Gili Layar Lombok – Guide To Visit This Secret Island

Gili Layar is the perfect choice if you are looking for an undiscovered island to stay at. Situated along the southwest coast of Lombok, this island is part of the less-visited Secret Gilis. Although it is not a fully secret destination anymore, thanks to the internet and social media, it is still a relatively remote destination where you can disconnect for a few days while lying at the beach and enjoying snorkeling at an easily accessible house reef. Did you get inspired? Then read this guide where we tell you everything you need to know about Gili Layar, including how to get there, what accommodation options it has, what activities you can do on the island, and, of course, what snorkeling at the house reef is like, all based on our experience after spending some days on this tiny island.

Where Is Gili Layar?

This peaceful island is situated in Sekotong, along the southwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia. It is one of the so-called Secret Gilis, between Gili Gede and Gili Asahn.

How To Get To Gili Layar?

You can get to Gili Layar through Gili Gede island or from Tembowong Harbour in Lombok.

If you arrive from Bali by speedboat (Gili Getaway is the company that operates this route), it will stop in Gili Gede. You need a second boat ride to reach the island. It is an approx. 10-minute journey, the price depends on how many you are and on your haggling skills, but expect to pay 50-100.000 IDR per boat when arranging the transfer on the site.

If you come from Lombok mainland, you must get to Tembowong harbor and take a transfer boat. It takes about 25-30 mins and costs approx. 150.000 IDR.

South Lombok is not yet a big tourist hub. This is a good thing, and this is why we highly recommend this area over the famous North Lombok for those who wish to stay away from the crowd.

However, this also means that the transfer services are not widely available yet. For example, out of the main season, it might not be easy to find taxis/boats around the harbors if you come without fixed plans. Therefore, we suggest pre-arranging your transfers: book a taxi for land transfers and ask your hotel to take care of your boat transfers.

Where To Stay In Gili Layar?

There is only one accommodation option in Gili Layar, the Layar Beach Bungalow. This small Indonesian-style beach-front hotel has only a few bungalows and double rooms. This guarantees that the place never gets crowded, even if it is fully booked!

The sea-view bungalows are perfect for couples. They have a double bed, air-conditioning, a private open-air bathroom, and a small terrace with a table and chairs.

The double rooms behind the bungalows offer affordable accommodation for travelers on a budget. They have a double mattress and mosquito net, but you need to use a shared bathroom outside.

The electricity in the rooms is supplied by generators and available only at night time. Keep this in mind and charge your phone and laptop in the evening. Free Wi-Fi is available all day.

Dining Options

The Layar Beach Bungalows has an on-site restaurant. This is where the breakfast is served (included in the room rate), which is pretty delicious with omelet, toast, fresh fruit, and coffee/tea.

Moreover, they offer international, American, and Asian cuisine and tasty cocktails throughout the day at reasonable prices. Don’t forget to try the fresh coconut, which is the best refreshment you can have on a hot day!

Gili Layar Snorkeling Insights

The house reef in front of the beach bungalows offers safe conditions for snorkeling in shallow water. You can see a wide variety of sea creatures, like:

• reef fish including parrotfish, damselfish, black anemonefish
• soft and hard corals (plenty of feather corals)
• different sea star species such as blue sea stars, chocolate chip, and cushion sea stars
• nudibranch and sea slugs
• turtles

The most interesting things we saw during our Gili Layar snorkeling sessions were pipefish and some red ribbon-like creatures. Later we googled and found out that they are nudibranch eggs.

The current is usually very light, but it gets intense around low tide. If you are not a confident swimmer, avoid snorkeling at that time. The best times to see turtles are the mornings and late afternoons.

We recommend bringing your own snorkeling equipment due to hygienic reasons, but if you don’t have, mask and fins are available to rent at the Layar Beach Bungalows.

Things To Do In Gili Layar

The island offers perfect conditions for total relaxation; it is nice just to do nothing and enjoy the sun and sea, but if you want to know what activities are available, find here our top tips on what to do in Gili Layar!

Gili Rengit Snorkel Tour

Although the house reef at Layar is pretty good, if we want to be honest (and we want to!), Gili Rengit has healthier corals. Actually, it was one of our favorite snorkeling spots in Lombok.

Gili Rengit (also known as Gili Ringit) is an even smaller island than Layar lying just about 10 minutes by boat.

Many years ago, a hotel operated on it, but now it is uninhabited. You find only a few abandoned buildings and a small temple that the Balinese owner left there.

Thanks to this fact and the small number of daily visitors, the reef is full of life with tons of fish around! If you are on Gili Layar, don’t miss out on a Gili Rengit snorkel trip! The hotel staff can take you there and pick you up when you finish for ~100.000 IDR per boat, no matter how many you are. Rengit can be visited from mainland Lombok, too, on island-hopping day tours.)

Although the reef is pretty awesome, the Gili Rengit Beach is not really nice. This is mainly because the island is unpopulated, and no one is collecting the plastic that is washed up on the shore.

Plastic pollution is generally a massive problem in Indonesia, and you will see an incredible amount of garbage next to the roads and, sadly, in the sea too. We encourage you to collect floating plastic when snorkeling and learn some tips to reduce your plastic usage when traveling.

Gili Asahan Day Trip

If you want to spend your day being active rather than lying on the beach, make a day trip to the neighboring island, Gili Asahan, too. Asahan is bigger than Layar and is known as a remote paradise island with excellent eco-resorts. On a Gili Asahan excursion, you can visit the traditional fishing village and of course, can go snorkeling too.

We stayed in Asahan, too, so we have a detailed Gili Asahan travel guide; check it out if you are also considering visiting it. Should you decide to spend a few days there, we recommend choosing the Pearl Beach Resort, which has easy access to the island’s best snorkeling area.

Sunset Watching

On a secluded island, what else can be more relaxing than watching a stunning sunset?! The northern side of the island offers fantastic sunset views with the silhouette of the majestic Mount Agung on the horizon.

To get there, walk to the right of Layar Beach Bungalows, and you will get to the point shown in the above photo in approx. 10 mins. Don’t forget to apply effective mosquito repellent because there are thousands of mosquitos on the island!

BBQ Night

Were you always dreaming of a BBQ night on the beach? Well, Gili Layar is the perfect place to make this dream come true! Ask the Layar Beach Bungalows’ staff, who will be happy to organize everything from setting up the fire to caring for freshly-caught fish.

Stargazing

Watching the stars is fascinating but unfortunately, our modern world doesn’t offer spots that are dark enough to see the starry sky in all its glory. Therefore, don’t miss out on the opportunity in Gili Layar to spend the evenings on the beach with stargazing!

Just walk a little away from the hotel area to the un-lit side of the island and you will discover how beautiful the world of the stars is. Don’t forget to make a wish if you see a falling star!

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