Gili Trawangan tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 06:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Asia/Makassar local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Fri 08 May (range 1.1m). Next neap on Tue 12 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Gili Trawangan is the largest and westernmost of the three Gili Islands, sitting off the northwest coast of Lombok separated by a shallow channel that belies its tidal intensity. The island is roughly 3 km from end to end, ringed by a coral reef platform and a beach that runs unbroken around the entire circumference. No motor vehicles are permitted on Gili T — transport is by bicycle or cidomo (the two-wheeled horse cart that is as much a local symbol as the sea turtles). The absence of engine noise is one of the island's more immediately striking characteristics. The tidal regime is semidiurnal, with spring range at the Gili Islands running 1.5–2.0 m. The Lombok Strait to the west carries the Indonesian Throughflow — one of the most oceanographically significant current systems in the world — and the spring tidal currents in the main strait reach 3–5 knots. The Gili Channel, the passage between Gili Trawangan and the Lombok mainland, runs at a reduced but still significant 2–3 knots at peak spring ebb or flood. The dive sites around Gili T are positioned in and around this current, and the entire dive operation on the island is structured around current timing rather than simply high and low tide. The drift dives through the north channel — Shark Point, Hans Reef, and the Halik reef — are done on the ebb when the current runs west to east and divers are carried through the coral gardens without fin effort. The dive briefings at every operator include current prediction; a guide walks through the tidal state before each drift dive departure. Sea turtles are the headline encounter at the Gilis — both green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are resident and reliably seen at the shallow turtle nursery sites on the east coast. Turtle sightings are independent of tidal state at the nursery sites; the turtles rest on the coral at any water level. The deeper turtle sites at Turtle Heaven (12–20 m depth, south coast) are best approached on a slow current — the neap-tide slack window gives the longest in-water time at depth. The east coast of Gili T is the calm side, facing the Lombok mainland; the beach here is narrower, mostly shaded by vegetation, and the snorkelling reef is within 20–30 m of the waterline. At low spring water (approaching 0.0–0.3 m), the reef flat on the east side is very shallow — 0.4–0.6 m — and snorkelling without fins touching coral requires careful depth management. The recommended snorkel window on the east reef is the two hours either side of high water, when depth over the flat runs 1.5–2.0 m. The west coast faces the Lombok Strait and the Bali sunset view; the beach is wider and the snorkelling is less protected, with the current from the strait more directly felt. Sunset from the west beach is the dominant social ritual on the island — the volcanic profile of Gunung Agung on Bali (3,142 m) is visible on the horizon in clear conditions, and the sun drops behind it or close to it depending on the time of year. The beach at sunset is at its widest at low tide; at high spring the water can reach close to the restaurant terraces. Fast boat transfers from Bali (Padang Bai or Serangan harbour) take 2 hours; the Lombok ferry from Bangsal pier (mainland Lombok, 25 km south) takes 30 minutes by public boat or 15 minutes by fast charter. Bangsal pier loading is tidal-sensitive for the larger public boats — at the lowest spring lows, the ramp can have 0.3–0.4 m of water over the sandy approach and passengers may wade. Tide predictions here are from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model, accuracy ±45 min / ±0.2–0.3 m. For operational tide data in Indonesian waters, BIG (Badan Informasi Geospasial) publishes the authoritative tables.