In Reply to: Bali - Gili Trawangan posted by Kucing on Thursday, 5. June 2008 at 17:27 Bali Time:
It does cost more than flying - but I have taken the plane, the ferry and the speedboat, and the speedboat is by FAR the most convenient.
I didn't use the Gilicat, because it wasn't operating last summer - I used Blue Water Safari. On the way there, the journey was rough, but the fact that we got there before 10:30 in the morning was brilliant. In time for breakfast! The journey back was much calmer.
Gilicat goes from Padang Bai (1 hour drive), whereas BWS go from Benoa (20 minute drive). Gilicat claim to have a smoother crossing from Padang Bai, but having not tried them, I can't comment.
Although flying is still a good option, the speedboat avoids chances of plane delays (very frequent! I have ended up in the airport for a whole day on a couple of occassions) and the hassle of going to getting from Mataram airport to Bangsal and then the hassle of having to deal with the con artists at the harbour/negotiating the price for a boat over to the Gilis.