Most beautiful beaches in Bali and Gilis?
 

I've been looking into accomodation on Gili T and have come across some negative reviews of the beach condition.

I'm wondering if I should be looking toward Gili Air or Meno, or if I should be looking toward somewhere on the mainland.

We're in Bali in August for 3 1/2 weeks and 10 of those days will be spent in Ubud. We'd like to also spend a few nights near Seminyak, a night or two near Permuteran in the North, and then a week on a beautiful span of beach.

Lembongan? Gilis? Nusa Dua?
What do folks think? Is there a beach you have preferred? And were you happy on the Gili islands? I really would like to go there, but maybe we should be looking at Gili Air or Meno intstead of Gili T?

Thanks!!

Stay away from Nusa Dua. It's a purpose-built tourist enclave.

The beaches on Bali and Lombok are nice, but they aren't white (or pink) sugar-sand beaches. We liked the beach at Qunci Villas on Lombok. Again, it's a nice beach, but if you are looking for picture-perfect beaches, they aren't on Bali. We enjoy the beach at Sanur (Bali) as well.

Mainland? Are you thinking of Java (also an island, but much larger)? I don't think the beaches there are what you are looking for.

The worse time for beach condition any where in Bali or Lombok is during the rainy season (November to March) when the storms blow in piles of debris, and even the best kept resorts have a hard time keeping their beach fronts clean. So check the dates on the comments.

My favorite for walking and watching remains Seminyak beach. The downside is that the surf is very aggressive so it's not a good swimming beach unless you're up for being buffeted and battered. Resorts right on the beach have become very pricy in recent years -- moreso in August -- but there are umbrellas and chairs to rent in many areas.

My last impression of the Gilis was so negative I haven't gone back in 15+ years. Recentely, there's been a lot of new development, especially on Gili Trawalan, which all sounds good so I'm reserving judgment till I can get there again.

On Lombok (that's what you mean by mainland, right?) the westcoast beaches north of Sengigi are nice, especially Sire Beach and Medana Beach. This is where you find most of the upscale resorts, like the Oberoi, Kunci, Lombok Lodge and Tugu. Kuta Beach in the far southeast is a beautiful stretch of sand (but with a very low tide), but there isn't a lot of choice in accommodation, except the Novotel.

As I mentioned before August 16-20 will be a massive holiday in Indonesia (think of Christmas/Easter/Fourth of July all combined) and millions of people -- literally -- will be traveling. I'd pick a quiet place to lay low during this time.

There is a nice beach on Gili T but it does get busy. Meno perhaps has the best beach of all three islands but the island itself is a little quiet.

I chose and live on Gili Air. It seems to have the best mix of the three islands. Enough to keep you entertained, it's pretty, has great diving and the people are friendly. I would always recommend people come here. If you do, call past our dive shop and say hello, karangdivers.com

For a chill out lonley beach, you can't go past Ana Warung on the north end of Gili Meno.
Pete