Full during Idul Fitri at Gili Trawanagan?

Hey,

I've been staying in Jakarta for the past month working as a journalist, and seeing as I am leaving on 22nd September to head to London, I thought I'd travel to Gili T on the 8th o the 9th for a few days.

I realize of course that I am traveling during the worst possible time with the mass exodus thats going on now. I've managed to find a few flights that work though between Jakarta and Mataram. My main questions are though:

Is Gili T that much fuller during Idul Fitri?
And
If I arrive at 15.30 in Mataram with my flight, will I be able to catch any of the boats to Gili T from the Bangsal habour or am I better off going to Sengiggi, spending the night and then heading from there to Gili T in the morning?

Thanks a lot for any help in advance!

It's not really about Idul Fitri, Gili T is very busy in peak season, which has spilled over into September. You really need to make a booking unless you are prepared to be turned away.
Any impact on accommodation from domestic tourists will be in the lower end hotels usually, so turning up on a hope is not a good plan.

If you arrive Mataram 15,30 you will not have time to catch a public ferry to the Gilis. You may not even be able to charter by the time you get to the harbour.

Best plan would be to stay in Senggigi for the night, and then get the Perama bot to Gili T the next morning, which is a little more than the Bangsal ferry, but still reasonable, and more convenient than running the Bangsal gauntlet. By the time you factor in transport to Bangsal it is not much more. Also the trip down the coast is really nice.

There's ofcourse many visitors on Gili Trawangan during Idul Fitri. The good thing is that many Indonesian visitors only come on daytrips, so for that reason I'm sure you'd be able to find accomodation.
Why not prebook? I can recommend some places and then you Google for contact details.
Midrange: Sama-Sama Bungalows. Good Heart Bungalows. Marta's Bungalows. Snapper Bungalows. Dream Village.
Upmarket places: Luce D'Alma and Villa Almarik.
Have a nice stay.

I just spoke to my husband in Gili T last night and it was very quiet there...course last week was packed and with the number of fast boats these days it can change in a morning...I'd say you have a pretty good shot at finding accomodation