Horse Riding on the Gili Islands: Sunset Ride Prices, Times, Booking and Horse Welfare

29 October 202631 October 2026

“I heard you can ride a horse on the beach at sunset in the Gilis, but on which island, for how much, and at what time?” “I have also heard the horses are not treated well. Is it all right to ride?” Look into horse riding on the Gili Islands and you soon run into these two questions.

The short answer: most of the riding on offer is on Gili Trawangan, and on Gili Air some tour companies also sell evening rides. Rides are mainly early in the morning and in the evening; sunset rides leave around 17:00 and last 30 minutes to an hour. The price varies a great deal depending on where you book.

When animal welfare groups have raised concerns about horses on the Gilis, their focus has mainly been the horses that pull cidomo (horse carts) carrying people and luggage, rather than riding horses. Problems such as the lack of a vet on the islands have been raised, while efforts to improve things also continue.

This article is based only on sources we could read in full as of October 2026: the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism’s official travel site, a riding stable’s official contact page and progress reports, tour company and booking site listings, and articles by animal welfare groups and the press. We could not open the stable’s official price list, so prices are given as “the range we could confirm”.

It is written for people heading to the Gilis who are wondering whether to fit in an evening ride, who want to know if their children can ride, or who are unsure because they are worried about how the horses are treated.

As of October 2026

What this article covers

✓Which of the three Gili Islands you can ride on
✓The price range, and how prices and cancellation terms change with where you book
✓Sunset ride times and how the evening runs
✓Whether beginners and children can ride, what to wear and how to book
✓What animal welfare groups say about cidomo horses, and what to look for when choosing an operator

In short

Horse riding on the Gilis is centred on Gili Trawangan, and evening rides can also be booked on Gili Air. Sunset rides leave around 17:00, and sunset is around 18:00 from May to November and around 18:30 from December to March. Prices vary widely by where you book: the Ministry of Tourism’s official site lists Rp100,000 to 250,000 per hour (about US$5.60 to 14), while a tour company sells one hour on Gili Air at Rp600,000 per person (about US$34) (listings we could confirm as of October 2026). Minimum ages and weight limits for children also differ by operator, so check directly before you book. If you are concerned about the horses, a practical approach is to choose an operator that puts one rider on each horse, sticks to its weight limit and rests its horses.

Contents

Which Gili island can you ride on?

Gili Trawangan has the most information on riding. The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism’s official travel site describes riding along the coast of Gili Trawangan as “a unique experience to try on this island”. It notes that there are no motorised vehicles such as cars or motorbikes on the island, and that the west-facing beaches are the place for sunset, with the sun going down behind Bali’s Mount Agung. For an overview of the island and where to stay, see our Gili Trawangan complete guide.

The name that comes up most on Gili Trawangan is Stud Horse Riding and Rescue. According to a travel information site, it has been running since 2004 as a home for retired and rescued horses, and uses its riding income to care for them.

According to the stable’s donation page, it keeps 25 horses, of which eight are suitable for riding. The rest are retired, injured, or too small to ride. Bookings and enquiries are handled on WhatsApp, via the number on its official contact page.

On Gili Air, a tour company based in Bali lists one-hour sunrise and evening rides, and an experiences booking site also lists a sunset ride on Gili Air. A local information site mentions stables on Gili Meno too, but we could not confirm any official information.

How much does it cost: the price range we could confirm

First, we could not confirm an official price list from any riding stable. Stud’s official contact page links to a price list file (titled as the June 2024 version), but we could not open it. So here we list the prices we could confirm on the official tourism site and on tour company and booking site listings.

← Scroll the table sideways

Listed by	Island	Duration	Price
Indonesian Ministry of Tourism official travel site	Gili Trawangan	Per hour	Rp100,000 to 250,000 (about US$5.60 to 14); no date given
Bali-based tour company	Gili Air	1 hour	Rp600,000 per person (about US$34)
International experiences booking site (Musement)	Gili Trawangan	About 30 minutes	From 68 pounds sterling
Airbnb Experiences	Gili Air	About 30 minutes	From 76 Canadian dollars

*Prices shown on each page as of October 2026. US$ figures at US$1 = about Rp17,800 (September 2026). Prices listed in other foreign currencies are not converted.

The Ministry of Tourism’s “Rp100,000 to 250,000 per hour” carries no date, and we could not confirm whether it reflects current prices. It is safest to assume that the same “ride on the beach” can cost very different amounts depending on where you book it.

If you contact a stable directly, confirm “how many minutes for how much” and “whether the price is per person” in writing, for example in a WhatsApp message, to avoid misunderstandings on the day. A local information site also mentions riders who reported disagreements over prices, and recommends confirming the price before you ride.

Caution

Cancellation terms also differ by where you book: the Musement listing said “no refund even if you cancel in advance”, the Airbnb experience allowed free cancellation up to one day before the start, and the KKday listing allowed free cancellation up to two days before (as of October 2026). If you are unsure of the weather, a booking you can cancel is the safer choice.
Check how long you actually ride: pages differ on whether the listed time includes meeting and briefing or is time on the horse.

What time do you ride: sunset ride times and how the evening runs

Rides are mainly in the early morning and the evening. The tour company listing rides on Gili Air starts its sunrise ride at 6:00 and its evening ride at 17:00, each lasting one hour. The Airbnb sunset ride on Gili Air runs for about 30 minutes, from 17:15 to 17:45. A travel information site lists Stud as open daily from 6:00 to 19:00, and some riders’ reviews say it does not run rides between 11:00 and 16:00 in the middle of the day.

On sunset times, an article by the state news agency Antara (2022) gave the best time to watch the sunset on Gili Trawangan as “around 18:00 Central Indonesian Time” (according to US Naval Observatory astronomical data, sunset is around 18:00 from May to November and around 18:30 from December to March). Central Indonesian Time is the same time zone as Bali and Lombok. An international booking site asks riders to arrive at the stables 15 minutes before the ride.

Riders’ reviews say the beach gets quite busy in the evening, so if you want to canter, a morning ride suits you better. The route changes with the tide. Stud’s April 2026 progress report says it treated a horse whose hooves had been damaged by sharp coral around the beach. Riders’ reviews also mention guides choosing the route by the tide to keep the horses’ feet off the coral, so you cannot always ride along the water’s edge.

Figure: How a sunset ride runs (rough guide)

Figure: rough guide based on tour company and booking site listings and the Antara article (as of October 2026). Sunset times from US Naval Observatory astronomical data (Central Indonesian Time). Times vary by operator.

Can beginners and children ride: age, weight and health conditions

Almost every listing we could check says beginners can ride. The tour company that sells rides on Gili Air says it caters to both beginners and experienced riders, with one guide for each rider. The same listing says each horse carries one rider, never two, and that the weight limit is 90 kg. A 2020 article in which a Trawangan dive shop introduced Stud also said that even riders with no experience are fine, as staff walk alongside and handle the horse.

For children, the conditions differ completely depending on where you book. The KKday listing says ages 6 to 70, the Airbnb experience on Gili Air is 18 and over, and the Musement listing says ages 0 to 17 cannot take part.

Stud’s conditions for children were not stated in any public information we could find. If you want to ride with children, do not rely only on booking site conditions; ask the stable directly about age, height and weight limits. For planning a family trip as a whole, see our guide to Lombok with kids.

There are health conditions too. The KKday listing says the ride is not recommended for people with back problems or pregnant women, and that people with serious conditions such as heart disease cannot take part.

On helmets, some Stud riders’ reviews say “helmets were provided and clean”, while a review of the Airbnb experience on Gili Air said “helmets would be good”. Whether helmets are available differs by operator, so check before you book. In case of a fall, it is also worth checking what your travel insurance covers before you leave.

What to wear and bring, and how to book

For clothing, an international booking site recommends “comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes”. The Gili Air tour company’s listing says shoes or sandals (no heels), long trousers or shorts, and sunscreen. Some riders’ reviews mention being lent chaps (leather guards that protect the shins) and hats.

To book with Stud, contact it on WhatsApp via its official contact page. A local information site says booking ahead is essential for riding with Stud. Rather than turning up on the day you arrive on the island, it is more reliable to fix the date and time by the day before. If you use a tour company or booking site, compare the differences in price and cancellation terms described above.

Getting around the Gilis is limited to walking, cycling and cidomo (horse carts). If you are cycling back to your accommodation after dark, a light makes it safer.

What to know about how the horses are treated

When the welfare of horses on the Gilis comes up, the horses at issue have mainly been those that pull cidomo. On islands without cars, horses are the main way to move people and goods. Gili Eco Trust, an environmental group working on the Gilis, lists the following problems.

There is no vet on the islands (the nearest is on mainland Lombok), and vets who specialise in horses are even harder to find. Feed is shipped in from the mainland, and many drivers struggle to pay for feed and treatment. After hard times such as the 2018 earthquakes and the pandemic, it is still difficult for drivers to earn enough to look after their horses properly. Skilled farriers (craftspeople who fit horseshoes) are scarce, and some drivers make their own horseshoes.

It is an old study, but an animal welfare newspaper reported on a survey of the Gilis carried out in April 2010 by the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN). It found that horses on Trawangan were given only salty well water, that their horseshoes did not fit and were fixed with construction nails, and that there were no limits on the loads they pulled or the hours they worked each day. JAAN’s founder said that “the average lifespan of a horse on Trawangan is just three years”.

That report is 16 years old and concerns cidomo horses. It does not describe the current situation or that of any particular riding operator.

Improvements have been reported since. A Lonely Planet article (updated July 2026) says horse care has become much better since 2015 thanks to the non-profit Horses of Gili and Gili Eco Trust, and that the two groups provide education on care and free basic veterinary treatment. The English edition of the Indonesian news outlet Tempo reported that Gili Eco Trust and JAAN check the health of horses and cats twice a year (we could not confirm the article’s publication date).

In 2019, the same welfare newspaper reported that volunteers from Australia and Indonesia, including vets and farriers, ran a two-week clinic, and that in their first week on the Gilis they carried out 52 health checks (including vitamin injections and deworming) and 25 hoof trims or shoeings.

What about riding horses? Stud’s progress reports on its donation page (2026) set out the stable’s approach. The August report says riding income supports both working and retired horses, and that the stable does not set the horses’ workload to match demand, but rotates the horses and rests them when needed.

According to the donation page, during the hard times of the eruption, the earthquakes and the pandemic, many horses on the island were sold for meat, and the stable took in 16 horses that were about to be sold. These are the stable’s own statements and have not been independently verified. We could not find substantial public information on how other riding operators treat their horses, so we do not comment on them either way.

As something travellers can do, Gili Eco Trust suggests “choosing horse-friendly accommodation”, noting that some places put out drinking water for horses waiting for passengers or try to add shade and trees along the paths. It also says most accommodation on Trawangan is less than a 20-minute walk away, so for short distances you can choose to walk rather than take a cidomo.

The group says donations are often the most helpful thing, and asks people to contact it if they are worried about an animal. Lonely Planet suggests that when you do take a cidomo, you consider limiting it to two people and their luggage.

What to look for when choosing an operator

You cannot judge an operator from the outside with certainty, but you can check the following when you book and at the stables on the day.

When you book, you can ask about the price and duration, age and weight limits, helmets, and whether there is one rider per horse (some listings state clearly that they do not allow two riders). An operator that sets a weight limit and sticks to it on the day is showing that it considers the load on the horse. Some riders’ reviews say Stud enforced its weight limit strictly.

On the day, look at the horses: check for wounds, damaged hooves or extreme thinness, and whether they have shade and fresh water. The 2020 dive shop article said Stud’s horses can drink fresh water at any time, and a local information site says Stud limits riding to three sessions to keep the horses from getting tired (it does not say whether this is per day).

Figure: What to check before you ride

Figure: compiled from the booking site and tour company listings, animal welfare group information and riders’ reviews cited in the text (as of October 2026).

A note from Sekotong

On the day you cross to the Gilis, boat times and waiting at the harbour can easily throw your plans off, so a sunset ride is easier to fit in on your second evening or later than on the evening you arrive. When you enquire, sending the date, the number of riders, each rider’s age and weight and their riding experience all at once speeds things up. Keep the reply that confirms the price and cancellation terms until the day of the ride.

Who Gili horse riding suits, and who it does not

The drawbacks first. With Gili horse riding, it is hard to check official price lists, and prices, cancellation terms and minimum ages for children change with where you book. The beach is busy in the evening, and the route changes with the tide and the coral. Improvements in horse welfare on the islands have been reported, but the groups themselves still point to problems such as the lack of a vet. If these things bother you, there is no need to force a ride into your plans.

On the other hand, if you do not mind checking the conditions yourself and want to watch the sun go down from horseback on an evening beach, it is an easy thing to fit into your plans, at 30 minutes to an hour per ride.

Besides the three Gilis, there are also islands called Gili off Sekotong in southwest Lombok, known together as the South Gilis. There are few places to stay and you cannot count on money changers or ATMs, and most people cross by chartering a boat from the harbour at Sekotong, but they are quieter for it.

To compare which suits you, the three Gilis or the South Gilis, see Gili 3 vs the South Gilis and our guide to the South Gilis off Sekotong. In a fishing village in Sekotong, we run a beach cafe, SAKURA CAFE (10:00 to 22:00, closed on Mondays), together with local Sasak people.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Which Gili island can I go horse riding on?

Gili Trawangan has the most information, and on Gili Air tour companies and booking sites also list evening rides. A local information site says there are stables on Gili Meno too, but we could not confirm any official information.

Q. What time do sunset rides start?

In the listings we could check, rides leave around 17:00 and last 30 minutes to an hour. Sunset is around 18:00 from May to November and around 18:30 from December to March.

Q. How much does it cost?

The Ministry of Tourism’s official site lists Rp100,000 to 250,000 per hour (about US$5.60 to 14) but gives no date, while through a tour company one hour on Gili Air was Rp600,000 per person (about US$34) (as of October 2026). Prices vary a lot by where you book, so check directly with the stable.

Q. Can children ride?

It depends on where you book. One booking site accepts riders from age 6, while one experience is limited to over-18s. If you are travelling with children, the reliable way is to ask the stable directly about age, height and weight limits.

Q. I am worried the horses are being treated badly.

What animal welfare groups have mainly raised is a lack of water, hoof care and veterinary treatment for the horses that pull cidomo. Improvements have been reported, but problems such as the lack of a vet on the islands remain. If you ride, choose an operator that puts one rider on each horse, sticks to its weight limit and rests its horses.

Summary

Horse riding on the Gilis is centred on Gili Trawangan, and you can also book on Gili Air. Sunset rides leave around 17:00 and last 30 minutes to an hour, and sunset is around 18:00 from May to November and around 18:30 from December to March. Prices, minimum ages for children and cancellation terms differ a great deal by where you book, so check directly with the stable, in writing.

On how the horses are treated, both the problems surrounding cidomo horses and the groups’ efforts to improve things are on public record. Knowing both, if you decide to ride, check the six points in the figure.