Where To Stay In Gili Air (2025): Our Favourite Hotels & Areas

Wondering where to stay in Gili Air, Lombok for a serene island escape? This small, laid-back paradise has beautiful beaches, coconut palms, and you can easily get around the entire island by bicycle. Motorised transport isn’t allowed, which only adds to the relaxed, authentic island vibes. In our accommodation guide, you’ll find the best places to stay in Gili Air, including our favourite luxury resorts, hotels, and villas — plus the best areas to choose from.

Contents

Best Areas To Stay
How Many Days Do You Need?
Booking Your Stay
Accommodation Guide

Where To Stay In Gili Air? Area Guide

Gili Air Map Lombok — Map of Gili Air showing key areas

Gili Air is a small island in Lombok, Indonesia, about 10 minutes by fast boat from Lombok’s mainland, a 2.5-hour speedboat ride from Bali’s mainland or 2 hours from the Nusa Islands.

Most places can be reached within a 10 – 20-minute bicycle ride.

The main areas to stay in Gili Air can be divided into staying by the beach or staying inland, or by North, South, East and West. But where is the best area to stay?

✅ Quick Picks – Best Areas to Stay in Gili Air

🌴 East Side: Best beaches for swimming & snorkeling
🚤 South Side: Best for easy boat access & a livelier tourist vibe
🌅 West Side: Best sunsets and peaceful spots
🚲 North Side: Best for a laid-back, local feel away from crowds
🌿 Inland: Best for tranquility and a more authentic island experience

Staying By The Beach Or Inland?

Honestly, in our opinion, although accommodation on the beach is lovely, it doesn’t really matter if you’re staying right on the beach or not. The island is so small that even if your staying inland it will be very close to the beach, and perhaps a little more tranquil.

We stayed inland in a beautiful pool villa, which was only a 5-minute bicycle ride to the nearest beach and was on a gorgeous quiet road with palm trees and some local houses around.

Inland would be our pick for the best place to stay for a more local feel. The east side beaches would be our pick for where to stay in Gili Air for the best beaches.

Should I Stay In The North, South, East Or West Part Of Gili Air?

The east side of the island is the best area to stay in Gili Air for swimming and snorkelling, as it has the best beaches. This is the main area for the sea turtles.

The south side of the island is perhaps the busiest as this is where the jetty is and where boats arrive and leave. So this would be our pick for where to stay if you don’t want to walk far with luggage but also don’t mind a more touristy feel.

And the western side is the best area to stay in Gili Air for sunsets, where you can see Mount Agung on Bali.

In terms of getting your luggage to your accommodation, you can get a cidomo which is like a small horse and cart, but as we honestly didn’t know about the treatment and care of the horses, we decided not to use them. You could also hire a bicycle if you had a backpack only.

We walked to our accommodation with our bags, which was fine but will be slow. Keep in mind some roads are sandy/dirt, particularly part of the west and north roads around the beachside, so this will be harder.

But overall, due to the small size of Gili Air, it’s one of the only places where location doesn’t really matter. I would decide based on the best accommodation for you, whether that be a guesthouse, hotel or villa.

You really can reach all areas of the island by a short walk or bike ride, so below we have our accommodation guide with all of the best places to stay in Gili Air, Lombok.

Should I Stay On Gili Air or Gili Trawangan?

Gili Air may only be a short boat ride from Gili Trawangan, but the two islands are very different.

One question we had the first time we visited the Gili Islands was which Gili Island to stay on. All of the Gili Islands have no motorised transport, and all have beautiful clear water surrounding them.

Gili Trawangan has the most tourists, restaurants, shops, bars etc. It is the busiest island and the one to stay for nightlife. Having said that, there are areas of the island where you can escape the crowds and have a more tranquil stay if that’s what you’re after. It also has some beautiful beaches.

Read More: Where To Stay In Gili Trawangan

Gili Air is a quieter island than Gili Trawangan with fewer tourists. It still has some delicious restaurants and things to do. I personally preferred the white sand beaches here for swimming and snorkelling.

Gili Air would be our pick for where to stay in the Gili Islands for a nice balance of activity, things to do and yet fewer crowds. It’s a great option for couples and families. Having said that, I think out of all the Gili Islands, most people will find something to love about Gili Air.

Gili Meno is another of the Gili Islands, that is known for being the quietest and the most untouched. It’s popular for romantic stays, honeymoons and people looking for a peaceful stay.

Read More: The Best Places To Eat In Gili Air

How Long To Stay In Gili Air?

Personally, I think 2 days and 2 nights is a minimum. Spending time here is all about relaxing, taking it slow and enjoying nature, which is difficult to do if you have a short stay.

You could also easily spend up to a week on Gili Air if you are happy to have a slower-paced holiday and fully enjoy the island time, or if you are staying here to do a dive course or something similar.

If you have the time I would recommend picking two of the three Gili Islands to stay a couple of nights on each, as each island has a completely different personality.

How To Book Accommodation

We love using Booking.com, it’s one of our favourite ways to book accommodation and they have a great range of options, from luxury hotels, boutique hotels, villas and homestays.

Gili Air Accommodation Guide (2025)

Our picks for the best place to stay in Gili Air below are based on our favourites that we have stayed in, knowledge of the best hotels and their specific locations, lots of research, reading reviews, hearing from you and putting this all together with our own experience.

So here are our favourite picks for where to stay in Gili Air including luxury beachfront resorts, boutique hotels, villas, family-friendly places to stay and affordable hotels.

Please note: Prices are per night in AUD and were accurate at the time of this post.

Splurge: Luxury Accommodation In Gili Air

Slow Gili Air Private Pool Villas | from $257 AUD | Check Prices

We absolutely loved staying at Slow Villas. It’s the perfect place to stay for laid-back luxury accommodation that makes you feel even more connected to the island. It quickly feels like your own beautiful island home, with a stunning private pool and garden. Slow has a focus on environmental sustainability.

Villa Tokay – Luxury Private Villas | from $351 AUD | Check Prices

Atoll Haven Villas | from $253 AUD | Check Prices

Rimba Villas | from $216 AUD | Check Prices

Kalyana Villa Gili Air | from $214 AUD | Check Prices

Gili Air Villas (2 bedrooms or more)

These villas below only have two bedrooms or more. But some of the villas listed in our guide in other sections also come with one-bedroom, two-bedroom or more options as well, so make sure to check them out also.

Villa Merbau (2 Bedroom Villa) | from $255 AUD | Check Prices