In Reply to: Bali to Gili Trawangan posted by kdub on Friday, 14. September 2007 at 00:48 Bali Time:
I have flown (with Merpati and Lion Air), taken the slow ferry, and taken the Blue Water Safari fast boat.
Flying costs about 350,000rp return from memory, and is quite fast - IF THERE ARE NO DELAYS/CANCELLATIONS. This has happened to me a couple if times, and spending all day in the airport waiting for another flight isn't that much fun! If you fly, try to get first flight of the day, as this is less likely to be delayed.
The ferry is very cheap if you just buy the ticket. If you buy a shuttle ticket all the way to Gili T (including buses either side, the ferry and the boat from Bangsal) it is still relatively cheap (180,000rp one way I think), but it takes ALL day. About 12 hours. And the ferry can be quite rough (4-5 hours at least).
The fast boat was great because we were in the Gilis before breakfast! It was so convenient compared to the other two methods. But the downside is the expense (Blue Water Safari are 690,000rp one way) and also, it can be rough i.e. water hitting you full in the face for a solid two hours, drenching you from head to toe (they do provide waterproofs). The return journey that I got was less rough.
Hope this helps you to make a decision - unfortunately there is no perfect way!