7 Days in Lombok and the Gili Islands

Seven days is the point where Lombok stops being a compressed highlights reel. Five days forces you to choose between the north and the south; seven lets you have both, plus proper time on the islands rather than a rushed day trip.

This itinerary uses three bases and moves in one direction — south, north, islands — so you never backtrack.

The shape of it

Moving south to north to islands means each transfer is a leg of a loop rather than a there-and-back.

Days 1–3 — The south coast

Day 1. Land at LOP, 20 minutes to Kuta. Settle in, walk the town, eat at the night market, sunset from the western headland. Stop at Sade Village on the way in if you land early — it is directly on the airport road.

Day 2. The bays. Mawun at 15 minutes west, then Selong Belanak at 45 for a surf lesson on sand rather than reef. Back east in the afternoon for Tanjung Aan, finishing at Bukit Merese for sunset. This is the South Lombok tour route.

Day 3. Culture and craft. Sukarara weaving and Banyumulek pottery, both working village compounds, then Benang Stokel and Benang Kelambu waterfalls in the centre of the island. Surfers should substitute a boat session at Gerupuk, 20 minutes east, where five reef breaks mean something works on almost any tide.

Days 4–5 — North and up

Day 4. Transfer north, roughly 3 to 3.5 hours to Senaru. Break it at Pusuk Pass.

Arrive in time for Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep, the two waterfalls that share one ticket. Sendang Gile is a few hundred stepped metres from the gate; Tiu Kelep is 20–30 minutes further along a path that crosses the river several times. Tiu Kelep is comfortably the better one — a tall column into a black rock amphitheatre with a rainbow in the spray most mornings. Wear shoes you can soak, and stop at Sendang Gile if the river is high after rain.

Below the gate, Dusun Senaru is a traditional Wetu Telu hamlet, entry by donation.

Day 5. Cross to Sembalun Valley, the high basin on Rinjani's eastern flank at 1,150 m. It is cold in the morning and looks nothing like the rest of Lombok — garlic and strawberry fields divided by low stone walls.

Walk Bukit Selong at sunrise if you stayed the night: fifteen minutes up a stepped path for the best view-to-effort ratio on the island, with mist still lying in the fields. Entry is around IDR 10,000–20,000.

This is also the main Rinjani trailhead — see the section below if you want the trek instead.

Days 6–7 — The Gilis

Day 6. Down to Bangsal, then a 15-minute boat to Gili Air. Break the drive at the Malimbu and Nipah viewpoints, which look over all three islands with Mount Agung on the horizon.

No cars, no motorbikes. Walk the island in 90 minutes, snorkel off the north-east beach where green turtles feed in the shallows, and watch sunset from the west side.

Day 7. Take the three-island hop if your flight allows — it includes the Nest, the 48 underwater statues off Gili Meno, which sit shallow enough to snorkel. Then back to Bangsal and the airport, allowing a full three hours.

Swapping in Mount Rinjani

Seven days is the shortest trip where the volcano genuinely fits. Two ways to do it:

• Crater rim, 2D1N. Replaces days 4–5. You still get the Gilis.
• Summit, 3D2N. Replaces days 4–6 and you lose a Gili night.

All treks need a permit booked through the official eRinjani portal, a licensed guide is compulsory at one per four trekkers, and the park closes 1 January to 31 March. Compare the routes in our Rinjani trek guide, or see the crater rim and 3D2N summit options.

Adding Komodo

If you can stretch to ten days or more, Lombok connects onward to Komodo by sea. The sailing route takes three to four days via Moyo and Satonda off Sumbawa — a genuinely different holiday, covered in our Komodo route comparison.