Nusa Penida to Gili Trawangan

The direct boats

Three operators run the crossing — departures cluster between 08:30 and 10:15, and the ride is a little over two hours. The results page compares them live with each boat’s bag allowance on its card. Morning boats only: miss them and it is the Sanur fallback or tomorrow.

Getting to Banjar Nyuh

The harbour sits on the island’s north-west corner. Hotels arrange drops as a matter of course — the island is small but the roads are slow and rough in places, so agree the pickup time the night before and leave margin. There is no ride-hail on Penida.

If the morning boats are full

High season sells the directs out a day or two ahead. The fallback is the old route: a 30-minute hop to Sanur (from Rp 150,000), a change of boats there, and a ~3.5-hour crossing out — book the Gili leg at least ninety minutes after the hop lands. It works, but it turns a morning into a day, which is why booking the direct ahead is worth it.

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.

Via Sanur with a change

The route every guide describes, because the directs are newer than the advice: back to Sanur, change boats, ~3.5 hours out — five to six hours door to door against the direct’s three and a half. It earns its place only when the morning boats are sold out or an afternoon departure is the point.

Private charter, direct

A chartered speedboat runs whenever you like rather than at 09:00. It is priced as a boat, not a seat, so it makes sense for groups — ask us for a charter quote if that is your party.

Gili Air and Gili Meno

The boats call at more than one island on most runs, so the journey is the same until the final stops — pick your island when you book and get off at yours.