Lombok - to go or not to go?
 

I'm in the process of preparing my itinerary for my visit to Indonesia. Just heard about the earthquake in Lombok following the one that struck last week. I sincerely hope that there will be fewer casualties this time. Was wondering if I should include Lombok and Gili Air in my itinerary. If I do go it will be from around 7th - 14th October. Does anyone have any first-hand information on how the earthquakes have affected the infrastructure?

I just came back from Lombok. I was there a few days before the earthquake. Usually, after an earthquake, several others happen (in small or big scales). I don't think is a good idea to go to that region for a few weeks, but in October everything should be ok. You can keep looking the news and decide a little bit closer to your trip date.

Lombok is in very bad shape right now, especially in the northwest around Mt. Rinjani. I understand that there has been a good deal of structural damage in the Gilis, but I don't have specifics. If you need to make a decision immediately, I'd say don't go to Lombok in October. If you can wait a bit, the situation will be clearer in a few weeks. I'm sure the local people who depend on tourism for their livelihoods would appreciate your support, but it's difficult to predict how fast reconstruction and restoration of services can be accomplished.

Thank you for your feedback. Will be giving Lombok a miss and going to Flores instead.

Im not really sure about Lombok (Gilis) recent conditions especially their tourism infrastucture, but i was In Bali (1,5 hours across to Lombok by fast boat) from August 7th - 10th. Thou Bali was minor impact, but i can tell you this..

People in Bali (local or western) were just shock but not for long. When i were in Bali, people were already act normaly. Western People were wlaking around Kuta, hanging around cafe/bars. Some of them were collecting donations for people in Lombok who suffer from the earthquake.

What i read/saw on the local news about Lombok and those Gilis islands, general condition are quite bad.
Most of the infrastructure that crush were local people residential.
Aftershocks frequently decreasing and geting small, but we cannot predict the nature.

I guess it should be ok by October (general conditions).

Thanks for the update adejob. While it's true that the situation in Lombok might be fine by the time I get there in October, I want to book flights within the next week so I'd rather not risk going there.