If you’ve ever been to Indo, you’ll know that there is always more than one way to do anything, and usually the options are very affordable. In the case of island hopping in search of waves, there are a variety of speedboats, ferries, and flights that you can take to explore the islands.

In this guide, we will highlight the different and affordable ways to travel between Bali, Lembongan, Penida, Lombok, and the Gili Islands with your surfboard.

Before we start - It is important to highlight that with whatever mode of transport you end up choosing, it is most advised that you travel with a board bag and not just a bare surfboard, or even just a surfboard sock. If at any point of your travel you are not in charge of moving your boards around, pack them in a board bag to avoid unwanted dings and cracks!

Bali to Lembongan/Penida Island

The speed boats from Sanur, Bali are the best ways of getting to Lembongan. Arthamas Express and Glory Fast Cruise are the best companies to take, with several departure times from Sanur and from Lembongan, as well as pick-up and drop-off services to your accommodation. You can book tickets by contacting their WhatsApp, and travel time can take about 30-40 minutes.

There are also companies that take you from Sanur to Penida, such as Angel Billabong Fast Cruise or Maruti Fast Boats. However, you can also go between Lembongan and Penida with the public shuttle boats. There are no set times for these boats, they will just leave when they are full (busier in the mornings and evenings and quieter during midday). They leave from the Yellow Bridge in Lembongan and Toya Pakeh in Penida.

Bali to Lombok

The most straightforward way to island hop these is through the path of flight. However, if you’re looking for other routes, you’ve come to the right place.

The cheapest way to jump the islands is to rent a bike or car and take it across with the ferry between Padang Bai (East Bali) and Lembar (Southwest Lombok). This is about a 4-5 hour ride, but we’d suggest freeing up a day or night to do the traveling just to be safe (the ferries run 24 hours and there are often delays). It is safe to leave your board on your bike rack or on your car, it isn’t necessary to carry it around the ferry with you.

If you’re not keen on taking a car or bike over the islands, then you can also jump on the fast boats. They go from Padang Bai to Bangsal (Northwest Lombok), and can include transport to and from your hotel as well. The travel times for this mode of transport vary with the company that you take, and from which direction you are traveling, because some will include stops in the Gili Islands in between. So it can take anywhere between 2-4 hours (not including land transport).

Bali to the Gili Islands

The only way to get from Bali to any of the 3 Gili Islands is by fast boat. The best company is Eka Jaya, with several daily departure times to choose from, as well as pick-up and drop-off services in Bali. They also have routes from the Gilis to Lembongan, if you’d prefer to cut through the islands this way.

Lombok to the Gili Islands

You can also take the fast boats from the harbour in Bangsal to any of the Gilis. However if you’re looking to stay cheap, there are public boats that go for a fraction of the price, and the journey will take you 25 minutes instead of 10.

Once you are in the Gilis and want to move between them, there are also public boats that go throughout the day. All of which leave when they are about full, or when the consecutive boat arrives. So you could be waiting 5 minutes, or 30 for a boat.

There you have it, a simple guide to traveling between the Bali and Lombok islands, given to you by Bali and Lombok locals.

Written by Kayli Wouters

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