Lombok & Gilis

Lombok and the Gili Islands sit in one of the most hydrologically dynamic straits in the Indonesian archipelago. The Lombok Strait, the narrow passage between Bali to the west and Lombok to the east, is part of the Indonesian Throughflow — the pathway by which Pacific water moves into the Indian Ocean through the islands of Indonesia. The tidal currents generated in the strait on spring ebb and flood are among the fastest in Southeast Asia, reaching 3 to 5 knots in the main channel and exceeding that in constricted passages. The regime is semidiurnal; spring range at Lembar on Lombok's west coast runs 2.0 to 2.5 m. The south coast of Lombok, which faces the Indian Ocean directly, experiences a larger range — up to 3.5 m at spring — because the open Indian Ocean sends a stronger tidal signal to south-facing shores than the Lombok Strait does to the west coast. The three Gili Islands (Trawangan, Meno, and Air) are small coral-ringed sand islands northwest of Lombok, sheltered from the main Lombok Strait current by their position inside the reef system, but not immune from tidal influence. The channel between Gili Trawangan and the mainland Lombok coast carries significant current, and dive operations around the Gilis plan drift dives around the current cycle rather than the high-low tide times. The dry season (May through September) brings the reliable southeast trade wind, excellent visibility at the dive sites, and the flat-calm conditions that make the Gilis a year-round snorkelling destination; the wet season (November through March) brings northwest swell and occasional days of reduced visibility. Indonesian tide tables are published by the Badan Informasi Geospasial (BIG), Indonesia's national mapping and geospatial authority.