In Reply to: Lombok or gilis? posted by balibelinda on Saturday, 28. January 2012 at 08:16 Bali Time:
I just returned from Lombok and the Gili Islands and i MUCH preferred Lombok.
Gili Trawangan - OK. its laid back...VERY laid back. its lovely to just ride around on your pushbike through the centre of the island and around the coastal track. Beaches are pretty (not that many people swim in the sea) and there are plenty of backpacker style restaurants to choose from.
Drawback is that many of the hotels have only salt water showers. to be fair, they DO have a fresh water bucket that you can rinse off with. i found that a lot of the accommodation i saw (i work in the travel industry in Bali) was not well maintained.
Lombok - some stunning accommodation here if you look around. the Tugu Lombok, The Lombok Lodge, Sheraton, Qunci Villas, Jeeva Klui - all really nice. Lombok is looking stunning at the moment due to the rainy season - very green and lush.
Senggigi itself has really grown over the past few years, with some decent restaurants to choose from now.
The airport, despite what many people say, is not such a long way from Senggigi. it took me just over an hour, and my driver was driving very slow. The good thing is that you are constantly moving - not like here on Bali when a trip from the airport to Seminyak may take the same time, but the journey doesnt have much scenery wise, and its all stop/start.
Personally, I think Lombok is beautiful, and i would say that its what people really expect to see when they first come to Bali.