10 BEST Things To Do On Gili Meno [With Map]

Gili Meno is the smallest and least developed of the Gili Islands, a trio of tropical islands just off the coast of Bali’s neighbour, Lombok.

Its peaceful shores are home to several of the most beautiful beach resorts on the Gili Islands, earning it the nickname ‘honeymoon island’. However, the island isn't just for couples and appeals to anyone looking to switch off and unwind, from hostel-goers to families.

Having recently explored the island for ourselves, we've put together this quick guide with some of the top things to do in Gili Meno.

Gili Meno Map

Things To Do on Gili Meno

1. Enjoy Gili Meno's beautiful beaches

Gili Meno is home to some of the most beautiful and unspoiled white sand beaches and stunning turquoise waters in all of the Gili Islands. And some of the quietest. A few hours of uninterrupted beach time on Gili Meno is a must.

Plus unlike neighbouring Gili T, you don't need to pay to visit a beach cafe or bar to enjoy the best ones!

Gili Meno South East Beach is one of our favourite spots to lay a towel on the beach and enjoy a peaceful dip in the ocean. If you'd rather use a sunbed, nearby Mama Malanti Warung is a lovely little spot to grab a fresh coconut and sunbathe.

2. Visit BASK Beach Club

Gili Meno’s most stylish resort award has to go to BASK, where you can book out entire luxury villas with its own infinity pool overlooking the ocean. Seriously, they're amazing – consider staying here if you can (check prices)!

But even if you’re not staying at BASK, the resort's chic modern beach club is open for anyone to enjoy. There's a large infinity pool and a lavish poolside terrace with day beds, cabanas, and a VIP area.

They also have a restaurant that serves a fantastic menu of local and international food. Apparently there's even a hidden underground bar, although we have yet to see this for ourselves.

There is no entrance fee or minimum spend to visit the beach club, provided you purchase at least one item from the menu. During peak season it's best to make a reservation in advance on their website or by contacting them on Instagram.

3. Stroll around the lake boardwalk

Gili Meno is the only Gili Island to have its own inland lake. The saltwater lake is surrounded by lush mangroves which make a great habitat for wildlife, especially water birds.

A boardwalk runs around part of the lake, making for a beautiful evening stroll. The boardwalk is only around 400m long, so walking along it takes just 15 minutes at a leisurely pace.

There’s a small shelter with seating about halfway around - an ideal spot to pause, relax, and enjoy nature. We spotted several birds catching their dinner, including storks and herons.

After exiting the boardwalk on the opposite side of the lake, you can continue around along the dirt pathway to make it a circular walk. Check the map for the location.

4. See the rescued turtles at Gili Meno Turtle Sanctuary

On the southeast corner of the island is the Gili Meno Turtle Sanctuary.

The centre was set up to care for baby turtles and improve their chances of survival into adulthood. From the moment the eggs are laid on the island, they face the risk of predation from humans, land predators, and birds.

Mr Boulong, the founder of the sanctuary, searches the beach every evening to find eggs. He moves them to the sanctuary and, once they have hatched naturally, they are fed every two hours from sunrise to sunset.

Once the baby turtles have grown a hard shell and are strong enough to face the outside world, they are released into the ocean. They can be up to one year old by this point.

You can visit the sanctuary to find out more about its work and to see some of the baby turtles for yourself. It costs the founder around 100,000 IDR per day to feed and take care of the baby turtles so we recommend leaving a donation.

5. Discover the famous underwater statues

One of the most iconic snorkelling spots in the Gili Islands is at the BASK Nest underwater statues which are just off the coast of Gili Meno. The statues depict 48 lifesized people interlocked in a circle. The design and materials were created to encourage marine life to colonise them.

Although the statues were only installed in 2017, corals are already forming around them and marine life is becoming increasingly abundant, making this a great spot for snorkelling.

It's forbidden to touch the statues (although many tourists too) as you could disrupt the coral process, so make sure to be respectful when visiting.

You can swim out to the statues from the western shore of Gili Meno or visit them on a Gili Islands snorkelling trip.

The statues are located in front of BASK, the resort and beach club we mentioned previously. You shouldn’t struggle to find them as there are almost always people snorkelling there. But just in case, here's a Google Maps pin.

6. Go scuba diving

Thanks to healthy coral reefs around the Gili Islands, it's an excellent area for scuba diving and freediving. There are over 20 different dive sites to choose from where you can expect to encounter reef sharks, turtles, rays, octopuses, cuttlefish, and more.

If you’re looking for a good dive centre, we recommend Blue Marlin, which has locations on all three Gili Islands and is the original dive resort on Gili Meno. We haven’t dived with them ourselves but several of our friends have and all of them rate the centre highly.

The biggest benefit is that they run three trips per day, returning to the dive centre in between each trip. This means you can do one or two dives without waiting for everyone on the boat to finish all three. If you’re looking for a community of diving enthusiasts, you can also stay at Blue Marlin.

7. Watch the sunset from a beachfront bar

There’s no better way to end a day on the Gili Islands than enjoying the region's beautiful sunsets.

The best area of Gili Meno to watch the sunset is the northwest corner. From here, you can watch the sun disappear behind Gili T and Mount Agung.

Here are a few sunset bars worth checking out:

If you’re planning on cycling to get to any of these bars, this side of the island is notoriously difficult as the paths are very sandy. To avoid pushing your bike through piles of sand, we recommend using the inner paths where possible (or just walking).

8. Take a snorkelling tour

Aside from the BASK Nest statues, there are dozens of epic places to go snorkelling across the Gili Islands. To reach the rest, you’ll have to take a snorkelling boat trip around the islands.

There are both shared boat trips (cheapest) and the option to charter a private boat which can be affordable if you are travelling with a group. For the private trips, we recommend arranging with your guide to set off early in the morning (before 8am) so that you can avoid the crowds.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to book snorkelling trips with a pick-up on Gili Meno online. Instead, you can ask at your accommodation or one of the streetside tour operators near the port.

As a guide, our accommodation (Le Pirate) was offering shared trips for 200,000 IDR per person. A typical snorkelling trip around the Gilis will last 4 hours and include 3 snorkel spots.

9. Enjoy live music (and request the Gili Meno song)

Gili Meno may not have the same lively nightlife scene as its neighbours, but the island does still has a small live music scene. Between Brotherhood Bar, Sasak Café, the Irish Bar, Diana Bar, and Malfina Beach Bar, you can find live music almost every night of the week.

A local band called Brotherhood (named after the Gili Meno bar where they formed) has earned itself a bit of a reputation on the island and beyond. They have played across Indonesia and even Thailand. Their song about Gili Meno has even made it onto Spotify.

Brotherhood alternates between different venues across Gili Meno so keep an eye out for signs or ask for information. If you manage to catch them, be sure to request the Gili Meno song.

10. Go Island hopping

Being the smallest of the three Gili Islands, you can tick off everything there is to do on Gili Meno in one day. If you’re still looking for activities to do, it’s easy to take a day trip to the other islands.

Public slow boats run between the islands twice per day from the main ferry port on the east of the island. The boats from Gili Meno to Gili Air leave at 9.45am and 4.30pm. The boats from Gili Meno to Gili T leave at 8.45am and 3.15pm.

Remember, these boats run on ‘island time’ so they can be early or late – plan accordingly. Check out our guide to getting around the Gili Islands for the full schedule with return times.

If the public boats aren’t for you, you can also charter a private boat. Plenty of local boat owners can be found waiting near the port or you can ask at any streetside tour agency.

We were travelling as a group of five and managed to negotiate a price of 50,000 IDR per person to get to Gili T and 100,000 IDR per person to reach Gili Air.

Where To Stay on Gili Meno

Le Pirate, Gili Meno

We stayed at Le Pirate on Gili Meno. The rooms are adorable little beach huts that overlook the swimming pool. Although the huts themselves are fairly small, each one comes complete with its own hammock and a cosy outdoor seating area where you'll probably spend most of your stay anyway.

The resort is immaculate with two huge pools, a large restaurant, and a small beachfront bar. The rooms are reasonably affordable given how nice they are. But the prices for food, drinks, and tours from reception are a little more expensive than elsewhere on the island.

BASK Resort and Beach Club

This is Gili Meno’s most luxurious resort. You’ll stay in your own villa with a large open-plan living area, floor-to-ceiling windows, and modern décor.

Each villa has its own infinity pool, just a few metres from the beach. There's an onsite beach club, restaurant, wellness retreat, and gym. Although we didn’t stay here ourselves, we did have a wander around the villas and they are truly beautiful. Expensive but worthwhile.

Where To Eat on Gili Meno