Pondok Santi Estate, Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan has changed a lot over the years.
The backpacker rooms and simple beachfront bungalows are still here, but they now sit alongside boutique hotels, luxury resorts and a rapidly growing collection of genuinely impressive private villas.
And that gives visitors a lot more choice.
You can stay in a one-bedroom private pool villa designed almost entirely around couples. You can disappear into seven hectares of coconut grove. You can book a three-bedroom villa for the whole family. Or you can stay close to Gili Trawangan's east coast and have restaurants, dive centres and the beach only a few minutes away.
The six properties below are not GiliPass partners themselves, because GiliPass doesn't currently include accommodation.
But all six are owned by, associated with, or closely connected to existing GiliPass partners.
And everyone visiting the Gilis needs somewhere to sleep.
So, with the villa market on Gili Trawangan continuing to grow, we've picked six very different options and broken them down according to the traveller we think each suits best.
Quick List: 6 of the Best Villas on Gili Trawangan
Gili Boho Villas — Best for couples
Kuno Villas — Best for premium design & architecture
Secret Haven Villa — Best for families
Pondok Santi Estate — Best for romance & tranquillity
Ko-Ko-Mo Resort — Best refined beachfront villa stay
Gili Villas — Best for groups wanting an east-coast location
1. Gili Boho Villas - Best for Couples
If you are travelling as a couple and the words private pool, tropical garden and complete privacy feature prominently in your idea of a Gili Trawangan holiday, Gili Boho Villas makes a lot of sense.
The villas are tucked away from the busiest part of the island and designed around exactly the kind of slower, private experience couples tend to want.
Each stay combines a private pool with tropical outdoor living areas and boho-style interiors, while the location puts Gili Trawangan's beaches, cafés and sunset side within easy cycling distance.
It is a very different holiday from staying directly on Gili Trawangan's main strip. You can go out when you want the restaurants, bars and energy of the island, then disappear back inland when you've had enough of everyone else.
For couples, that balance works.
And while Gili Boho Villas itself isn't on GiliPass, there are plenty of GiliPass partners suited particularly well to a date night. You could head north for dinner beside the beach at Karma Kayak, where GiliPass holders receive a complimentary cocktail or appetiser with a main meal.
You could book steak at The Cutting Board, where steak orders come with a complimentary dessert.
Or try Quma Restaurant, where GiliPass holders receive 10% off food and drinks.
So although your villa isn't discounted, some of the evenings around it can be.
Best for: Couples, romantic trips and travellers who want a stylish private pool villa away from the busiest beachfront areas.
2. Kuno Villas - Best for Premium Design & Architecture
Some villas are mainly about having a pool. Kuno Villas is about the entire setting.
The resort was created around sustainability, antique woodcraft and traditional architectural design, with an emphasis on craftsmanship rather than conventional hotel styling. Kuno itself describes the property as a combination of intimate luxury, nature and antique woodwork. That immediately gives it a different character from many newer Gili Trawangan villas.
Rather than feeling like a modern concrete villa that could have been built almost anywhere in Southeast Asia, Kuno leans much harder into Indonesian design.
The setting is peaceful, located on Jalan Kima towards the northern half of Gili Trawangan rather than in the middle of the east-coast action. That makes it particularly appealing if accommodation is part of the experience itself.
Some travellers use their room almost exclusively for sleeping. Others want somewhere they actually enjoy coming back to. Kuno is very much in the second category.
And there is a direct GiliPass connection through its sister business, Kayu Café. Kayu sits on Gili Trawangan's beachfront and has long been one of the island's popular café choices, serving coffee, breakfasts, smoothie bowls, sandwiches and baked goods.
GiliPass offer at Kayu Café: 20% off food between 4pm and 7pm.
That means you can stay somewhere built around beautiful Indonesian architecture, then use your GiliPass at one of the island's best-known cafés when you head into town.
Best for: Design-conscious travellers, couples and anyone looking for a more distinctive premium villa experience.
3. Secret Haven Villa - Best for Families
Travelling with children changes the accommodation equation completely. A beautiful one-bedroom villa is no longer viable once two kids are having to sleep on improvised beds in the living room.
That is why Secret Haven Villa stands out. Secret Haven is a private three-bedroom villa in the quieter interior of Gili Trawangan, sleeping up to six guests.
There are two larger bedrooms with double beds plus a third bedroom with two single beds, making the layout particularly practical for families. The villa also has a private swimming pool, tropical garden, full kitchen, indoor living space, dining areas and a Smart TV.
That kitchen matters more than it might appear. Gili Trawangan has no shortage of restaurants, but parents with younger children will appreciate having the ability to make breakfast, store snacks or deal with the occasional child who suddenly decides they no longer eat anything served by restaurants.
The villa is centrally located, meaning the east coast, sunset side and different activity areas are all reachable within a short bicycle ride.
And GiliPass becomes particularly useful for families once you leave the villa.
There are discounts and benefits across a wide range of family activities on Gili Trawangan, including:
snorkelling
introductory scuba diving
horse experiences
Indonesian cooking classes
mini golf
surfing lessons
jewellery-making
and more.
When you're paying for an activity for several people rather than one or two, those savings start adding up fairly quickly.
That combination - three bedrooms, private pool, kitchen, plenty of living space and a central location - makes Secret Haven arguably the easiest villa on this list to recommend specifically to families.
Best for: Families, two couples travelling together and small groups who want a private home-style setup.
4. Pondok Santi Estate - Best for Romance & Tranquillity
If the aim is to get away from Gili Trawangan without actually leaving Gili Trawangan, Pondok Santi Estate is difficult to beat.
The estate occupies around seven hectares on the quieter southern end of the island, with villas spread through a former coconut plantation rather than clustered tightly together.
Space is a major part of the experience.
There are tropical gardens, wide lawns, mature palms and a selection of accommodation ranging from garden and lakeside villas to private-pool and ocean-facing options.
For couples, the Deluxe Private Pool Villa is particularly notable, with its own 12-metre pool, large private garden and a layout deliberately designed for two. Pondok Santi itself describes it as a secluded couples' retreat built around privacy and slow days.
The Ocean Private Pool Villas offer another particularly romantic option, with private plunge pools and uninterrupted ocean views.
So while Pondok Santi can accommodate families too, this is where we'd look if the holiday is a honeymoon, anniversary or simply a trip where the priority is doing very little, very well.
There are also two useful GiliPass benefits directly at the estate.
Pondok Santi Pool Bar Access: GiliPass holders pay IDR 150,000 per person instead of IDR 250,000.
Pondok Santi Beachfront Restaurant: 10% off the IDR 300,000 breakfast.
And in the evening, Ijo Restaurant is another GiliPass partner within Pondok Santi.
Ijo focuses on locally sourced ingredients, including produce grown around the estate itself. GiliPass holders receive one complimentary dessert for every two people dining, outside the stated July-August exclusion period.
It makes Pondok Santi unusual on this list: although the accommodation itself isn't part of GiliPass, you can use your pass without even leaving the property.
Best for: Honeymoons, anniversaries, couples and travellers prioritising peace, space and atmosphere.
5. Ko-Ko-Mo Resort - Best Refined Beachfront Villa Stay
There is something particularly convenient about staying in a private villa while still being directly connected to the beach. Ko-Ko-Mo Resort Gili Trawangan gives you that combination.
The resort sits on a quieter stretch at the southern end of Gili Trawangan's east-coast strip and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom villas.
Each villa comes with its own private pool, and the accommodation is designed around contemporary interiors, open living spaces and a more polished resort-style level of service. That makes Ko-Ko-Mo particularly useful if you want privacy without feeling isolated.
Step out of the villa and you have the beach. The restaurant is there. The main island strip remains accessible. And if you don't feel like leaving the villa, in-villa dining and spa treatments are also available.
It feels more like a refined beachfront resort built around villas than a standalone holiday rental.
And there are two particularly useful GiliPass connections:
Ko-Ko-Mo Restaurant
The resort's beachfront restaurant serves a menu influenced by Asian, French and Mediterranean cooking, with seafood, imported meats, handmade pasta and baked goods featuring prominently.
GiliPass offer: 10% off food and beverages.
Gili Getaway
Ko-Ko-Mo is also connected with Gili Getaway, one of the fast-boat operators linking Bali and the Gili Islands.
GiliPass offer: 10% off Gili Getaway boat trips, with advance booking recommended.
That gives Ko-Ko-Mo one of the more complete GiliPass combinations on this list: save getting to the island, then use the pass again at the restaurant once you arrive.
Best for: Couples, families and travellers wanting private-villa accommodation with a polished beachfront resort feel.
6. Gili Villas - Best for Groups Who Want the East Coast Nearby
If you're travelling with friends, one of the biggest decisions is whether everyone wants to be hidden away or close to where things are happening. For the latter, Gili Villas is particularly useful.
The property consists of four private villas on Gili Trawangan, available as one- and two-bedroom options.
Each has its own private swimming pool and walled garden, with the two-bedroom villas offering two bathrooms and enough space to work particularly well for couples travelling together, friends or small families.
The major selling point, however, is location. Gili Villas sits only a few minutes' walk from Gili Trawangan's east-coast restaurants, bars and waterfront. That matters if you're travelling as a group.
There is nothing wrong with staying in the quiet interior of the island, but when four people are trying to coordinate breakfast, diving, dinner and drinks, being able to walk to a lot of it makes life considerably simpler.
It also puts you close to a large concentration of GiliPass partners.
Within the wider east-coast area you'll find partner restaurants, cafés, bars and several of the island's major dive centres, meaning your GiliPass can get plenty of use without planning your day around where the discounts are.
GiliPass dive partners on Gili Trawangan include Manta Dive, Blue Marlin Dive, Dive Central, Gili Divers, and Trawangan Dive, while the east-coast restaurant scene includes numerous participating GiliPass venues.
So if your group wants a private pool and somewhere to retreat to, but still expects to spend much of the holiday eating, diving and heading out around the main side of the island, Gili Villas offers a very practical compromise.
Best for: Groups of friends, two couples travelling together and anyone prioritising easy access to Gili Trawangan's east coast.
Which Gili Trawangan Villa Is Right for You?
There isn't one best villa on Gili Trawangan. There are simply villas that suit different trips better.
For a couple wanting their own private pool and a stylish hideaway, start with Gili Boho Villas.
If the building itself matters almost as much as the holiday, Kuno Villas brings much more architectural character.
Travelling with children? The three-bedroom layout, kitchen and private pool make Secret Haven Villa extremely practical.
For a honeymoon or properly peaceful escape, Pondok Santi Estate is the standout.
If you want beachfront convenience without giving up the privacy of your own pool, look at Ko-Ko-Mo Resort.
And for groups who want restaurants, diving and the east-coast action close by, Gili Villas makes a lot of sense.
That choice is one of the best things about the accommodation scene on Gili Trawangan today. The island can still be cheap and simple. But it doesn't have to be.
Stay Where You Like. Use GiliPass Everywhere Else.
None of the six villas above are themselves part of GiliPass.
At the moment, GiliPass is focused on what you do once you're here rather than where you sleep. But that doesn't mean your choice of accommodation and your GiliPass don't work together.
Stay at Kuno Villas and use your pass at Kayu Café.
Stay at Pondok Santi and use it at the pool bar, beachfront restaurant and Ijo.
Stay at Ko-Ko-Mo and save at its beachfront restaurant and on Gili Getaway.
Choose Secret Haven and build your family itinerary around discounted activities.
Or stay near the east coast at Gili Villas and have restaurants, cafés and dive centres within easy reach.
Wherever you stay, GiliPass gives you access to savings and benefits across restaurants, bars, diving, snorkelling, wellness, activities and transport throughout Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno.
Your villa sorts out where you sleep.
GiliPass helps with everything you do after you wake up.