Hi everyone 💛
A little more than a month ago, Martin and I got back from Bali - and wauw, this island is absolutely amazing! If you haven't been yet, I can definitely recommend you add it to your travel bucket list. 😊
During our trip, we stayed quite a view different places on the island; Bali is in fact very different depending on where you stay on the island. Whereas the south has become one of the more touristed areas (yet still very beautiful and known for its wide beautiful beaches and interesting art galleries), the north is way less touristed and definitely more authentic, local and calm with some extremely beautiful and fascinating natural landscapes.
After having explored some south and north parts of Bali (which you can read more about HERE and HERE ), we thought it was time to venture out a little, and which place would be better for that than one of the Gili Islands? 😍 We'd heard so much about the Gilis - there are in fact three of them; Gili Meno, Gili Trawangan and Gili Air. After having done some thorough reseach, we opted for Gili Air, and it was THE perfect choice, for us at least. I'll tell you more about the different Gili Islands and how to get there from Bali in my next Gili post. 😊
So, first of all, I will have to say that Gili Air perhaps is THE most wonderful place that both Martin and I have ever visited on this Earth. In other words, if you're looking for the quintessential tropical island experience, look no further than this quaint little gem; it is so calm and peaceful on Gili Air, which in part is due to the fact that netiher cars nor scooters are allowed, but also because there simply is this super chill, laid-back vibe going on all over the island.
On Gili Air, we stayed at the Pink Coco Gili Air, which if you ask me, was THE coolest place on the entire island. First of all, everything was pink, from the painting of the walls to the furniture and towels etc. So cool 😍
Upon arriving, we were greeted by the super friendly and attentive staff at Pink Coco. Coming all the way from Permuteran, i.e. northwest Bali, we'd been traveling for almost six hours and definitely in need of a little refreshment, which is exactly what we got here in the hotel lobby.
How cool is this lobby btw? 😍
// A very excited me at Pink Coco. 😍
Pink Coco Gili Air has 31 rooms in 5 different categories as well as a beautiful pool located in the middle of the hotel garden.
// Cute little green paths towards the rooms.
... as well as pink doors and windows of course. 😍
Like I mentioned, there are five different room categories at Pink Coco. We were here for 5 days and stayed in two of them; the smallest and a slightly bigger one. Although small, the rooms had just what we needed for our stay - afterall you don't really spend time in the room when visiting a place like Gili Air if you know what I mean. 😊
Cozy bed and pretty wall painting in one of the Pink Coco Rooms.
// So many cute little details here.
The bathroom was also really nicely decorated and had a really cool waterfall-like shower.
Given the small size of Gili Air, all hotels and accomodation types at the island will be close to the ocean, however, if you do go to Gili Air, I can highly recommend you book a place that is right by the ocean, and preferably on the west side of the island for the following reasons:
1) the beaches on the west side are undoubtedly the best ones and
2) you can see sunsets here (as the sun sets in the west 😉)
If you've been to Asia, you're probably aware of the abundance of coconuts around here.
I LOVE coconuts - they're fresh, tasty and perfect for hydration, as they contain electrolytes that are super important for our body's fluid balance, especially when sweating a lot.
// Pink Coco swing and a view of Gili Meno (the smallest of the 3 Gilis)
// Yummy beach lunch at Pink Coco. I really love the amount of veggies used in Balinese cooking. 🙏
Like I mentioned, the west side of Gili Air is THE place to watch a magnificent sunset, if the sky is clear of course. We were so fortunate with the weather while at Gili Air, so almost every night, we got to watch some of the most amazing sunsets we've ever seen.
// The Pink Coco pool at night time.
// Horseback rider on the beach right after sunset.
Pink Coco also has the cutest and most beautifully decorated restaurant...
.... with an amazing view overlooking the beachfront and Lombok (an island around the same size as Bali).
// Beautiful wall paintings in the Pink Coco restaurant.
Pink Coco breakfast was super yummy, and if you plan to have their breakfast, I can recommend you try a little of each of the different dishes on the menu card. We paid a little extra for having them prepare that for us, but it was so worth it, as we got to try a little bit of everything.
// Daily (or perhaps my fifth) coconut. 😍
As you might have seen you my stories, the Indonesian people - and me for that matter haha 😃 - love their cute little signs with catchy phrases and sayings - I thought this one was pretty good. 😉
// Gili sunsets really are quite magical. 🙏
... especially when you can enjoy with the one you care about the most. 💗
I hope you liked this post, and as you might have picked up, Pink Coco is THE place to stay while at Gili Air - if you ask us at least. 😍 Safe travels everyone. ✈
xx, Karen