Gili Meno is one of beautiful small islands
in Lombok. You may ever heard about Gili Trawangan in Lombok, West Nusa
Tenggara. Gili Meno itself lies between Gili Trawangan and Gili Air. But the
beauty of the island is comparable because you can enjoy the natural beauty
here, such as the a small lake, diving and snorkeling spots. Beside that, the lining
coconut trees standing along the beach and looks like the bodyguard of the
beach. As you come, you will admire the crystal water on the seabed, fine and
white sand. You can rest for a while to enjoy waves of water under the trees.
The atmosphere in the Gili
Meno is so tranquil and peaceful. It can be a perfect place to escape from the hustle
because there is no vehicles here. Most of visitors who just already arrive at
the beach, they cannot wait and directly jumping into the water to swim. You will
love to stay longer here because the island offers you a great sensation of vacation
and you will meet friendly local residents.
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| Picture berbagifun.blogspot.com |
Location
Gili Mene lies between Gili
Air and Gili Trawangan. Precisely, it lies at the North Lombok Regency, West
Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. To reach the island, you can take public
transportation or rent a boat. If you decide to take a public transportation,
you need to pay around IDR10,000 or US$1 per person and IDR175,000 or US$17.5
to rent a boat from Bangsal Port.
To cross the island, it takes
around an hour. But, the schedule is available only in the certain conditions. From
Bangsal Port, usually the boat departs at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. If you start your
journey from Mataram City, it needs around 45 minutes to reach Bangsal Port. If
you take a boat, you need to pay IDR25,000 or US$2.5. But, if you start your
trip from Gili Trawangan, you can take a boat at 9.30 a.m. and 4 a.m. From Gili
Air, the boat departs at 8.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. by paying IDR25, 000 or US$2.5.
Accommodations
The transportation in Gili
Meno is only cidomo. Thus, you can imagine how quiet is it here. But, you can
spend your holiday longer because there are many lodges, such as Tao Kombo
Travel Lodge, Gazebo Meno, Manta Dive Gili Air Hotel in Gili Air and Ombak
Sunset Hotel in Gili Trawangan.
Activities
The first activity you can
do as you arrive at Gili Meno is take a tour by cidomo. Cidomo is just like a
wagon and if you intend to enjoy the scenery around the island, you need to pay
IDR150,000 or US$15. If you have talent to bargain, you can get friendly price
because they may give you IDR100,000 or US$10.
If you come to Gili Meno in
the low season, you can rent a boat so that you can go to many diving and
snorkeling spots. Usually, they will charge you around IDR350,000 or US$35 per
trip, including life jacket and other equipments. The underwater scenery in
Gili Meno is so beautiful. Even, you still can meet big turtles, colorful fish,
and coral reef. When you dive, don’t miss to explore marine life, especially
the coral reef at the east of the beach. If you are lucky, you may meet the
groups of fish. Because the water very clear, the vision underwater is quite
good.
After you explore underwater
life in Gili Meno, you can continue your journey to visit Turtle Sanctuary. This
is an area to breed the turtles. Then, you can go to Bird Park. This park
collects birds from Indonesia and other countries. By paying iDR50,000 or US$5
per person, you can see many species of birds. At the west of the island, there
is a shallow lake that produces salt in the dry season. Thus, there are many
things you can do when you visit Gili Meno.
