Bali Airport to Gili Trawangan
Your journey, step by step
Every leg with real timing, and what each one costs.
What this journey costs
One traveller taking the whole car, on the cheapest class and crossing. A group splits the car, so it costs less each.
Know before you go
The things travellers actually ask us about this route.
Timing your arrival
Boats to the Gilis run in the morning and early afternoon, and the last useful departure from Padang Bai is mid-afternoon. A flight landing after about 13:00 is a night in Bali, not a night on Gili T — which is worth knowing before you book the flight rather than after.
If your flight is delayed
A booked Sailtix car tracks the flight number, so a late arrival moves the pickup instead of forfeiting it. A ride hailed on landing does not: you join the queue at the time you actually land, which is the moment the queue is longest.
Luggage and boards
Fast boats take normal luggage without fuss. Surfboards and dive gear are usually fine but are counted, and a board bag can attract a small fee at the counter. If you are travelling with more than two large bags per person, book the car a class up — the boot, not the seats, is the limit.
The harbour itself
Padang Bai is small and busy, and the ticket counters sit behind a short strip of warungs. Touts work the car park and will offer to carry bags or sell you a ticket you already hold. A pre-booked transfer drops you at the counter itself, which is most of the reason to have one.
The eco-retribution
Every visitor to the Gilis pays an island levy on arrival, in cash, at the jetty. It is genuinely fixed and genuinely small, and it surprises people only because nobody mentions it beforehand. Bring small notes.
Other ways in
Routes we do not sell, named so your comparison is complete.
Via Serangan
Closer to the airport — about 45 minutes instead of 90 — and the crossing is longer, usually calling at Nusa Penida or Gili Air first. We do not currently sell a Serangan departure to Gili Trawangan, so this is a direct booking.
Via Amed
The shortest crossing to the Gilis, a little over an hour, at the cost of a much longer drive up the east coast. Worth knowing about if you are already in east Bali — we do not sell it, so you would be booking that one direct.
Public ferry via Lembar
The cheapest way to Lombok by a wide margin, and the slowest: a slow ferry to Lembar, then a long road transfer to Bangsal, then a local boat. Budget a full day. We do not sell it, and for most arrivals it is a false economy.
Explore Gili Trawangan
The crossing, the harbour, and the island itself.