The Best Beach
Clubs in the Gili Islands

The Gili Islands are three specks of white sand and turquoise off the northwest coast of Lombok, and Gili Trawangan, the largest, is where the beach club life lives. There are no cars and no motorbikes here, only bicycles and pony carts, and that slowness sets the tone. The clubs are barefoot beachfront lounges rather than glossy day clubs, strung along the sand and tilted toward the famous west side sunset, where the silhouette of Bali Mount Agung rises across the water. The pleasure is simple and sensory, a daybed, a swim, a long seafood dinner on the sand and a sky that turns the whole island gold.

We keep exact prices and any minimum spends as to be confirmed, because daybed rates and table policies on Gili Trawangan vary by season and venue. Send an enquiry with your date and party size and the venue will confirm the real figure and what it covers. Every place below is a real, operating beachfront club or lounge, described by the kind of day or evening it gives.

The Gili Islands run on a dry season rhythm. The best months are roughly May to September, when the skies are clear, the sea is calm and the sunsets are reliable, peaking in the July and August holidays when the island is busiest. The shoulder months of April and October are quieter and still fine. The wet season from November to March brings warm rain and choppier crossings, though plenty of bright days remain. Whatever the month, aim a beach club afternoon at the west side sunset, which is the island nightly headline.

Booking on Gili Trawangan is refreshingly simple. Most beach clubs are walk in lounges where you take a daybed and order food and drinks, and the bigger names ask only that you reserve a table for dinner or a sunset session in high season. There are no minimum spends to speak of at the casual spots, while the upmarket lounges like Pearl run a dinner book rather than a velvet rope. Remember there are no cars or scooters on the island, so map your day on foot, by bicycle or by pony cart, and pick a west side club if the sunset is your aim.

Let the island set the pace. The reward here is the slow one, a swim off the white sand, a long lunch, a daybed through the heat and a seafood dinner as the sky burns behind Bali volcano. Bring cash for the smaller places, light barefoot dress for all of them, and patience for island time. Send your date and party size through the form below and the club will confirm availability and what the day or the dinner costs.