Gili Travangan has been the place I wanted to return to for the longest time. I stumbled upon the Gilis in 2013 by absolute chance since the people I was travelling with wanted to go and I immediately fell in love completely. If I ever experienced love at first sight, it was with this island. I only had ten days in Bali and spent four of them on Gili T and I have wanted to go back ever since. When I was booking my return to Bali, I knew I wanted to give myself a graduation gift of my own: I wanted to learn diving and I wanted to do it in the Gilis. I stayed ten days on a miniature island, you can walk around in an hour and a half at a leisurely pace and I would not have wanted it any other way. I spend five days in a tiny quirky hostel, diving by day and drinking at night, I had the most intense hangover in a long while and then moved into a beautiful bungalow with an outdoor shower and went to bed at 10. I loved doing both of these things and felt so welcome and happy here throughout my ten days. I have always been an island lover and I guess the Gilis will forever be one of these magical places for me, you always want to go back to. Especially after the tragic earthquake in August the islands need visitors more than ever. They are too small to sustain agriculture or a full-fledged trade economy so tourists are crucial for the locals. Please, please don´t think you cannot visit after the earthquake and if you can please donate or volunteer while you are on the islands.

Where to stay

I stayed in two very different places on Gili and I loved both. I kind of hate the traveller vs. tourist debate and don´t think you are a better person for staying in an eight bed dorm than a person, who enjoys a little luxury. I actually like aspects of both ways of travelling. You will have a very different perception of Gili dependig on where you stay, but as with the long lasting soft vs. hard taco debate: Porqué no las dos?

I spent my first five days in Gili at La Boheme Sister. It is a very quirky hostel with loads of activities, a bar and daily tours. Out of all the hostels I stayed at, I feel like this one was the most social with an array of activities from snorkeling tours, sunset walks to bonfires by the beach. The staff here is so fun and lovely, so happy to help and always up to do something. There are free pancakes for breakfast as well as original coffee from Lombok, a lovely outdoor area with hammocks and a bar with very reasonable (dangerously cheap) drinks. There are deals for diving courses as well as snorkeling trips, so if you have not booked your diving course that may be an option to save some money. I stayed in the rooms without aircon for a night and would highly recommend opting for aircon, but did love that there are always only three people per room. I met so many great people here, including the staff and had an absolutely amazing time. There is a partner hostel on the island, that also has a pool and is a bit larger, but is further away from the beach so it depends on your preference.

For the last two days I upgraded quite a bit from my eight Euro a night dorm room to a private bungalow with an outdoor shower and a pool. Manta Dive is as the name suggests a diving school, but also has beautiful bungalows and private rooms. The garden with the pool is absolutely gorgeous and I felt like an absolute queen here. The 55 Euros a night also include a delicious breakfast with really good coffee and while that may be a bit of a splurge it was so so worth it and is way beyond what you would get for the same price in Europe. The resort also has a little restaurant with quite good food and obviously you can book your diving courses here as well.