Trip planning · Bali → Lombok → Rinjani → Gili · 2026
Lombok, Gili, Rinjani: a 7- to 10-day itinerary that actually works.
The mistake is doing Rinjani last, on tired legs, or trying to squeeze it into a beach week. Here's the order that works, and the honest 7-day and 10-day versions, so you can see whether your trip has room for the mountain.
The order that actually works: Bali → Lombok → Rinjani → Gili
Almost everyone arrives from Bali. Get to Lombok, climb Rinjani while your legs are fresh, then collapse onto the Gilis to recover. In that order.
This isn't the only way to do it, but it's the one that leaves you on a beach after the mountain instead of dragging yourself up a volcano after a week of cocktails.
Why you trek Rinjani before the Gilis, not after
The day after summit, you are wrecked. The summit push starts at 2 a.m., the descent is long, and most people sleep in the car on the way back down. That is exactly the day you want a hammock and a flat island, not a volcano you've been putting off.
Do it the other way round and you arrive at the trailhead on legs that have spent a week walking on sand and sitting on boats. The Gilis are the perfect recovery; they are a poor warm-up. Climb first, soak second.
Plan the beach around the mountain, not the mountain around the beach.
The 7-day version
Enough for the 3D2N Full Rinjani plus a couple of Gili days. It works, but it's tight, with no buffer if weather moves your trek day.
The honest catch: 7 days has no slack. If weather pushes your summit day, or you want a real rest day, the mountain has no buffer. If your dates are firm and tight, tell Pak Wil early so he locks an open trek date first.
The 10-day version
The one we'd actually recommend. Room for the 4D3N lake-camp route, a proper rest day after the trek, and unhurried Gili time.
Ten days is the sweet spot: you see the lake, you don't summit on a deadline, and the Gilis are a holiday rather than a recovery ward.
Ferries, transfers, and Senaru pickup
The one part that's genuinely simple: once you're on Lombok, we handle the pickup.
Pak Wil picks you up anywhere on Lombok the day before your trek (your hotel, the airport, the Gili harbour, wherever you are) and gets you to Senaru. You don't need to solve the last leg yourself.
Getting to Lombok from Bali is a fast boat or a short flight; the Gili Islands sit just off Lombok's north-west coast, a short hop by boat. Times and operators shift through the year, so we keep this general on purpose. To confirm: current 2026 Bali↔Gili↔Lombok fast-boat routes & times Tell Pak Wil where you're coming from and he'll tell you the realistic routing for your dates.
Where to stay in Senaru the night before
The honest answer: you don't have to stay in Senaru at all.
Because Pak Wil picks you up anywhere on Lombok the day before, plenty of trekkers spend the night before wherever they already are and let us collect them in the morning. If you'd rather be in Senaru itself the night before (closer to the trailhead, an earlier start), Pak Wil will book a guesthouse for you. He works with Pondok Guru Bakti, Amazing Rinjani, Embun Rinjani, Anak Rinjani and Sinar Rinjani, and which one you get depends on what's free on your dates.
Either way, tell Pak Wil where you'll be the night before and he sorts the pickup around it.
Tell Pak Wil your dates and how many days you've got. He'll tell you honestly whether Rinjani fits, and which route.
He answers his own WhatsApp, 07:00-21:00 WITA, no booking form, no call centre.
WhatsApp Pak WilPicking the right Rinjani route for your trip length
How many days you can give the mountain decides the route more than anything else.
“Plan the beach around the mountain, not the other way round. Lock the trek date first. The rest of the trip bends around it.”
Pak Wil, Senaru
Last reviewed by Pak Wil: 2 June 2026