If you are thinking of exploring Lombok then below you’ll find out all you need to know about getting there and traveling around.
Exploring Lombok and How to Get There
Lombok is an island in the West Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west. Lombok has numerous smaller surrounding islands which are known locally as “Gili’s”. The most famous Gili’s are the three islands off the north west coast (Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan) and there are also the “Secret Gili’s” (Gili Asahan, Gili Renggit and Gili Gede ) of South Lombok near Seketong.
Exploring Lombok is now very easy and there are numerous access points and transfer options, the easiest way being to fly direct to Lombok’s International Airport (Banadara Lombok International; BIL or IATA code LOP). It is the only airport on Lombok so if you are searching for flights “Lombok” is just fine!
Lombok International Airport receives direct international flights from Singapore (5 times a week / Silk Air) and Malaysia (daily from Kuala Lumpur and 3 time a week from Johor Bahru both with Air Asia). Visitors arriving on International flights will need to pay US $35 for a 30 day Visa on arrival.
If you are already in Indonesia them Lombok International Airport receives flights from all major Indonesian cities with domestic airlines, including Jakarta, Bali (Denpasar), Surabaya, Makassar and Jogjakarta. The flight time from Bali is just 30 minutes.
Once you arrive at Lombok International Airport it is just 40km to the capital city of Mataram, around 1.5 hrs drive from Senggigi and 25 minutes from Kuta.
Here at Two Fish Divers we can take care of all domestic travel arrangements for you so you can relax and enjoy your holiday stress free. We’ll even meet you at the airport and take you to your chosen starting point for your Lombok and Gili scuba diving adventure!
Lombok is Bali’s neighbour and as such, travelling between the two by sea is also extremely easy. Boats depart from Benoa Harbour, Sanur Beach, Nusa Lembongan and Padang Bai. Ferry crossing times (around 4 – 5 hours from Bali or 2.5 – 3 hours from Nusa Lembongan) and prices vary according to the route and type of boat. For full details of all boat options, check our Lombok Travel Information page.
Getting to the Gili Islands
The three islands of Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and GIli Air are within extremely close proximity and there are local boats crossing between them on a regular basis. The three islands are just off the north west of mainland Lombok and there are regular boats to the mainland. Our beautiful home island of Gili Air is the closest to the mainland and the least developed. Gili Air has retained its natural beauty and is an ideal destination for those who want to experience a remote tropical island vibe in comfort. There are no cars or motorbikes on Gili Air but that shouldn’t mean you miss out on exploring the island. To walk the circumference of Gili Air takes around two and a half hours or for those who prefer two wheels it is easy to rent bicycles. We encourage you to take a look around, meet the friendly locals and walk the kilometres of stunning white sand beach while you are here!
Gili Air is just 30 minutes by fast boat to our Two Fish Divers base in Senggigi and then around 2 hours by car to our South Lombok Dive Resort (for diving South Lombok, Secret Gili’s and Belongas Bay) or directly back to the airport. If you are heading back to Bali then why not stop off at our Nusa Lembongan Island dive resort to experience diving with manta rays? It’s just 2.5 hours by fast boat and from there you are just 40 minutes from mainland Bali!
If you haven’t yet visited Two Fish Gili Air Resort, you may not know that the island of Gili Air is completely free of motorized vehicles. Most residents and visitors get around on foot or bicycle, with a slight increase in electric scooter traffic over recent years. This makes for a real island paradise among the more popular and heavily trafficked islands around Indonesia. However, you might wonder how efficient things could be with no cars, trucks or even motorized scooters to transport people and materials from point A to point B. Like a throwback to many decades ago, we have horses on Gili Air! That’s right, horses and carts are the primary method of transporting people and goods over further distances. These are called “Cidomos” and you will encounter them EVERYWHERE on the Gili Islands, with a long lineup of them waiting for work when you arrive at the harbour. Before long, you will become accustomed to moving out of the way when you hear the sound of hooves on the sand as they race past you with a cart full of travelers or loaded with supplies for local businesses. The horses of the Gili Islands have a long-standing cultural significance as well, and if you are interested in the efforts to ensure their well-being is prioritized, please take a look here.
If you want to go scuba diving with turtles then Gili Air is the place to be! Did you know that here at the Gili Islands we have more than 150 individual green sea turtles? Green sea turtles are easily identified by their large size and smooth carapace, or shell. They’re the only herbivorous species of turtle, which gives them a green layer of fat under their skin and is why they are called green sea turtles! Lucky divers Tony and Trevor saw 15 of these graceful creatures on their Deep Adventure Dive as part of their Advanced Open Water Course and even got some sweet turtle t-shirts as congratulations for passing their course. Great job guys!
Have you ever tried diving before? Come to Gili Air and lets get wet. The diving conditions in Gili Air are optimal conditions for learning how to dive. The mild currents, endless visibility, and warm temperature make Gili Air ideal. The mild current allows a first time diver to become comfortable in the water with out being sloshed around. Encountering current as a first time diver can be very intimidating but here in Gili Air you will learn to dive in calm currents. The endless (30M+) visibility allows you to see, communicate, and perform skills with your instructor easily. Diving or doing skills in visibility where you can not even see your own had can be an added challenge. The water temperature averages 28 degree Celsius allowing us to dive in short wetsuits so do not feel overly constricted and can move about freely. The combination of current, visibility, and temperature make Gili Air the perfect place to learn. (not to mention all the incredible underwater life)
Gili Air is such a dynamic place to dive. Our dive sites are all located within a fifteen minute boat ride from our dive center. We have over twenty two dive sites located around the Gilis and Lombok at our fingertips. Having so many options gives us the ability to cater to all types of divers here in Gili Air.
This week we are joined by three world traveling photographers from all over the globe. Uwe, Didan, and CK have spent many years traveling all over photographing the underwater world and love the diversity they have found in Gili Air. The three have put both wide angle and macro lenses to good use here in Gili Air. The consistent clarity of the water and the mild currents here in Gili Air are just the right combination for a photographer to capture that “perfect shot.”
They spend the morning just across the way in Kechinan a site located close to Bangsal Harbor in Lombok. The site is well known for “the small things” which all three photographers were really looking forward to discovering. When asked, “Why do you enjoy Gili Air?” Local Photographer Didan responded, “I enjoy the relaxed conditions and every site offers something different.” Bring your cameras and come check out Gili Air.
Getting to South Lombok & the “Secret Gili’s”
Our Two Fish Divers South Lombok dive resort is located around 10km outside of Seketong which is our nearest town. We are just across the water from the most beautiful dive sites in the area which are packed around the islands of Gili Asahan, Gili Renggit and Gili Gede (the Secret Gili’s).
Accessing this area couldn’t be easier. We are just 90 minutes by car from Lombok International Airport , 2 hours from Sengiggi or, if you are coming to us from (or going to) our Gili Air Dive Resort, it will take around 30 minutes by boat to Sengiggi and then 2 hours by car. Wherever you are coming from or going to we can help arrange your transfers to ensure you get on the road smoothly and efficiently!
Be warned though, once you are with us in South Lombok you might not want to leave! Accommodation is right on the beach, surrounded by lush tropical gardens and overlooking the water and neighbouring islands. You’ll be diving some of Indonesia’s most pristine coral reefs, seeing incredibly rare and often endemic critters and just one hour away are the adrenaline pumping dives of Belongas Bay which are home to seasonal schooling hammerheads and pelagics. South Lombok is unspoiled by tourism and you’ll find the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere makes this the perfect place to dive and unwind amid stunning natural beauty.
Getting to Belongas Bay
During Hammerhead season we offer accommodation in Belongas Bay itself, outside of hammerhead season we stay at our South Lombok Resort and make Belongas Bay day trips. Belongas Bay is just a 60 minute car journey away and we pass through stunning scenery en route. If you’d like to dive Belongas Bay and are coming from our Gili Air Resort or Nusa Lembongan we’ll transfer you to Sengiggi from which is is 2 hours by road to our South Lombok Resort where you’ll stay overnight prior to making your incredible Belongas Bay dives the following day!
In to the deep at Belongas Bay. As some of you may know if you have checked out our Facebook page at the start of this month we ran a tech exploration week in Belongas to see the possibilities for some tech diving in the future.
Not only were we not disappointed, we were blown away with the diving!! We had amazing conditions with little to no waves and timed the dives so we had as little current as possible. We started our deep exploration at the cathedral with a negative decent down to 55meters in to crystal clear water flying over the amazing topography. With the sheer mass of red tooth trigger fish, unicorn fish swimming in every direction and the beautiful corals covering every rock it was a tantalizing experience as we swan around the cathedral so much so that it was a surprize that we saw anything else on our dive……..O but we did! We had encounters with white tip reef sharks, napoleon wrasse, barracudas, trevally, octopus and small opening in to a huge cave system that takes you from one side of the cathedral to the other!!!!!!
Another big surprize was the magnet as we had originally planned to check out the new pinnacle 100meter south of the magnet but due to current we decided to drop from the magnet and see if we could dive out to it. The magnet its self is known for its difficult conditions, awesome topography and of course the hammerheads. This time of though without the hammer heads its not our first choice of dive site as it doesn’t have the fish mass and corals like the rest of the Belongas bay area. But this is completely untrue as it turns out you just need to go deeper!! We descended on to parts of the magnet that we had only glimpsed at from above. We were met with an unreal amount of soft and hard coral and a buzzing of fish in every direction white tip reef sharks on every side of us then to have 7 eagle rays glide over the top of us. As we swam down the east side of the magnet to the south we were meet with a wall of current (nothing crazy but more work than we wanted with all the extra tanks and the rebreathers) between us and the new pinnacle with the 40+ meter visibility we could see the huge rocks rising out of the depths in the direction of the new pinnacle and as we hovered there in front of the invisible wall we all took a moment to imagine the possibilities. As we turned back a little disappoint starting our ascent we were meet with more white tips, trevally’s who decided they needed a closer look at these strange divers with no bubbles. With the close encounters our disappointment soon faded and our ascent had loads more shark, fish and a close up of the top of the magnet which is normally a no go in the hammer season and it is packed with life!!!!!……O and an oceanic manta to top it off!!!!!
All in all it has to be in my top 5 dive experiences. For a long time now, we have been trying to let people know about the amazing diving in Belongas bay in the low season but with every one so focused on the hammerheads most people are reluctant to check it out. With visibility ranging up to 70 meters in an undisturbed paradise of fish, coral, awesome topography and without the hassle of the extreme conditions that come with the hammer heads. The marine life in Belongas can range with sights of mantas, whale sharks, mola’s, tunas, barracudas, blur marlin, eagle ray’s, nudibranchs, harlequin’s, frog fish, hairy octopus, sea snakes, and much much more!!!
This week here in Belongas, south lombok we have been experiencing big waves, moderate currents and superb yes superb visibility! The schools of Barracudas have stayed with us again all this week ranging from 150-200 in each. They have been spotted circulating the reefs at 3 dives sites. Having the visibility so clear this week has meant that throughout the whole dives the barracudas have been clear and part of the group. Among the barracudas the main attractions this week has been the sea snakes and harlequin shrimps. There are 30-50 different types of sea snakes that belong to the cobra family. The average sea snake grows to about 2 meters in length and has a small head compared to its body size. Their tails are flattened to make swimming as fast as possible and they have flaps over nostrils whilst underwater. We have two main dive sites which are common to see them but we very rarely only see one, at minimum two. They are friendly, curious and love to play in the bubbles made by us divers. It has been on most occasions that our guests have been nervous when encountering them for the first time, a few seconds is all it takes before they can relax and realise just how beautiful, elegant and placid they really are.
Other activities and surfing in South Lombok
It’s not all about diving here in Lombok, although that’s an excellent reason to visit! We also have some very beautiful places to visit on land when you’re here. Just down the road from Two Fish Divers South Lombok (AKA the dive farm) is a world famous surfing spot called Dessert Point. This reef break is not for beginners or the faint of heart as it features pro level surfing conditions when it’s “pumping”. Offering the spectacle of top quality surfers who travel from around the world to test their skills on this tricky wave with the hope of getting a nice long barrel or tube for them ride through, Dessert Point (even if you are not surfing) is a nice place to hangout during an “off gas” day or for a short post-dive evening visit. Just getting to dessert point is an adventure in itself as you’ll want a motorbike that can handle the final stretch where the road runs out but once there you’re rewarded with a chill little surfer beach, local stalls selling protein rich ceviche (raw fish that cooks in lime and vinegar) as well as some stunning sunsets.
For those who like their photography above and below the water, South Lombok also offers the kind of scenery you’d most likely expect in a Jurassic Park movie. Aside from the world-class surfing, head away from the dive farm for just an hour of cruising on a motorbike or in a car and you’ll find newly built, mostly traffic-free roads taking you around the landscaped rice terraces inland or the stunning Belongas coastal road. With elevations up to 400m above sea level, the new Belongas road offers easy driving conditions through picturesque local villages, Hindu temple gardens, stunning vistas from convenient roadside parking spots overlooking beauty such as Macaque beach and of course the local primate residence, the macaque monkeys.. that will probably offer you the only interruption to your journey as they casually saunter across the road to the next tree.
After all that, if you’re still in the mood for enjoying the waters here you can always hit up our neighbours for a Stand Up Paddleboard surfing (SUP) session and cruise around our nearest gilis in the sunshine.
Exploring Lombok with us
Are you ready to explore Lombok with us? Why not join us for an epic adventure and dive all of our resorts in one trip?
Are you planning to travel to and from Bali? Its only 1-2hours from Lombok by fast boat so you can discover Nusa Lembongan or Amed as well. Or why not make it a Bali, Nusa Lembongan & Lombok safari? At Two Fish Divers, we love to explore and discover new dive sites. Our passion for diving and marine life means you’ll be diving some of the best-kept secret dive sites in Indonesia!
Special Offers
Looking to dive and save? Check out our up-to-date special offers here!
Take a course
Want to take your next level of PADI course or traveling with a companion that needs to get certified while you are here? Not a problem – just let us know your requirements and we can take care of that too!
To inquire about any of our Lombok locations or combinations within Lombok or in conjunction with Bali or Nusa Lembongan, fill in the contact form below and we’ll get right back to you.
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