In Reply to: Specific info on Gili Trawangan on budge posted by ging on Friday, 19. March 2010 at 09:59 Bali Time:
Last July i met a couple of guys in Bali who said that the islands were packed and had trouble getting a place to stay!
I have done more islands in Thailand and although people have said its hard to get accommodation I have never had trouble and like willow said about Trawangan, in Thailand you are usually inundated with touts at the pier offering places to stay!If this happens at the gilis then there will be plenty to choose from at different budgets any season!
I havnt been to Trawangan yet but have done a bit of searching like yourself and also found that most info on accommodation is from
wholesalers.
We are only going to be there 4 nights and in July so decided not to take a chance this time and go looking when we arrive so I have booked in early!
I know this is going to cost me a lot more than if I just arrive because the only places advertised are the expensive and upmarket ones!
If you are on a budget and not too worried where you stay and have a bit of time up your sleeve then I think there would be plenty of walk in places available and at a fraction of the cost of some on the net.
You possibly read like i did that most places on the Gilis do not advertise and all rooms are negotiable and price depends on season.
Once I have been to Trawangan I will more than likely wonder why i booked ahead?
I only booked because of what i was told last July and a slight fear of the "unknown" as i get older!
My driver in Lombok this Feb confirmed that it gets very busy and you need to book ahead for high season but he also said there is no problem in low season.
Also he may have been talking about the better hotels and accommodation because we had just arrived off a cruise?
I am doing 2 night on Bali then 4 on Trawangan then 5 in a cheap place on Bali, If I like Trawangan i will stay for a few more days and doubt i will have trouble finding a place to stay for the extra time,just might not be where I want to stay!
I ended up booking The Beach House and its costing around $80US double a night. If I return to Trawangan i will be looking more around the under $40AU for a double.
Good luck finding the info as i too am interested!