Gili Trawangan Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, is one of the three islands in the northwest of Lombok Island, NTB Province, which is renowned as the "Party Island" of Lombok area.
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| One of the snorkeling spots at Gili Meno Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province. (ANTARA/Lia Wanadriani Santosa/uyu) |
It is located about 51.5 kilometers (km) from Lombok International Airport. It takes about an hour and 50 minutes to reach the tourism destination.
However, on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the area's hotels had not held live music performances due to a significant decline in the number of tourists.
Fortunately, tourism activities have slowly revived recently in line with various relaxing travel regulations for foreign and domestic travelers.
Hence, several hotels in the island began holding parties again.
Apart from partying, people can engage in various activities in the island, such as wandering around by bicycle or horse carriage.
The sightseeing tour takes about 15 minutes around three sunset viewing points -- Pinkcoco, Malibu, and Ombak Sunset points -- with the best time to enjoy the sunset being around 6 p.m. Central Indonesia Standard Time (WITA).
Visitors can rent a bicycle for around Rp25 thousand (US$1.73) for three hours. Usually, they rent the bicycles at around 5-8 p.m. WITA to look for the sunset.
Meanwhile, the cost for renting the horse carriage (locally called ‘cidomo’) is Rp250 thousand (US$17.31). The vehicles can be found near the Gili Trawangan Harbor.
Tourists can also surf the wave at several surfing spots around Gili Trawangan Island. The best time to conduct the activity is around August to November.
In addition, tourists can engage in snorkeling and visit two other islands -- Gili Meno and Gili Air -- at Gili Islands.
Gili Meno is a destination, with underwater beauty, which is preserved by the local residents. Hence, it is a popular attraction for honeymoon couples.
Meanwhile, the closest island to Lombok Island, Gili Air, is perfect for a one-day visit.
For snorkeling around the islands, visitors can make a direct reservation at the snorkeling equipment rental places or through a snorkeling guide.
Abdul Karim, who has run a snorkeling business for 10 years, recommended three spots for snorkeling: the Romantic Statue, Turtle Point, and Meno Wall on Gili Meno Island.
At the Romantic Statue spot, visitors can see several underwater couple statues arranged in a circle. They were constructed about 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, at the Turtle Point, or Turtle Heaven, tourists can swim along with the aquatic animals and view the Meno Wall – an underwater cliff, with a depth of three to four meters.
"We often check the condition of the currents and the color of the water at the snorkeling spots. We prioritize the safety of the guest. If the location is safe, we will snorkel there," Karim stated.
The best time to snorkel is around 8-9 a.m. WITA. However, some of the tourists prefer to snorkel while enjoying the sunset at around 6-7 p.m. WITA as long as the weather is safe.
If the visitors are keen to engage in a private snorkeling activity conducted by eight to nine participants, then they would need to pay at least Rp1.2 million (US$83.09) to rent a speedboat, with a capacity of 25 people.
Meanwhile, if the activity is conducted in a large party along with other groups of tourists, then each participant will be charged Rp100 thousand (US$6.92), with a minimum rental duration of four hours.
It includes the fee to rent the snorkeling equipment, including a life jacket, fins, and a snorkel mask. (Antaranews)
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