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Fast boats leave from Benoa (south end of Bali). There are lots of travel agents in Legian, Kuta, Sanur, etc who will be able to organise this for you. Ticket price usually includes hotel pickup from these areas. More info here: http://lombokfastboats.com/. Fast boats are comparatively pricey, but if you have limited time, they are worth it. I took fast boat there (from Lembongan rather than Bali), and slow ferry back.

I stayed at Warna Guesthouse (200,000rp/night). Kind of pricey but my first picks didn't have vacancies, and I couldn't be bothered traipsing around looking for anything cheaper. This place was quite nice, included breakfast, hot shower and fan. And the beach was across the road.

When you get off the boat, there will be dozens of horse-carts waiting to take you away. There are also dozens of places to stay within easy walking distance so it's not really necessary to take the cart as long as you are OK to walk between 50m - 1/2km with your pack. If you plan to stay on the far side of the island (very isolated) then take the horsecart. Try to get a map before you arrive. Most accom places are along the loop road that goes around the island, but there are cheaper ones in a cluster inland a bit.

A couple of tips:
- fresh water is piped in from Lombok therefore expensive. Many places use the local-sourced water for bathroom/showers - which is quite salty. So you come in from beach to rinse sea water off with more salty water! You can pay a premium for places with the fresh water.
- bring plenty of cash. There is one ATM (as at Oct 2009) that allows a max of 1,250,000rp per withdrawal. This isn't much when you consider your bank fees back home. Try to find an ATM in Kuta/Legian that will give you 3,000,000rp beforehand.
- hire a bike and cycle around the island. Bring your snorkle gear and snorkle off the far north-west side from the beach. This is where the snorkle boats go anyhow. You'll have to walk the bike in a couple of sandy patches.
- Take a hike up the hill in the middle of the island. It's very barren but kind of interesting to walk past the local's village and you get a view from the top.
- The current can be quite strong between each of the Gili islands. I don't normally bother with flippers but I did here as I figured I might end up in Australia if I wasn't careful!
- Be sure to do a snorkle day-trip. They visit the other 3 islands - and each offer different things to see. Be sure to take a bit of money for lunch on one of the island stops. Many people on my boat had forgotten for some reason.

Hope that helps!

Great info Busylizzy!

I'm just wondering if I was to bring some dollars with me too Gili would I be able to use them there or get them exchanged?

With only a €100 limit per withdrawal over there its going to be hard on the bank fees. Do you know how much the ATM over in Gili charges per withdrawal?

Ah thanks so much Busylizzy , this is great info, im heading to Bali today , so came at just the right time , thanks so much for you time , it nice to have a bit of a idea on where im going , lol:)

Oh yeah - I was just watching the video clip last night! Memories.....

Enjoy dilly!

Hey Chicoelnino , i can tell you for sure Thailand is charging 150 baht each withdrawal, i was just there, so it helps to take out pretty large amounts, in one go .....

.85% plus .25% = 1.1% right?

So you were charged 1.1% from the ATM for each withdrawal amount?

Hi Dilly

Was just in Gili T for new years and stayed at a nice homestay called "welcome inn". Not far from the area all the boats drop ya off at and just past the morning vegetable and fruit market. It was 300,000 but that was holiday price and was standard for the whole island. It should now be 100,000 rupiah. FANTASTIC breakfast. Tell Olga and Yudi I say hi!

As stated before, you should do a day snorkle trip. You will meet many friends right away on Gili and together should hire a boat to take you around. Gili Air is lovely - try to stop for lunch there!

Enjoy lovely Lombok.