In Reply to: LOMBOK & GILI ?? posted by gaga on Thursday, 19. January 2012 at 13:29 Bali Time:
If you fly with Garuda they have the only 'big plane' (jet of similar size to the ones that fly between Perth & Bali) on the route. You can book on the Garuda web site. The only do one flight a day, late afternoon, but that gives you a whole day in Bali with travel to Lombok in the evening ready for the next day.
I suggest you stay somewhere like Qunci in Mangsit just outside of Senggigi itself - nice boutique hotel on the beach. From there you can do some exploring of Lombok, then after a couple of days head to the Gili. Maybe as a first time, go to Gili Trawangan and stay in one of the nicer hotels there (maybe Scallywags, but there are lots of options and you really need to do a bit of research). I say Gili T as it has the most "life" and if you are a Bali lover it probably fits your bill a little better than the quieter islands of Meno and Air.