the town. Our indecision focused on the reviews, describing the place as a ‘fading star’. It was once the main tourist resort for Lombok, but it does appear to be a little run down (not knowing what it looked like before).

We decided to stay one night so we could suss out the boat situation (the recent strong wind has meant the fast boats were cancelled this week).

Sengiggi has a lovely sandy beach & plenty of places to eat & drink. It’s worth staying for one or two nights.

We stayed at The Aurora Cottages a beautiful oasis in the middle of a jungle setting outside of town (the cottages are equipped with mini kitchens so the remoteness isn’t a problem).

Next up… Gilli Meno & Gilli Air