Hi. I read a comment earlier today by Trayden that it was cheaper to buy your Fast Boat tickets on arrival in Bali (at Rp300k one-way instead of Rp600k as pre-paid via the internet).
I contacted Island Promotions who we booked via to express my concern at being charged double the price and queried why. Below is the reply which I have been given permission to post on this forum:
From: Phil Smith, Marketing Manager - Island Promotions
Hello Sheryl,
Thank you for your email with Island Promotions and your feed back, and also the chance to give you some feedback.
You are correct in some of the things you have mentioned, there has since the last 6 -8 weeks been a large number of locally illegally operated boats begin competing in the Bali to Gili service.
We do not recommend these boats as they do not fulfill international safety standards, i.e. with the correct amount of life jackets, emergency rafts, EPERBS etc. and are unreliable.
The Lombok straight is notoriously dangerous and a while ago one of these boats sank which was kept out of the news, very very luckily nobody was seriously injured and everybody survived.
I personally will not recommend a boat that I have personally not tried a few times and will certainly not put our customers lives at risk.
As it happens I started the very first and most reliable longest running service with a 100% safety record.
The street agents work with the locally operated boats and yes they can afford to live on lower margins selling inferior products and they came in on a street price war, when they cancel they just issue a refund if you are lucky and guests are left stranded, as the boats say refunds are due to be refunded by the agent and not the boat.
This could be the last thing of a fantastic holiday in paradise that the visitor remembers and the Gilis is a hell on earth....
If you look at our websites www.gili-paradise.com and www.gili-fastboat.com it says these are a selection of boats that we recommend, of which the local cheaper ones are not there.
Our prices as quoted are exactly the same as the published prices on the websites of the boats we work with. With exactly the same discounts and special offers, if you want a guaranteed seat you must book in advance now in high season. You will also pay the same on line if you book direct or through us.
For this reason these established boats pay for inspections and the extra costs of running a reliable and safe service thus their outlay is much higher. ( please note these cheaper boats only run for 12 weeks over high season) and not 365 days a year.
The street agents work with these people and yes they can afford to live on lower margins and offer no guarantees. Do you think they put a price on your life??
Therefore our rates are higher, but exactly the same as had you booked it online direct.
A Wikipedia link to information about getting to the Gilis recommending the Gili Cat - http://wikitravel.org/en/Gili_Islands
We as Island Promotions deal with 1000s of people each year, our guarantee is that what ever we will get you there or back that day if necessary at no extra cost, we are a sponsored agency by all the hotels and businesses that are on all our websites. Link - http://www.gili-paradise.com/about-us.php and have residential staff in Bali, Gili and Lombok.
Our aim is to get all guests to and from the island with the minimum of fuss, (no haggling and not really knowing what they will get,) ensuring passenger safety and reliability to the dive centres and accommodations on the island that their customers will arrive and leave as planned, thus surely better for everyone.
I have 10 years experience of living and working the Gilis and it is only a few rears ago it was very undeveloped, it is growing too fast to cope, the electricity has been an issue forever, the fresh water, sanitation, generators and the rubbish just to mention a few.
The island can not keep up at this pace, it is destroying the culture, there is more crime, and a lot of local greed.
Now it is high season there are no more discounts from anyone, all the boats and flights are full, no more price wars, as our the hotels adding higher high season surcharges, charging double the price to a walk-in customer for a 1 night stay to fill an empty slot and are fully booked for the next 6 weeks,
You can go back to New Zealand with a few weeks experience of a small part of Indonesia and write an article as a visitor, but I don't think it will necesarily be a true reflection of what lies underneath the surface.
I hope this all helps and please feel free to contact me again for any more information.
Thanks and regards