The BEST Gili Trawangan Swing – Where to get the Best Photos & Tips!

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The Gili T Swings, also known as the ‘floating swings’ and  ‘ocean swings’  that sit in the water surrounding Gili Trawangan are perhaps the most iconic thing on the island! They make a great Instagram photo, they are one of the popular things to do in Gili Trawangan, and they are pretty unique to the Gili islands since the first one went up in 2014 at Ombak Sunset Resort.

So what is the best swing on Gili Trawangan? Where is the Gili Trawangan swing? How do you get the best swing photo on Gili T? and what are the swings on Gili T really like?

During my time living on Gili T for a few months my friend and I headed out for a few ‘Gili Trawangan Swing photoshoots’ which turned out to be pretty hilarious, they were a great way to see the island and we got some good photos. So here’s my guide to the swings on Gili T including some important information that you need to know!

Gili Trawangan Swing

Gili Trawangan Swing Locations

Most of the ocean swings on Gili Trawangan, including the famous Gili T swing and hammock and Ombak swing, are on the Western side of the island, also known as sunset beach and are attached to hotels and bars. In terms of Gili Trawangan Accommodation, this is the side of the island where the beach resorts and fancier hotels are located.

Luckily, it is really easy to get around Gili T, the best way to get around Gili Trawangan is by hiring a bicycle and then you can bike all the way around the edge of the island or use the paths that go through the middle of the island to find the best Gili Trawangan swing!

Gili Trawangan Swing Location Map

Here is a map of the best and most popular swings on Gili Trawangan to help you plan your photo adventure around the island:

If you’re coming from the Southern side of Gili T, up along the Western side, the first swing you’ll come across is at Pink Coco Resort.

Sunset Beach Gili T

Pink Coco 

PinkCoco Resort Gili Trawangan has 1 swing with 2 seats and of course, it’s pink, which makes for a great photo!

The good thing about this Gili T swing is that the ocean floor in front of it doesn’t drop and is instead quite flat, which means the swing is not deep in the water like many of the others are.

You can jump on their swing for a photo during the day but Pink Coco Bar is a great place to watch the sunset with lots of seating, so you could wait until sunset and get a sunset swing photo on Gili T instead! There is also a Pink Coco Gili Air Swing at the PinkCoco Gili Air Resort if you are heading to Gili Air too!

• Related Gili T Posts:
• 30 THINGS TO DO IN GILI TRAWANGAN!
• The BEST Places to Snorkel on Gili T!
• How to get around the Gili Islands – Gili T, Gili Air & Gili Meno by boat!
• The Perfect 3 Day Gili Trawangan Itinerary!

The Exile Bar

The Exile Gili Trawangan is the next swing along which is right on the Western side of the island. This is the Gili T swing and hammock that you have probably seen on Instagram, it’s pretty unique making it one of the very popular Gili T sunset swings and popular Gili Trawangan things to do.

The biggest thing to note about this swing is that when the tide is in, and it often is during sunset, is that the water is deep!! Luckily most of the swings have steps to the side where they’ve been concreted into the ocean floor and you can use these to step onto the swing. I did have a lot of trouble getting on this swing as it was so slippy and my friend had to push the swing towards me, so enlist some help to help you get on!

Sunset at The Exile Bar Gili Trawangan is good as they often have music and play the drums. Next door is Goa Sunset Bar who have live music a few nights a week. This is a really chilled place to watch the sunset, although you could also come here during the day to get a photo.

Ombak Sunset Gili Trawangan

There is a big gap between the next set swings on Gili T between The Exile Bar and Villa Ombak Sunset Gili Trawangan.

Ombak Resort is one of the most popular resorts on Gili T, it’s a great place for honeymooners and therefore it has a well suited, double swing, perfect for sunset swing photos on Gili Trawangan.

In fact, the Ombak ocean swing, or ‘datu swing Gili Trawangan‘ as it’s also known as, was the first Gili Trawangan swing to go up back in 2014 and although the Gili islands are not part of Bali, MTV Australia named this Datu Swing one of 7 activities to do in Bali with an epic backdrop, which is why Ombak Sunset Swing is still so popular now.

Ombak Sunset says it is the best ocean swing in the world, and although it is a nice one I’d say some of the other swings on Gili T are better!

Aston Sunset Beach Resort

The Gili Island swing attached to Aston Resort is pretty cool because it’s another swing and hammock!

My warning for this swing is that again when the tide is in, it is very deep! I had to swim out to it and I swam between the swing and hammock! The hammock is pretty slimy due to being in the water and when the tide is high you sit low in it which doesn’t make for the best photo so I’d suggest standing on the swing for the best Gili T swing photo!

Ergon Pandawa Hotel & Resort

The next swings which are also very popular, especially the Pandawa Swing on Gili T, are at the Ergon Pandawa Resort, which is another really nice Gili Trawangan Hotel!

I like these swings because they have just 1 swing, perfect for a solo photo and the Ergon swing and Pandawa swing are both very close together meaning if people are waiting for a photo at one, you can go to the other.

Again, the thing to note about these two Gili T swings is that when the tide is in they are pretty deep in the water. I also found them slimy and found the Pandawa one hard to get on (actually, I couldn’t even get on it!).

Window Bar

I think I like this Gili Trawangan swing best, probably because of the red heart on top. Window Bar is the last and top swing along sunset beach on Gili T.

It’s just a few metres up the beach from Ergon Pandawa Hotel so if these two swings do happen to have queues, although I didn’t see any, even at sunset, you can walk up the beach to Window Bar Gili Trawangan.

Desa Dunia Beach Resort

Located at the Northern part of the island, still on the Western side is Desa Dunia Beach Resort and if you want a Gili Trawangan swing photo without needing to get in the water, this is your answer.

This swing will never be in the water, even when it’s high tide but with high tide, the photo will look good as the water will be just behind you!

Eastern Beach

There are a few swings on Gili Trawangan on the Eastern Beach near Turtle Point which is the busier side of the island however none of them are in the water and instead stand on the beach like this..

Important Information to note about the Gili Trawangan Swings!

The tide is everything! As I have mentioned, when the tide is in, although the swings appear close to the shore, the ocean floor drops so they are in fact pretty deep in the water, which means you should probably wear a bikini on or at least a dress you can pull up as you will be waist-deep in water. However, when the tide is out, the swings look pretty rubbish because they are no longer floating in the water as you can see in this photo…

There are no queues! Well, at least when I’ve seen the swings during my half-year in Gili T, there have been no queues. Maybe because I was in Gili Trawangan during the low season or maybe because there are more swings now, but unlike in the past and past stories I have heard and read, I personally didn’t see any big queues which helps the experience of getting a photo on the swings more fun and less commercial I think.

They are free! Do the swings on Gili T cost money? No! Although all of them are connected to a hotel, resort or bar, they are free and from my experience, no one will question you for taking a photo on one and then leaving.

Getting the right lighting! Although sunset is a great time to get photos on the sunset Gili T swings, remember that the photo will be quite dark and you need to get the timing right. I took most of my photos in the afternoon on the sunset side which was good as the beach was really quiet however the sun was right above me and it wasn’t quite ‘golden hour’ which is why the quality of my photos is quite low. In hindsight, it would have been better to get these in the morning when the sun was on the other side of the island.

It’s fun! The Gili Islands and Bali, in particular, are known for the amount of ‘Instagram spots’  they have which some people think are cheesy. In some cases, I agree but I also think that as long as you have fun getting a photo, don’t stress or take it too seriously, they are a good thing, and in this cases going around the island of Gili Trawangan find the best Gili Trawangan swing is a great way to see the island!

How To Get to Gili T?

Now you know how to get the best photo on Gili T, if you’re not here already, here are your options for getting to Gili Trawangan and the Gili islands.

Bali to Gili Trawangan

The most popular route that people do is to land in Bali International Airport and then travel to Gili Trawangan.

There is only one port and pier in Bali where the boat from Bali to Gili Islands runs and that’s from Padang Bai in the North.

You can book a minibus and boat package which will pick you up from your Bali Hotel, take you to Padang Bai and then will take you to your boat over to the Gili Islands.

The whole journey takes about 5 hours depending on where you’re staying in Bali and they leave two or 3 times a day.

There are different companies offering differently priced tickets, generally, the cheaper the ticket, the more squashed your minibus or car will be and the smaller the boat will be. I recommend the company Eka Jaya which costs more but is much comfier, you can book tickets with Eka Jaya on 12Go Asia here.

Lombok to Gili Trawangan

Gili Trawangan is much closer to the island of Lombok than it is Bali so it is quicker and easier to get to Gili T from Lombok than Bali.

If you want to go straight to Gili Trawangan I recommend looking at flights into Lombok Praya Airport, from here you can travel from Lombok Airport to Bangsal Harbour in 90 minutes and get the boat from Bangsal to Gili Trawangan in just 20 minutes.

Not only is Lombok Airport closer to the pier than Bali Airport but there are more regular boats from Lombok to Gili Trawangan than Bali to Gili Trawangan, they take less time and if you miss a public boat you can hire a private boat from Lombok to Gili Islands.

Nusa Lembongan to Gili Trawangan

Finally, if you are already travelling around the small Indonesian islands, there is a boat from Nusa Lembongan to Gili Trawangan which cuts out all of the bus transfers!

Still working out your Indonesia itinerary. Look at buses and boats online on 12Go Asia here:

• For more of my Gili Island blog posts to help you plan your trip see:
• 30 THINGS TO DO IN GILI TRAWANGAN!
• Where to stay on Gili Trawangan!
• The BEST Places to Snorkel on Gili T!
• How to get around the Gili Islands – Gili T, Gili Air & Gili Meno by boat!
• How to Spend 3 Days in Gili Trawangan!