Bali & Gili Islands

You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join, and reservations close 7 days before departure. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.

No. Both are in the price: the sunrise trek with a local guide, breakfast at the top, the boats, a driver on Nusa Penida and the manta snorkel. So are the Gili snorkel trip and the bikes.

Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, and it's never more than 16.

The Trip Host travels with the group for all twelve days, sorts out every transfer, boat, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. A licensed local agency and licensed local guides run the ground services, including the Batur guides.

It starts at our hostel in Canggu on the afternoon of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends in Sanur after breakfast on Day 12. In between we use social hostels and small guesthouses with air-con, picked for location and cleanliness: near the beach in Canggu, within walking distance of the centre in Ubud, near the north coast on Nusa Penida, and a short walk from the harbour on Gili Trawangan. You share a twin or small dorm room with travellers of the same gender.

We run this trip in Bali's dry season, April to October. May, June and September are usually the sweet spot: dry, calmer at sea and less crowded than July and August. In July and August the south-east swell can delay the Gili boats, which is one reason the last night is in Bali. Nyepi, the Day of Silence, falls on Monday 8 March 2027. For 24 hours from 6am the airport closes, no boats run to Nusa Penida or the Gilis and everyone stays in their accommodation with the lights low. Our dry-season departures don't cross it. If we ever run a Nyepi departure, its dates will say so clearly, with the plan for the day.

Most visitors, including those from the UK, US, EU, Australia and India, need a visa on arrival, which you can buy online in advance as an e-VOA. You also fill in the free All Indonesia arrival card within 72 hours before you land, and pay the Bali tourist levy (IDR 150,000), which is easiest online before you fly. The Gilis are part of Lombok, not Bali, so we'll tell you before you travel whether the levy applies again when you come back to Bali. Rules and fees change, so check our Bali visa guide and the official Indonesian immigration site before you book flights.

There are three fast-boat crossings: Sanur to Nusa Penida (30 to 45 minutes), Nusa Penida to Gili Trawangan (about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, depending on the boat) and Gili Trawangan back to Bali. We only book daytime sailings. Bali's boats have a mixed safety record: a fast boat sank at the entrance to Sanur harbour in August 2025, so ask the Trip Host about the operator for your departure. In big swell crossings are delayed or cancelled. If that happens we wait it out and change the plan, and the final night in Sanur gives you a buffer before your flight.

Pack a soft bag or backpack, because you carry it onto boats and walk it to the guesthouse on Gili T. Bring clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for temples, a warm layer and a head torch for the Batur climb (it's cold at the top before dawn), shoes with grip, a swimsuit, reef-safe sunscreen, a refillable water bottle and a dry bag for your phone and passport on the boats. You also need cash: pay in rupiah, in cash or by QRIS, and change money only at licensed money changers. ATMs are easy to find in Canggu, Ubud and Sanur but scarce on Nusa Penida and the Gilis, so take out what you need before each boat.

Insurance is a condition of joining. It must cover medical treatment and evacuation, and check that it covers volcano hikes, snorkelling and any diving you plan to try. You need to be fairly fit: the Batur climb takes about two hours on loose volcanic ground in the dark, and you walk down after sunrise. If you can manage a long uphill walk, you'll be fine at your own pace. You also need to be comfortable snorkelling in open water, and life jackets are available.

You won't need a scooter. We use our van on Bali and a car with a driver on Nusa Penida, and the Gilis have no motor vehicles at all. To ride legally in Indonesia you need a motorbike licence from home plus an International Driving Permit that covers motorbikes, and most insurance won't pay out if you crash without one. Electric scooters and e-bikes are banned on the Gilis too, even though you'll see them for rent. The nightlife is fine with the usual care. Drink spiking and fake spirits containing methanol have both been reported in Bali and the Gilis, so stick to sealed bottles and beer, skip cheap cocktails and home-made arak, and never leave a drink unattended. Drugs of any kind, including CBD, carry very heavy penalties in Indonesia.

No. We don't visit elephant parks, dolphin shows or coffee plantations serving kopi luwak, which come from caged civets, and on Gili T we walk and cycle instead of using the horse carts. The only animals you'll meet are wild ones in the sea. If you visit the Monkey Forest in your free time, don't feed or touch the monkeys. Rabies is present in Bali, and any bite or scratch needs treatment the same day.