Lombok and Gili Islands itinerary: 7 or 10 days

Choose a west-coast route or a south-coast route

For seven days in Lombok and the Gili Islands, use Senggigi plus one Gili rather than trying to fit Senggigi, Kuta, the islands and a Rinjani trek into one week. With ten days, Kuta Lombok becomes a useful additional base for the south coast. Both plans below start and finish at Lombok airport and put you back on the mainland before departure day.

Seven days means six nights; ten days means nine. The allocations are editorial pacing recommendations, not a claim about the minimum time a destination requires. Gili Air is the working island base below. Trawangan can replace it without adding another hotel move; Meno needs its own confirmed passenger-boat arrangement.

Seven days: Senggigi and three nights on Gili Air

Night allocation: two nights Senggigi, three nights Gili Air, one final night Senggigi. Choose this for a west-coast mainland stay and two full island days, without a long south-to-north repositioning in the middle.

Day 1: Arrive at Lombok airport and take your arranged road transfer to Senggigi. Keep the rest of the day local. Overnight Senggigi.

Day 2: Spend a full west-coast day. Pura Batu Bolong is south of Senggigi; a visit there and time around your own hotel area is a more compact plan than driving to the southern beaches and back. Overnight Senggigi.

Day 3: Travel by road north to Bangsal and take the confirmed passenger boat to Gili Air. Do not ask your driver to go to Lembar: that is a different Lombok harbour. Leave the arrival afternoon free. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 4: Use a full island day for a snorkelling trip departing from Air or an island walk if the water plan is unsuitable. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 5: Keep a second full island day for cycling, another activity or spare time. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 6: Return by passenger boat to Bangsal and transfer to Senggigi. Keep this day flexible rather than booking a fixed-time mainland excursion after arrival. Overnight Senggigi.

Day 7: Take the prearranged road transfer to Lombok airport. For an early flight, replace the last Senggigi night with a hotel chosen for its actual airport transfer.

Ten days: Kuta Lombok, Senggigi and Gili Air

Night allocation: three nights Kuta Lombok, one night Senggigi, four nights Gili Air, one final mainland night. This is a south-to-west-to-island route. It is for travellers who want southern beaches or surf lessons as well as the Gilis, not simply a longer beach stay on Air.

Day 1: Arrive at Lombok airport and transfer to Kuta Lombok. Specify Lombok on the hotel booking; this is not Kuta in Bali. Overnight Kuta Lombok.

Day 2: Use a full south-coast day for an arranged beach outing or a surf lesson matched to your ability and conditions. Gerupuk and Selong Belanak are southern surf locations; staying in Kuta does not mean walking to every beach. Overnight Kuta Lombok.

Day 3: Keep a second full south-coast day. Tanjung Aan can be the focus of a separate outing rather than another stop squeezed into the travel day north. Do not treat a tourism description as proof that the water is safe on your date. Overnight Kuta Lombok.

Day 4: Travel by road to Senggigi. Spend the remaining day on the west coast rather than adding a distant waterfall excursion. Overnight Senggigi.

Day 5: Continue north by road to Bangsal, then take the booked boat to Air. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 6: Take an Air-departing snorkelling trip or a land-based alternative. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 7: Use another full island day for your chosen activity. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 8: Keep a final full island day flexible. If you scuba dive, the last dive must also fit your later flight and altitude exposure. Overnight Gili Air.

Day 9: Return to Bangsal and travel to your final mainland hotel. Choose Senggigi for another west-coast evening, or an airport-oriented hotel if your next morning’s flight makes that more practical. Overnight on mainland Lombok.

Day 10: Transfer by road to Lombok airport and depart.

What each mainland base changes

Senggigi is a west-coast resort area spread along the coastal road, with Bangsal farther north. Indonesia Travel places Batu Bolong south of the town. Check the actual hotel position: a listing described as “Senggigi” can mean a longer coastal road stretch, not a room beside a compact walking centre. Its geography makes Senggigi useful for a mainland stop before or after the northwestern Gilis.

Kuta Lombok is a south-coast base for beach outings and surf arrangements. It adds a different mainland experience but requires a road move before the Bangsal crossing. Choose Kuta if those southern days matter enough to justify that move. If the whole trip is mainly for Gili snorkelling, put the extra nights on your island instead.

Senaru is a northern waterfall and trekking-access base, not another name for Senggigi or a beach extension. Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep are near Senaru; a general destination description does not establish current trail access, fees or safe river conditions. Neither timetable above assumes a waterfall visit can be guaranteed between a boat arrival and a flight.

Keep Rinjani separate from the beach-night arithmetic

A Rinjani trek needs its own currently permitted route, confirmed guide and operating dates, arrival arrangements, equipment and appropriate health assessment. Do not take three beach nights from this itinerary and call the result a verified summit programme. Senaru and Sembalun are different access bases, and a quoted trek duration need not include the night before or recovery and onward travel.

These seven- and ten-day plans do not include a mountain trek. If Rinjani is a main purpose of the trip, establish that booking first and add the mainland preparation and recovery nights around the actual route. No present park opening, summit access, permit price or universally safe ascent schedule is asserted here.

Scuba diving creates another constraint. DAN explains that altitude exposure after diving increases decompression-sickness risk. Its flight guidance is not a clearance interval for a Rinjani trek. Disclose the actual dive and altitude plans to the relevant qualified professionals before committing to both.

Book the crossing and its road legs separately

For the northwestern Gilis, Bangsal is on mainland Lombok. State the destination island explicitly and distinguish a shared passenger service from a privately arranged speedboat with a specified meeting point. A hotel’s private departure from another jetty is not automatically a Bangsal public service. The route guide explains these choices without promising an unverified universal fare or last departure.

The overnight mainland return reduces dependence on a same-day boat-and-flight connection, but does not guarantee travel during prolonged poor conditions. An early flight may still justify moving closer to the airport. Do not use the fast-boat Bali timetable as a local Bangsal shuttle timetable, and do not assume a direct flight exists from your preferred city on your dates.

Build a budget from the route you actually chose

For seven days, price three Senggigi nights and three Air nights; airport–Senggigi and Senggigi–airport transfers; two Senggigi–Bangsal road legs; and two passenger-boat passages per traveller. Add meals, chosen water activities and any local charge excluded from the ticket.

For ten days, price three Kuta nights, one initial Senggigi night, four Air nights and one final mainland night. Add airport–Kuta, Kuta–Senggigi, Senggigi–Bangsal, Bangsal–final hotel and final hotel–airport road transfers, plus the two passenger passages. A final hotel near the airport changes those last road legs, not the island boat cost.

Obtain date-specific room, car and boat quotes before adding a total. No fixed mainland transfer fare or public-boat tariff has been independently established here. Keep lessons, equipment, guiding and any eventual trek completely separate from a room-and-transfer quote.

Book the mainland connection or add the southwest

The Kuta and Senggigi connection guide separates outward and return road-and-boat legs, compares Bangsal with an agreed Teluk Nare jetty, and explains the date-dependent Senggigi service. For a southwest extension, the Secret Gilis guide distinguishes a Nanggu excursion from a Gede or Asahan stay. That extension needs its own nights and transfers; it is not already included in the seven- or ten-day plans.

Check the Rinjani restriction before changing this trip

The Rinjani extension guide distinguishes the boat and road journey from an authorised mountain trek. The park’s 30 September 2026 notice keeps Senaru and Torean closed as trekking entrances and exits until a further decision; its 1 September notice also suspended new online bookings. Operator route panels do not resolve those restrictions. Keep these seven- and ten-day plans as beach itineraries unless the actual mountain route and ticket can be established.