In Reply to: Plane or Fast boat to Trawangan ?? posted by tori on Saturday, 8. January 2011 at 05:21 Bali Time:
are not the safest with their boats in my opinion.
Look at all the fast boat companies web sites and they usually show design features and safety features and you then decide.
You cannot judge a company by the internet price because the dodgy companies charge the same as the legit ones, but once in Bali the dodgy companies can be less than half the internet price, the legit companies stay the same price and you cant negotiate.
I did the crossing with Eka Jaya in August and they were running two boats together but when you see how many people they pack on safety goes out the window (if you could open them lol)
Eka Jaya fast boats are fully enclosed speed boats which are good for staying dry and going superfast but not so good if it breaks down (like on our return crossing) because it has no air con.
I think a semi enclosed would be better and safer.Too small and not fast enough and you will get tossed around like a cork.
The shorter the crossing the better if you ask me.
Flying wasnt an option in my mind as its too much messing around getting to Lombok then road transport then boat transport etc.
I am back in Bali in Feb and the only reason I am not going to the Gilis is because i am not quite ready for that boat trip again!
I did heaps of research but its one of those things you have to experience for yourself,one persons trip may have been smooth going while another's may have been rough to the point of scary.
I have done many speedboat trips to islands in Thailand and never though twice about it even though you hear horror stories but the Lombok straight for me was a bit worrying once we got going with Eka Jaya.
The islands are well worth the trip though whichever way you get there.