Mittwoch, 2. März 2016

Party island? The ultimate nightlife guide for Gili Trawangan 2016

The biggest reputation Gili Trawangan has, is that it is a party island. I disagree because it gives people wrong impressions about our little island. It is not like you can go to a party 24 hours 7 days a week.
Keep in mind: We do not even have a night club here, only Bars.

Yes, it can get lively at night but there are special island laws and schedules on how long and where the party is allowed!

Every bar on the main road is allowed to be open until 1am. After 1am only one Bar is allowed to host the afterparty and which Bar it is going to be follows a certain schedule:

Monday: Blue Marlin
Tuesday: Jiggy Bar
Wednesday: TirNaNog Irish Bar
Thursday: -
Friday: New Rudy's
Saturday: Sama Sama Reggae Bar
Sunday: Evolution

The afterparty is allowed until 3am. After that it has to be quiet for the rest of the night.
There are a few exception to that for example on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve every Bar can open until 3am.

Two times per month we als have the Full Moon and Dark Moon Party hosted by the Ombak Bar. The exact dates are announced a week before over a banner that is placed over the street at the night market. The Full Moon Party is however not even half as crazy as for example the one in Koh Phangang, Thailand. These parties are obviously depending on the moon and so the weekday changes every month. If the Full Moon Party is for example scheduled on a Saturday it will replace the afterparty in Sama Sama. If the Dark Moon Party is on a Wednesday, there will be no afterparty at the Irish Bar. And so on.

If you are not sure where to go after 1am, just follow the crowds :)

During Ramadan everything has to close at midnight and no afterparties are allowed. Also the music has to be more quiet in general for example Bands are not allowed to use a full drum only an E-Drum tablet.

All the above mentioned Bars are on the main road on the east side of the island. The south, west and north sides are very calm and there are no big bars. If you like it more quiet, just go here and enjoy the calmness and beautiful nature.

So how on earth did we get a reputation as a party island? For sure it is more busy than on Meno or Air but in my opinion you can have the best of both worlds here on Trawangan. You can go to a party or watch some awesome live music but you can also have a quiet evening and for example visit the cinema at Hotel Villa Ombak where you sit on the beach under the stars and watch a movie.

My favourite Party is at the Sama Sama Reggae Bar.
Good live music, friendly attentive staff, cold beer and cheap cocktails!