We had already spent a week on Gili Air we were intrigued to see what Gili Meno had offer, it sits between Gili Air and Gili Trawangan we’d heard rumours it offers the finest beaches of all the Gili islands and is a real escape to paradise.

We were eager to find out whether it lived up to be the island of our dreams. More importantly I (Felicity) had still not seen a turtle whilst snorkelling, Marco had already seen a couple, to say I was jealous was an understatement! I wasn’t going to leave these islands until I had spotted at least one turtle.

Watch the video to find out whether my dream of swimming with turtles came true

We were staying at the Seri Resort which commands one of the best spots on Gili Meno for seeing turtles. On our last day at the resort we decided to be a little adventurous and take the girls out in the Kayak and Marco wanted to get some drone photographs. Once Marco was finished taking photos, he joined us in the kayak with the snorkelling gear. We paddled out to the reef, the girls were squealing with excitement saying they had spotted a turtle.

Kayak and snorkelling

What started out as a initial 1hr jaunt in the kayak turned into a 3hr snorkelling adventure to find turtles. Once we spotted the first one, we kept seeing more. Bella and Maya were also helping even able to see the silhouette of them through the clear water.

This is how I had envisaged island living, tourism has yet to take hold of the island, so I would recommend visiting now whilst it is still relatively low key. The development of resorts moves at a much slower and thankfully a more controlled pace than Gili Air. I would say you probably have slightly more high end resorts here, making the range of of accommodation a little more expensive than Gili air.

What we loved most about the island, was the fact there were no cars, so wandering around was so relaxing as there was little danger of being hit by anything, well maybe a coconut falling from a tree. The beauty was in the simplicity of our days, wake up, breakfast, snorkelling, swimming, beach combing and lunch and then repeat.

Tips and advice 

Sleep – we stayed at the Seri Resort 

Eat – Food options are limited and expect to pay Eruopean prices for decent meal.

Play – Get out on the water kayaking, scuba diving and snorkelling.

Watch out for  – trigger fish they are swimming near the reefs and can sometime attack if you swim over their territory.

When to visit – visit in October or November which is the end of the peak season, just before rainy season starts, you will find good weather and fewer people.