Lombok Travel Forum

Hi there, I am Lee, a new member from London and thanks for reading my post! I am visiting Lombok in July for the first part of my journey before Bali and plan to spend 9 nights in Lombok. My plan is:

1) 3 nights in the south in the Novotel Lombok (managed to negotiate by phone a pool villa for US$190 nett with breakfast for two!)

2) 3 nights in Gili Meno in the Villa Nautilus

3) 3 nights in the Sheraton Senggigi

I have seen so many beautiful pictures of the south coast and would love to spend 3 full days with a driver and car exploring places east and west of Kuta - I am not a surfer but just like to see lots of nice scenery and snorkel. Is it enough? I am having problem deciding whether I should stay for 2 nights in Gili Meno and 4 nights in Senggigi instead? Is 3 nights enough for some exploration of the north of the island iwth a driver and car as I will not be doing any mountain climbing at Mount Rinjani? The thing is I am afraid 2 nights in beautiful Gili Meno is not enough - please advise?

Lastly, is there any driver with a good car that anyone has used that can be recommended and what are the rates I should expect to pay either in the Kuta Novotel region or in Senggigi?

Many thanks in advance!

Lee

Hi,

I do not know about your other questions, but here is a dependable driver you can call when in Kuta: Pak Riwi. Nice man and drives a good Toyota Kijang.

Mobile Phone +62.81.805 746 384

A reasonable price would be Rp 400,000 a day.

Have a good time in Lombok,
Theo

Hi,

Just came back from a 4 night trip to Lombok - stayed at the Holiday Inn - about 10 mins north of Senggigi.

Just wanted to tell you (and theo) that the Lombok Taksi is the best way (for your budget) to get around the island. "Lombok Taksi" is part of the famous Blue Bird Group of taxis all over Indonesia - they always go by meter - almost all drivers (at least in Lombok) speak english and can be hired for the whole day for Rp. 350,000. The meter runs until 350,000 and then that is the maximum (for 10 hours I think) or you can "book" for say 9 am to 6 pm. The hotel staff can arrange it for you.

Even when you come out of the airport, don't go to the "pre-paid" taxi counter - some cheap airport taxis have pre-arranged with the airport staff to take you to your hotel.

For example, I pre-paid Rp 70,000 to my hotel - whereas the fare by Blue bird taxi (Lombok taksi) was around Rp 40,000. It might be more convenient to hail one from the pre-paid counter though...bcause you might have to step out to look for a blue bird taxi.

Hotel rates are twice (or more) as expensive in USD as opposed to local Rupiah rates. Unless you know someone in Indonesia who can make the booking for you (like talk in Bahasa Indonesia etc), it is difficult - a travel agent MIGHT help...

Didnt too too much exploring - except going to Senggigi.

enjoy Lombok

Hi, I hope I am not too late as it is almost July now. I just got back from a week holiday in Lombok.
Yes it is better to take a taxi outside the airport. Go for the Bluebird taxi.
Gili Meno is beautiful and villa nautilus is the best accommodation there. However Gili Meno is less developed compared to its sister Gili Trawangan. The accommodation and eating places in Gili T is much better. What you can do is spend 2 nights in Meno and then spend 3 nights in Trawangan. I dont recommend Senggigi, but it is a good base if you want to explore in Mt Rinjani area.

Perama and Lombok Wisata are budget shuttle service. You can find their booth in senggigi or gili trawangan. I was talking to the driver of Lombok Wisata shuttle and he said he often take people around on private and the charge per day is 300-400K rupiah. Unfortunately I did not ask for his mobile number. But what you can do is ask around once you arrive in Lombok.
Btw if you have time, go to Kuta area and visit Tanjung Aan and Mawun beach. The beach in Kuta is much nicer than senggigi.

did you indeed take this trip? I'd like to hear about it, if you don't mind.