Where To Stay in the Gili Islands? Ultimate Area & Hotel Guide

Just a couple of hours off Bali’s northern coast, the Gili Islands offer a unique escape unlike anything on the mainland.

To make the most of your visit, we recommend choosing one island as your base while taking day trips to explore the others. But deciding which island to stay on—and finding the right area and accommodation—can be overwhelming.

No need to worry. With our extensive experience visiting the Gili Islands, we’ve created the ultimate guide to the best places to stay, so you can spend less time planning and more time soaking up paradise.

Quick Summary

All the areas and our hotel recommendations are marked on this map, with full explanations below:

Gili Trawangan

Also known as Gili T, this is the biggest and most famous of the three islands, best known for its lively party scene but with plenty of other activities too. Here's are the best areas to stay and some hotels we love:

Gili Meno

Neighbouring Gili Meno is the smallest and least developed of the three, with a very peaceful and slightly romantic vibe earning it the nickname ‘honeymoon island’.

Gili Air

Sitting somewhere between the laid-back atmosphere of Gili Meno and the lively vibe of Gili T, Gili Air is our favourite of the three. It's a great place to avoid the crowds without feeling too secluded.

Where To Stay On Gili T?

Lively Area: Trawangan Village

Most of the action on Gili T happens in the main town area around the harbour, known as Trawangan Village. This is the busiest part of the island and is home to many restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, and dive resorts.

You’ll be conveniently close to the ferry port so you won’t have to worry about transporting your luggage around the vehicle-free island.

There’s a real mix of accommodation choices in this area, but there’s certainly more at the affordable end of the scale.

If you stay a few streets back from the beach, you'll find some excellent deals on 3* hotels (we love Gili Amor). If you prefer luxury accommodation, there are a few options here, but you'll have more choices on the west side.

Most of Gili T's late night bars and clubs can be found towards the south of Trawangan Village. A few of our favourites include Sama-Sama reggae bar, Tequila Sunrise (we've had some wild nights here), and Tir Na Nog Irish Bar.

Being a party island, there’s a big backpacker scene with dozens of hostels which are mostly found in Trawangan Village (the exception being the famous Mad Monkey over on the west coast). Some hostels have a big party vibe, whereas others are more chilled, but all of them are sociable and great for solo travellers.

It's worth noting that the island's main mosque is in Trawangan Village so the call to prayer can be quite loud from some nearby hotels. You can usually ask your hotel for ear plugs if it's waking you up in the morning.

Hotels/Hostels in Trawangan Village

Places to Eat in Trawangan Village

• Francescos Pizza - Francescos make amazing pizza using their wood-fired pizza oven. We can highly recommend the burrata pizza! They also have a selection of other Italian dishes including pastas and cheese boards. As for dessert, Emily approves of the Tiramasu which means a lot as she's the biggest Tiramasu critic outside of Italy.
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• The Banyan Tree - This fully vegetarian restaurant is a paradise for anyone who enjoys a plant-based meal. If you struggle with too many menu options then this is sure to result in choice overload as everything sounds delicious. We especially enjoyed the cauliflower wings and the coconut curry. We were travelling with vegan friends at the time and they gave it a big thumbs up too.

Quieter Area: Gili T's West Coast

The west coast of the island has a quieter atmosphere compared to the east. There are fewer crowds and everything is a little more spread out.

If you prefer more luxurious accommodation, this side is your best bet, with a good selection of 4* hotels. Some of the larger resorts have become a bit dated, so consider the newer boutique hotels (see our recommendations below).

While there are still a handful of lively sunset bars, this side of the island has a more low-key nightlife vibe with live music and open-air cinemas instead of wild parties.

The downside of the west coast is that it’s far from the ferry port. While it might be walkable for some (~ 40 mins along the flat coastal route), for most people this will be too much with your luggage in tow.

Being a vehicle-free island, the other options are bicycles or a cidomo (horse and cart) costing around 150,000 IDR for 3-4 passengers. We try to avoid this due to concerns about the welfare of the horses which is why we’ve never stayed on this side ourselves. We'll leave that decision to you.

Hotels on Gili T's West Coast

Best of Both: Gili T's South Coast

The south of Gili Trawangan offers a happy medium between the east and the west. It's a short walk from the restaurants, cafes, and bars in the main village, while being far enough away that it’s pretty quiet.

Accommodation options in the south are more limited, but tend to be upscale resorts with their own private beach. As expected, it's one of the pricier areas to stay but we think it's worth paying for.

Hotels on Gili T's South Coast

Where To Stay On Gili Meno

Stay Anywhere!

You can't really go wrong on Gili Meno. Being so small, it's very walkable with most hotels/resorts less than 20 minutes from the main harbour on foot. There’s not really any ‘good’ or ‘bad’ area to stay.

While there’s plenty of budget accommodation on Gili Meno, we’d recommend choosing a nice resort with good amenities. There’s not a huge amount to do on this sleepy island so you'll be spending a lot of time relaxing and using the facilities.

Most of our favourite resorts happen to be on the island’s western coast so that’s where we stayed. It has the benefit of beautiful sunsets and snorkelling from the shore with the BASK Nest underwater statues nearby.

The west coast is the opposite side to the harbour. But you can walk from one side to the other in around 15-20 minutes so it’s not a big deal. Cimono's (horse and carts) are available if you have luggage, but we prefer not to use these for welfare reasons as we mentioned earlier.

Hotels on Gili Meno

Places to Eat on Gili Meno

• Sasak Café – Sasak Café is a local restaurant that has an extensive menu of Indonesian and international dishes. It’s in an idyllic spot on the west side of the island not far from the two resorts we've recommended.

Where To Stay On Gili Air?

Main Area: Central Gili Air

The main street of Gili Air runs from the harbour directly up towards the centre of the island. This is the central hub, lined with the island's best shops, restaurants, and cafes. The area is vibrant but still laid-back and never too busy.

This central area would be the most convenient place to base yourself on Gili Air. You’ll be conveniently close to the ferry terminal, while the central location is just a short walk or cycle to the beautiful beaches around the island’s coast.

There's not really one main nightlife area on Gili Air. Instead, the bars around the island take turns hosting events such as live music and karaoke. If you plan to stay out late, this central location will make getting home each night much easier.

Hotels in Central Gili Air

Places to Eat in Central Gili Air

• Kopi Susu - A lovely little cafe that's the best spot on the island for coffee and brunch. They have a choose-your-own brunch menu where you tick the items from a list or select a dish from the menu. Tasty food, fast service, happy bellies!
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• Aura Bowl - Located on the main street, this rustic restaurant is best known for it's extravagant smoothie bowls with combinations of ingredients you'd never imagine. Beyond the bowls, everything on their menu is delicious. Great for lunch or dinner.
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• Gili Cooking Classes - Not quite a restaurant, but the best food we ate on Gili Air was during out cooking class (we're not just saying that because we made it ourselves). Our teacher Ben ensured the local dishes we made were easy to follow and tasted great. After 4 courses we were stuffed!

Quieter Area: Gili Air's West Coast

If you’d rather stay closer to the beach, you won’t fall short of options. Each side of the island has it's own charm, but we prefer the west coast which is the least developed and most picturesque.

It’s home to several upmarket resorts that are among the nicest in the Gili Islands, often just a minute or two from the beach for easy access to the sand and stunning ocean views.

Gili Air is a small island, at least in comparison to Gili T, so it's pretty walkable. The ferry port and the main street are around 15-20 minutes walk from the west coast which is manageable, even with luggage.

Hotels on Gili Air's West Coast