1. App in the Air – your personal travel assistant
Want to have all your flight, hotel and travel information in one app? App in the Air sends you reminders for boarding times, flight deals and has a map view of where you’ve been in the world! This is a useful app for travelers as it keeps all your travel information in an organized and handy way.
App in the Air connects to your emails so it can retrieve your boarding passes and organizes it in the app for you! How cool is that? The app will ease your mind and keep everything organized for you. Which is exactly what you need during your vacation!
2. Elk app – currency exchange
Elkis a currency exchange app that allows youto convert the amount you want without giving you aheadache! It provides you with the currency exchanges side by side. Rather than typing in an amount, the converter tool converts it for you automatically. It has all the conversions side by side in a vertical format ready to go. You can swipe to double the amount and see what the conversion is in your own currency.
Elk comes in handy when you need to exchange your cash for Rupiah (IDR). We advise you not to exchange your money at the airport, as the service fee will be expensive. There are several places to exchange your cash for Rupiah (IDR). You can go to Coco Supermarket and check if they have the money exchange desk point there. Exchanging your money here will have a lower service fee and they won’t try to rip you off.
If you need to withdraw cash while you’re on the Gili islands, there are several ATMs here. Be careful which ATMs you go to. The safest and most popular is Mandiri. It’s difficult to hack and it has camera security in their ATM booths.
3. Maps.Me app – navigate with maps offline
This is a great app to navigate a new place if you don’t have an internet plan or your sim card isn’t working. You can navigate with their offline map, so you don’t have to worry about getting stranded somewhere in some side street. Or walking around in circles trying to find your hotel or that restaurant you found on TripAdvisor. Find out the best way to get to the Gilis to enjoy living in paradise with us!
You might think that the Gili islands are small and you don’t need a map to navigate around, but you do! You can easily get lost in our side streets and walk around in circles, especially if you’re directionally challenged (like some of us over here!)
You will need to download the map with an internet and WiFi connection. Make sure you coordinate this before leaving for your trip or else it won’t work! Want to buy a sim card to get access to the internet while you’re traveling in Indonesia, but don’t know which one to buy? Take a look at our latest blog, 4 Insider Tips to Living Cheap on the Gili Islands!
4. Revolut app – online travel banking card
Revolut is a traveling bank card. With this app, you can budget your finances and avoid paying international ATM fees. It’s a great way to split bills between your friends who also have a Revolut account. They offer one free basic plan and two premium subscription plans. Download their app and check to see what plan suits you best for your specific travel needs!
You can top up your account using your debit or credit card. The transferred money will then appear in your Revolut account in less than two seconds.
They have a great feature that prevents online card theft. It allows you to feel secure when making online purchases. They create a digital disposable card for you and it’s then disposed of after use. This comes in handy when you’re purchasing airline tickets from a third party website that you may not trust.
5. Learning Indonesian – language learning app
The local language in Indonesia is Indonesian, but since Indonesia is very big, each island has its own dialect. The dialect spoken on the Gilis is Sasak, but the locals also speak Indonesian.
The app Learning Indonesian will allow you to learn basic conversation skills. How to say ‘thank you’, ‘you’re welcome’, the different forms of formal and informal use of ‘you’. Overall it will allow you to learn simple and easy phrases to communicate with the locals here.
The app, Learning Indonesian, offers several audio lessons that allow you to learn in an informative and different way. Try it out and start speaking with our local brothers and sisters, they’ll love it!
6. RefillMyBottle app – find water refill stations
Save plastic while you visit our beautiful Gili islands! Rather than buying plastic water bottles, you can use a reusable bottle. You can refill it at several refill stations here by using the app RefillMyBottle. With a map view of the restaurants and bars that offer free refills for free or for a small fee of 5,000 – 10,000 Rupiah, you’ll be saving our planet in no time!
Find out how else you make a difference while visiting the Gili islands!
7. Go-Jek app – transportation and taxi service
There are no motorized vehicles on the Gili islands, that’s why the island air is so fresh here! We use bikes and cidomos, which are horse carts used for work labour around the islands. Find out more about the horses and cidomos on the islands in our latest blog, 4 Misconceptions About The Gili Islands.
Go-Jek is a transportation taxi service app, similar to Uber. It allows you to navigate around Bali and Lombok for cheap. This comes in handy if you don’t know how to ride a motorbike. The app can’t be used on the Gilis since there are no motorized vehicles, but we thought we would add it in because it can be used in the popular neighboring islands such as Bali and Lombok.
You don’t have to set-up any payment information or attach your credit or debit card in the app. You pay in cash (Rupiah) when your ride is completed. You can either ride on the back of a motorbike or in an air-conditioned car. Riding in a car will be more expensive, but worth the ride if you have your luggage with you or just want to get away from the Indonesian heat for a bit.
Know of any other smart travel apps that you would like to share? We would love to hear from you! Or, do you want to see the questions we receive every day? Check out our FAQ page!
Feel free to share the sunshine!
