Day 18: Goodbye Gili Air... For Now

This morning we packed up early, ready for another travel day. Before breakfast, Sam and I asked the kids if they'd like to come for one last snorkel.

Surprisingly, every single one of them declined.

Instead, they happily stayed behind in the lobby chatting with all the staff they'd become great friends with over the past few days. It was pretty special to see how much everyone had taken the kids under their wing.
So Mum and Dad had one last snorkelling adventure all to ourselves.
It turned out to be a very good decision. The current was much stronger than it had been the previous days, but we were rewarded with three turtles, including one enormous one, along with beautiful coral and hundreds of colourful fish. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to Gili Air.

Afterwards, we packed the last of our bags, enjoyed breakfast together, and then boarded a tiny private speedboat back to Lombok. The crossing only took about seven minutes before we were reunited with our lovely driver, who had looked after us throughout our time in Lombok.

He drove us to the airport, where the kids once again proved to be absolute travel champions. After all the ferries, boats, taxis, flights and waiting around this trip, they continue to amaze us with how well they handle it all.

Before long we were saying goodbye to Lombok and its 8,000+ mosques and flying back to Denpasar.

Our driver that took us to the airport on our way to Lombok, was waiting to collect us, which felt a bit like catching up with an old friend. He drove us to our new villa in Jimbaran and recommended a few of his favourite local street food stalls.

The only truly strange part of the day happened when we arrived at our villa.

The staff welcomed us in... and then didn't leave.

They simply sat outside our glass front door on their phones.

We waited.

They waited.

We asked if they were heading home.

"Yes."

And then... they kept sitting there.

After about twenty minutes, Sam messaged the booking company to ask if this was normal. A few minutes later someone arrived, told them they could go home, and off they went.

We're still not entirely sure what that was all about.

Hopefully they don't come back tomorrow!

After settling in, we wandered down the road, grabbed a couple of things from the supermarket, and enjoyed dinner from one of the local street vendors. The boys, naturally, managed to fit in a swim before dinner... and then decided another swim after dinner was probably necessary too.

A Little Reflection on Gili Air:
Looking back, Gili Air has been our favourite stop of the trip so far.
We could easily have stayed longer. In fact, even Sam, who is usually ready to move on after two or three days in one place, was genuinely a bit sad to be leaving.
There was just something special about the island. The people were incredibly friendly, the atmosphere was so relaxed, and with no cars or motorbikes, everything felt peaceful and slow-paced. Instead, people got around on electric scooters, bicycles, and horse-drawn carts, giving the whole island a charm unlike anywhere else we've been.
We all absolutely loved Gili Air, and without a doubt, it's a place we'd happily come back to one day. It has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip.

Trip Statistics

- Final snorkels at Gili Air: 1
- Turtles spotted: 3
- Giant turtles spotted: 1
- Kids choosing chatting over snorkelling: 4
- Flights completed: 1
- Speedboat rides: 1
- Daily swims by the boys: 2 (of course!)
- Very confusing villa welcomes: 1
- Family memories made: CountlessRead more