Lotus Almarik Gili

Lotus Almarik Gili — formerly known as Villa Almarik, and part of the Lotus Journey group — sits on a prime beachfront stretch of Gili Trawangan, near Lombok. One of the island’s earliest resorts, it’s set among coral gardens and tropical greenery, with one of the island’s best turtle-sighting snorkel spots directly in front of the restaurant, and a wide range of dive sites just offshore.

Facilities & Meals

The pool sits within a tropical garden setting, offering a place to cool off and relax away from the beach. The restaurant serves a mix of Indonesian and Mediterranean dishes made with fresh local produce, with sea views over to Gunung Rinjani — Indonesia’s second-highest volcano — from its first-floor dining area. Lunch and dinner are also available in the pool garden.

The island’s central area, with its cafes and restaurants, is a short walk away, and the location lends itself to watching the sunset over the sea before the stars come out.

We Think . . .

Diving is the main draw here — the resort’s beachfront position puts more than 20 dive sites within reach, all accessible within a 20-minute boat ride, making it a practical base for divers wanting variety without long transfers.

• International Airport (Lombok) 2 hours + 15 minutes Car + Speed Boat 
• Bali (Padang Bai Harbor) 90 minutes Fast Boat 
• Bali (Serangan Harbor) 3 Hours Fast boat

All rooms include air conditioning, satellite TV, a safety deposit box, mini bar, refillable water pitcher, complimentary tea and coffee making facilities, a private bathroom with desalinated hot and cold water shower, and a hairdryer. There are 24 cottages in total, each with a living area and a terrace overlooking the garden.

Standard Room

A 45 sqm room with a classic design and a quieter, more traditional ambience.

Superior Room

At 48 sqm, these rooms offer a brighter feel with a more contemporary interior.

Premier Room

Located closer to beach access than the other categories, these rooms have been upgraded to 65 sqm, with a large bathtub in place of a shower and a double-sink vanity.

Gili Trawangan offers some incredible diving for all levels, with more than 20 incredible dive spots around the Gili islands. Healthy reefs and corals teeming with brightly coloured fish, reef sharks and sea turtles are just some of the sights you’ll see. 

Diving around the Gili Islands is excellent all year round. Due to the currents, the majority are drift dives from a boat. March to October has very reliable weather, while the other months have the possibility of rain. However, this usually does not affect diving. Water temperatures range from 27 to 30 celsius (80 to 86 Fahrenheit). All dive sites are situated within 20 minutes maximum travel time of the dive resort. 

Diving is managed in partnership with Trawangan Dive. The dive center offers a large range of diving courses conducted by professional, PADI instructors, and caters to divers of every age and level of experience. The dive guides are all certified to Dive Master and Assistant Instructor level, and will tailor the diving to suit your needs.

The Gili Islands offer a vast array of marine life for divers, from enormous green sea turtles to pygmy seahorses. The reefs around the islands are covered in colorful reef fish, sponges and an enormous variety of coral species. The abundance of turtles in particular is a great attraction to divers – and the presence of smaller critters such as frogfish, ghost- pipe fish and even the blue ringed octopus are excellent attractions for photographers and muck diving enthusiasts.

Secret Garden, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Sunset Reef, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Meno Wall, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Shark Point, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Secret Reef, Gili Islands, Lombok, Indonesia

Shark Point

Suitable for: all levels

Situated on the north-west of Gili Trawangan and sloping off into the Lombok Strait, this dive site has it all: Deep ridges, a drop off to over 50 metres, schools of jack fish, sharks and a tug boat wreck at 30m. Heading closer to shore, the site can get as shallow as 5m, where huge numbers of turtles can be found amongst the sea grass and bommies.

Turtle Heaven

Suitable For: All levels

Turtle Heaven is situated on the north east side of Gili Meno. The majority of the dive site is a pinnacle that starts at 10m and drops down to 30m. It is covered in an abundance of hard and soft corals which make it an ideal habitat for both Hawksbill and Green turtles, as well as many other reef fish. There are a number of man made objects as part of a coral propagation project which attracts huge numbers of sea life and makes this site suitable and of interest to all levels of diver.

Halik

Suitable for: All Levels

Halik Reef is on the north-west side of Gili Trawangan. The reef starts at around 6m with huge barrel sponges and gorgonian sea fans, and drops down to 40m and a series of coral ridges and canyons for Advanced divers to enjoy. The currents on this site make it great for drift diving, expect to see schools of snapper, eagle rays, giant trevally, lion fish, white and black tip reef sharks and lots of anemone fish. During the full moon bump head parrot fish can be seen schooling on this dive site.

Sunset Reef

Suitable for: All Levels

Sunset Reef is located on the south-west side of Gili Trawagnan. This gradually sloping reef is covered in both hard and soft corals, home to snapper, sweetlips, sharks and turtles. Occasionally Manta Rays can be spotted passing through this site.

Deep Turbo

Suitable for: Advanced Open Water and above

A dive site of epic proportions, with massive coral pinnacles rolling up from the sandy bottom. The reef starts at 16m where large schools of batfish, red tooth triggerfish and snapper can be seen. Dropping down to 30m, the sandy bottom is home to many blue spotted rays and sharks. Search the gorgonian sea fans for pygmy sea horses, and nudibranch fans won’t be disappointed.

Bounty Wreck

Suitable for: All Levels

Bounty Wreck is a pier that sank in 2003. The shallowest part of the wreck is 9m while the bottom is at 18m. Over the years, many hard and soft coral have grown all over it, attracting sea life including scorpion fish, frogfish, damselfish and peacock mantis shrimp. There is a large bommie which is home to thousands of glass fish and on the southern side of the wreck there are old bicycles with coral growing over them.

Bio Rock

Suitable for: All Levels

The Gili Islands are the second largest Biorock site in the world. These metal structures are fed with a low voltage current which stimulates coral growth. Trawangan Dive has proudly supported the Gili Eco Trust in this initiative to create these resilient reefs which have become homes to a vast array of sea life. More than 120 structures have been placed in the waters round the Gili Islands.

Hans Reef

Suitable for: All Levels

Sandy bottom for most of the site, with independent bommies popping up. Home to turtles, barracuda, cuttle fish, stingrays, cow fish, ghost pipe fish, fields and fields of garden eels and harlequin shrimp. Blue spotted string rays are seen a lot in Hans Reef dive site.

Gili Meno Wall

Suitable for: All Levels

A great spot for night diving. The wall of Gili Meno starts at 5m, dropping down to a sandy bottom of 30m. Current varies greatly, which means you’ll never quite know what you’ll see. On the wall, lionfish, scorpionfish, moray eels, lobsters, crabs, clownfish and groupers, but make sure to look into the blue to spot the likes of bumphead parrotfish and sharks.

Shallow Turbo

Suitable for: All Levels

A big beautiful site, great dive site for beginners, night dives and anyone wanted to see the BioRocks. On this drift dive you will pass through a varying landscape of channels, fields and the beautiful BioRocks. You’ll be sure to see loads of turtles and schooling fish. And, if you’re lucky, unicorn fish, scorpionfish, trumpet fish and ornate ghost pipefish.

Simon’s Reef

Suitable for: Advanced open Water and above

Located North of the Gili Islands, Simon’s Reef is a deep site perfect for more experienced divers. Canyons spread across the site with massive coral bommies rising up from the sandy bottom. Large gorgonian fans spread across the site, with channeling currents bringing large and varying species of schooling fish.

Seahorse Bay

Suitable for: All Levels

Situated on the Lombok Coast, Sea Horse Bay is home to a large variety of macro life. If you like night diving, this site is one of the best on offer. If you have a keen eye, keep a lookout for octopus, hairy frogfish, ghost pipefish and the pygmy seahorses.

Hidden Reef

Suitable for: All Levels

Located east of Gili Meno, Hidden Reef is a paradise of soft and hard corals, starting at 12m, flowing down to 35m. Typically a North to South current, making the site perfect for drift diving. Due to the vast amount of corals, there is plenty of marine life including stingrays, triggerfish, clownfish, angelfish and pipefish.

Technical Dive Sites

The ocean around the Gili Islands drops off to over 1200m creating tremendous topography from 200m deep walls to interlaced canyons and all are swept by tidal currents keeping the water clear and clean

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