Gili Meno is the quietest of the famous Gilis; three small islands just a few kilometres off the coast of beautiful North Lombok. We’ve listed the most frequently asked questions about Gili Meno. From how to get here (easier than you think), to what to bring, the best diving spots around the Gilis, info for solo travellers, health and personal wellbeing, the language, culture and customs in the Gilis and more. Can’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our socials or contact us. Gili Meno is wonderful all year round. Being located very close to the equator means there is a dry season (usually around May-October) and wet season (November-March). The dry season is forever sunny days, but sometimes July and August can be windy with rougher seas. By October the island is quite dry. Monsoons are not common in the region, and comfortable warm weather is experienced throughout the year 24-32 degrees celsius, averaging 28 degrees across the year. During wet season, the rains often fall in the afternoons, with bright sunny mornings. The temperatures are warm even when it rains. Gili Meno is easy to get to from Bali and also the neighbouring mainland island of Lombok. Click here for comprehensive details on all of the options. Simple answer, not much! Your swimmers, sarong, hat, water bottle, flip flops. What can I leave behind? Your stress, the hustle and bustle, the cold weather, jumpers and jackets, make-up, hairdryers and your shoes. Barefoot goes on Meno, even when dining out. Gili Meno! As the smallest island, Gili Meno has the fewest services but it is also the quietest, making it a perfect getaway for couples, solo travellers, families and anyone seeking a peaceful getaway. It does take a few hours all up to get from Bali or Lombok airport to Gili Meno, so you will likely arrive around midday. The trip is well worth it. An ideal minimum stay is three nights, to give you two full days to enjoy and relax. Many people stay a week to fully unwind and make the most of the activities to do here. And lots of people extend their stay to blend into island life for weeks or months! High season is generally July-September with the European summer holidays, and a short high season around Christmas-New Year. Even at its busiest, Gili Meno is always the most peaceful, tranquil getaway island. The rest of the year Gili Meno is very quiet, perfect for visitors looking to have a break from their busy lives. Gili Meno has been tagged over the years as the honeymoon island, in comparison to the more action-packed and party islands of Gili T and Gili Air. Gili Meno offers something unique and wonderful for everyone. Since the first tourists came to the island, Gili Meno has been welcoming young couples, families, solo travellers, backpackers and older travellers alike. There are clinics on the island staffed by doctors and nurses. Tourist prices are usually charged so it’s important to have travel insurance. There is a defibrillator on the island; and people are trained to use it and in first aid, especially at the three dive centres. On the mainland of Lombok, a short boat ride away, there are two excellent international hospitals in Mataram, Lombok: Rumah Sakit Siloam and Rumah Sakit Harapan Keluarga. Additionally, there is a local health clinic in Nipah and Pamenang, and a local hospital in Tanjung, North Lombok. There may also be the option to travel by ambulance boat to Bali, where there are more international hospitals. There are many small warungs (local shops) around the island selling local produce and snacks, fruit and vegetables, and other groceries. Alcohol off the shelf is available in select stores only. In an effort to minimise single-use plastics, you will find water refill stations at your resort or at various restaurants and shops around the island. Gili Meno experiences a tropical climate, which means mosquitoes come out during the wet months. This can be easily offset by mosquito repellent and coils, which are available in most shops on the island. During the dry season, when most visitors come, the mosquitoes are gone again. No. The lake is salt water and mosquitoes don’t breed in salt water. During the rainy season, the mosquitoes are the same on each island. Meno is a tiny sandy tropical island. You will arrive on the beach or on the jetty, and dragging a suitcase along the sandy tracks can be difficult. Some visitors leave their big suitcases at a hotel in Bali, and come across to Meno with just a small bag. But don’t worry, there are horse and carts to transport any luggage you have from the harbour to your hotel. Please be aware that all small local shops and many of the local warungs and restaurants, boat trips and snorkelling excursions will accept cash only. There is no money exchange on the island but there is an ATM at the harbour. Larger hotels, dive centres and resort restaurants generally accept card payment. Yes, there is an ATM (cash machine) located at the harbour area on the east side of the island. Guests are encouraged to enjoy some off-the-grid time on your getaway! But if you prefer to stay connected, many accommodations have now reconnected to decent wifi, after two years of the pandemic with no wifi available on the island. Power outages can occur from time to time and it’s always a good idea to have a sim card. Prepaid data packages for mobile phone sims are very affordable and often provide faster speeds than wifi spots. Telkomsel works very well on most of the island, and XL also covers much of the island. Reef sharks are relatively common in the Indo-Pacific and are very exciting for divers to see. The black-tip and white-tip reef sharks are shy and won’t bother snorkellers, and you won’t see them at all when you are swimming. Be careful of the spiny sea urchins you may sometimes see near the shore on the snorkelling beaches. It’s best to wear reef shoes. Sea snakes can very rarely be seen when snorkelling but they are extremely shy and will swim away. Stonefish sometimes are on the corals, and can be dangerous. Never walk or stand on coral, and help us do our best to protect the fragile and beautiful coral reefs and wildlife. Meno is very small, with a diameter of approximately 5.5km. It takes 1.5 hours to walk around at an easy pace. There is no motorised transport on the three Gili islands, and the roads and pathways are not always sealed. Working horses pull a ‘cidomo’ (a small carriage to carry people and small items) and a ‘dongal’ (open tray carts) for larger items and supplies. Some guests have ethical concerns with using horses for work, and choose not to have a cidomo take them and their luggage to their hotel on moral grounds. Be aware that horses have also carted your hotel bed, your beers, your food items, your trash – everything – that you will enjoy and use whilst on the island. Local families rely on this work to feed their families and send their children to school. The horses on Gili Meno are in good condition; there are weight restrictions in place, and they work only a few hours per day or have long breaks during the heat of the day. All the horses are overseen by the Horses of Gili which provides regular veterinary clinics and education for the horses and the horse owners. During the two years of Covid, Horses of Gili also provided food to feed these horses and keep them (and their owners) alive while there was no tourism and no income. While it is perfectly safe to swim and snorkel around the island, you do need to be mindful of different currents and tides, and boat activity. Don’t try to swim to the next island, they are much further than they look and the currents in the middle of the channel can be very strong even for the best swimmers. Crime on Meno is virtually unheard of, but of course, we recommend you keep any valuable personal belongings locked when you are out of your room. You can read more info here. Fantastic visibility, gorgeous coral reefs and diverse marine wildlife! You can literally snorkel off the beaches and be almost guaranteed to see a sea turtle. Plus fabulous sunsets, white sand beaches and warm, turquoise waters to enjoy year-round. Friendly locals, traditional village life and very, very chilled tropical island holiday vibes. Gili means ‘small island’ so the use of the words Gili Islands is actually a misnomer, which nobody minds. Most of the island residents can speak the national language – Bahasa Indonesia, however, the true local language is a dialect of Sasak, the language spoken on Lombok. Sasak language is quite different from Balinese and from Indonesian, but there are a few individual words that are shared. For thank you, the Indonesian “terima kasih” is generally used, and “selamat pagi” for good morning. The greeting for the muslim culture on Gili Meno is, of course, assalamualaikum. “Om Swastiastu,” the Balinese greeting, is for people of Hindu culture. Gili Meno has approximately 600 residents. During high seasons before Covid, the population grew to over 1000 made up mostly of tourism and hospitality employees from Lombok and other Indonesian islands. Gili Meno is the real deal: a tropical paradise where the water is warm, the white sands are not crowded and the activities are aplenty.
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