Lombok, Bali’s neighboring island, is an idyllic destination for those looking for a unique experience away from the crowds of Bali. A fast growing island, infrastructure and investment is quickly piling in here touting Lombok as the “next Bali”. With its stunning beaches and bays, and majestic views of the towering Mt Rinjani volcano, Lombok is a large and diverse island sitting across the Wallace Line and the deep and current strong Lombok Strait.
Access to the island is easy, with regular high speed passenger ferries and car ferries from Bali or flights directly from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, plus all other domestic cities to Lombok International Airport. The island boasts a range of luxury villas where visitors can relax and recharge, or they can trek above the clouds to the alpine summit of Rinjani volcano, which stands at 3726 meters. A newly purpose-built MotoGP track and a marina are fast adding to the increasing infrastructure appeal of Lombok.
Lombok also offers some of the best surfing opportunities in Indonesia, with a vast succession of bays, reefs, and rocky inlets. Just a short trip from the main island on the north-west coast of Lombok lies three picturesque white sand islands known as the Gili Islands. Each of the three islands has its own personality and activities that allow visitors to enjoy the unique environment of each. The Gili islands – Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air are a favourite destination for their beautiful beaches, reefs, snorkeling and scuba diving – these islands are the main place for yachts visiting Lombok. Guests and supplies can also choose to fly into Kosaido golf course or Gili Trawangan via helicopter from Bali. Kosaido Golf course is stunning, situated on a headland overlooking the ocean and the Gili islands and the towering Rinjnai Volcano as a backdrop. Guests can be dropped by tender directly onto the green.
Lombok also offers a diverse range of scuba diving opportunities, from high-energy, adrenaline-pumping dive sites full of hammerhead sharks off a pinnacle in the Indian Ocean to more relaxed scuba dives and open water courses in the Gilis. The Gilis hold a diverse range of dive sites scattered all around the three islands where big fish to sharks to small and interesting critters to dozens of turtles and mantas gliding past in the shallow fringing reefs.
The “southern Gilis” around Gili Gede features a marina, protected laid-back bays, and outer islands with great relaxed diving and snorkeling and the world famous Desert Point surf break just around the corner.
