The Ultimate 3 Day Gili T Itinerary – Best Things To Do

Last Updated on 7th May 2025

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Planning a trip to the popular island of Gili Trawangan? Check out my ultimate 3-day Gili T itinerary for first-time visitors!

Gili Trawangan is one of the most popular islands in Indonesia for tourists from all over the world. Comprising one-third of the Gili Islands (along with Gili Air and Gili Meno), Gili T is home to an abundance of fun things to do, including water sports, bar crawls, beaches and more!

We spent 10 days on Gili T and while you definitely don’t need that long (two or three days would probably suffice), that’s how long we decided to stay so I’ll be sharing all the relaxing, swimming, snorkelling and everything else in between that we got up to!

If you’re wondering what to include on your 3 day Gili T itinerary, check out this ultimate guide to the best things to do on Gili Trawangan!

How to get to the Gili Islands – Gili T itinerary

Despite popular belief, the Gili Islands actually belong to Lombok, not Bali. Gili Trawangan is the largest of the Gili Islands and is also located the furthest away from Lombok (you can still see Lombok from Gili T though, so it’s really not too far away at all!).

In order to get to Gili T, you can get the boat from either Lombok or Bali (or another Gili Island, depending on where you are).

We used the Freebird Express Fast Boat from Amed in Bali to Gili T which I actually wouldn’t recommend as the journey was just awful. The staff are so disregarding of everyone’s luggage (ours was actually held on the deck even after we’d set off for a couple of seconds which really isn’t ideal!).

Regardless of which company you choose to get you there, you’re probably going to have a fairly rough journey. Despite the ocean looking peaceful and idyllic, it can actually be incredibly choppy and it made me feel so seasick!

Boat companies from Bali to Gili T

• BlueWater Express
• Bali Eka Jaya
• Marlin Fast Boat
• Golden Queen Fast Boat (we used this company to get from Gili T to Nusa Penida and they were infinitely better than Freebird!)

Getting around Gili Trawangan

There are no vehicles on Gili T (apart from a couple of electric scooters that the locals use), which means the only way to get around is by walking, cycling or unfortunately, by horse and carriage.

Obviously, I don’t want to tell you what to do and I firmly believe that everyone should make their own experiences when it comes to travelling but I would seriously urge you against using horses as a means of transport on Gili T.

There are treated so poorly and it puts such a strain on the horses, especially in the intense heat. The island is really incredibly small and you could walk around it in just a couple of hours (with plenty of refreshment breaks, however; it’s too hard not to!) or cycle around it in around an hour.

The “roads” on Gili T are some of the worst I’ve ever seen in my life so it can prove to be pretty difficult to cycle and walk around but it’s much, much better than using a horse and carriage…

Gili T itinerary summary

1. Go on a snorkelling excursion
2. Learn to scuba dive
3. Cycle around the island
4. Take a day trip to the other Gili Islands (Gili Air & Gili Meno)
5. Experience Gili T’s nightlife scene

3 Day Gili T itinerary – best things to do on Gili Trawangan

Gili T is an island destination that thousands of people flock to every year, primarily for its abundance of water-based activities and opportunities.

In terms of things to do on the actual island, you’re pretty limited on choice; most of the activities involve going on day trips or heading out into the water! However, there are still a few things you can enjoy on the island itself, take a look below for some of my recommendations!

While we were there, we took advantage of the cheap water activities; here are some of the best things to do on your Gili T itinerary!

1. Take a snorkelling excursion around the Gili Islands

Since snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands in Australia, I’ve finally started to conquer my fear of the ocean and I’ve discovered a new-found love of underwater exploration.

While we were in Gili T, we joined a 4-hour snorkelling boat trip that took us around all three Gili Islands and to three different snorkelling stops (Gili Meno underwater statues, Turtle Point and Gili Air).

We paid around £5.70 (100,000IDR) each which was well worth the money; you could definitely try and haggle to get it cheaper but I also saw some snorkelling tours selling the exact same tour for four times the price!

The snorkelling tours are usually operated by locals using their own boats, and there are dozens of tour operators around the island who will all charge different prices depending on how much commission they want to make! It’s definitely an unorthodox way of conducting business but it means that you can haggle and look around so you get the price you want!

The snorkelling tour we went on was great; we got to swim with a wild turtle and after having no luck seeing one for half an hour, one finally appeared and made the entire tour so magical and memorable!

We also saw the infamous Gili Meno underwater statue (see below) which was way more crowded than it appears to be on Instagram when you see those “perfect” couple shots! It’s still cool to see though, and it’s definitely worth jumping in if you’re going snorkelling!

Read more: 16 Things You Should Know Before Visiting Gili Trawangan

2. Go scuba-diving

Many of the islands in Indonesia are famed for being bases for unbelievable diving opportunities and Gili T is no exception. A vast amount of the people we met while in Gili T were there either as diving instructors or to learn how to become certified PADI divers!

After going scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef just a couple of weeks prior, Matt and I weren’t overwhelmingly desperate to get back into our breathing apparatus again so we gave diving a miss in Gili T, but we did do some research into it and heard so many great things about the opportunities and companies there!

Learning to scuba dive on Gili T

• Blue Marlin Dive
• Manta Dive
• Trawangan Dive Centre
• Big Bubble Diving

3. Cycle around the island – Gili T itinerary

As I mentioned above, the best (and only) way to get around the island is to walk or cycle. While walking would allow you to stop more easily and take in your surroundings better, we found that it was just too hot to wander around for a couple of hours so we rented bicycles from our hotel instead.

Daily hire rates for bikes on the island are remarkably cheap and will (of course) be negotiable depending on who you hire them from. We paid around £4.70 (80,000IDR) for both of us for the day which is just insanely cheap, but of course, you can always pay more or less, depending on how well you can haggle!

While I would argue that cycling around the island is probably easier than walking, it does still offer up its disadvantages and difficulties. For example, a lot of the north and west part of Gili T is just sand paths which makes it very hard (read: impossible) to bike on, so you have to jump off and push the bike anyway.

Secondly, you will without a doubt need to stop regularly to take a break as the sunshine and heat are so intense; make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen with you or stop intermittently at the warungs (restaurants and cafes) or bars around the island.

There are plenty of great places to stop around the island for photo opportunities, beach breaks and snorkelling trips so I would still recommend renting a bike to go around the island, but just be aware that it’s definitely not easy riding!

Read more: The Best Restaurants In Gili Trawangan – Cheap Places To Eat

4. Take a day trip to the other Gili Islands

As well as snorkelling and diving trips, you can also enjoy various day trips from Gili T to Gili Meno, Gili Air and Lombok.

You can either hop on a fast boat such as the ones mentioned above, or you could hire a private local boat to take you. We didn’t actually do this so I can’t really comment on what you’d be expecting to pay for either option, so make sure to do your research once you get there; you could probably haggle a decent price for a local to take you!

It takes around 10-20 minutes to get to Gili Meno and Gili Air respectively. On our snorkelling trip, we stopped for lunch on Gili Air and from what I could tell, it’s just a smaller version of Gili T.

5. Experience the island’s nightlife – Gili T itinerary

The Gili Islands (Trawangan, Meno and Air) are all fairly similar in that they’re small, surrounded by stunning blue waters and are a quiet haven away from the hustle and bustle of neighbouring islands such as Lombok and Bali.

However, with Gili Trawangan being the largest and most popular, it serves its duty by providing an ample and lively nightlife scene.

The most popular nightlife and party activities to enjoy in Gili T include:

• Jiggy Boat party (we decided against this for numerous reasons – I’ve explained why in my nightlife post!)
• Bingo Night at Lava (this is SO much fun!)
• Bar Crawls in collaboration with the Irish Bar happen three times a week (arguably my favourite thing we did the whole time we were there)

Read more: Gili Trawangan Nightlife Ultimate Guide – Gili T Pub Crawl & More

Our time in Gili T was certainly an experience and I’m glad we decided to island hop over to see what it was like!

Related posts:

• Where To Eat In Gili T For Every Budget
• The Ultimate Guide To Gili Trawangan Nightlife
• 16 Things You Should Know Before Visiting Gili T
• The Best Day Trip From Ubud, Bali
• Gates Of Heaven Bali Reality – Is Lempuyang Temple Worth It?

Pin for later – Gili T itinerary

Have you ever been to Gili T? Do you have any other recommendations for the best activities in Gili Trawangan? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.