The CDC reports no malaria on the Gilis. Rural Lombok and Rinjani are on its list.

Yes, and the two halves of a typical trip get different malaria advice. The CDC reports no malaria transmission on the Gili Islands, while rural Lombok, which takes in a Mount Rinjani trek, is on its list for prevention medicine. Dengue is present on both, carried by a mosquito that bites by day.

Two trips, two malaria answers

The CDC's Indonesia page lists "Rural areas of Kalimantan (Borneo), West Nusa Tenggara (includes the island of Lombok), Sulawesi, and Sumatra" for malaria prevention medicine, and reports "No malaria transmission in the resort areas of Bali or Java, the Gili Islands, or the Thousand Islands (Pulau Seribu)."

The beach strips sit in between. The CDC doesn't say whether Senggigi and Kuta Lombok count as rural, so ask the clinic with your hotel's name. Local numbers are low but real. Indonesia's Ministry of Health early-warning system logged 66 confirmed malaria cases across West Nusa Tenggara in 2026 through late October, and after the 2018 earthquake a ministry blood survey in Gunung Sari, inland in West Lombok, turned up more than 40 cases.

Dengue and the daytime routine

The same system logged 6,289 suspected dengue cases in West Nusa Tenggara in 2026 through late October, the 13th-highest count among Indonesia's provinces. The CDC says "There is elevated chikungunya risk in Indonesia," though the province logged only 3 suspected chikungunya cases this year. Both viruses travel with the day-biting Aedes mosquito, so repellent goes on over sunscreen in the morning, after swims and before sunset. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Where the bites are

On the Gilis, mosquitoes pick up in the rainy season and multiply quickly after heavy rain, and guesthouse gardens are the likely spots at dusk. Ask whether your room has a net or air-conditioning. Gili Trawangan's bars tend to keep people out late, long after the morning's repellent has worn off, so put on a fresh coat before you go.

On Rinjani, the villages and forested lower trails around Senaru and Sembalun are the rural nights the CDC's listing covers, so cover up at dusk in the guesthouses. The cold upper camps tend to have few mosquitoes. A rural trek is also where the CDC suggests considering Japanese encephalitis vaccine, so raise it at the same clinic visit. Keep away from dogs too, since the CDC says "Dogs infected with rabies are commonly found in Indonesia."

When to go

Lombok's dry season runs roughly May to October, and the rains roughly November to March or April, the buggier stretch on the Gilis. Rinjani's trails tend to close for part of the wet season, roughly January to March. The CDC's malaria listing for rural Lombok names no season.

Where you're going

Coming over from Bali? The Bali & Indonesia briefing covers the Zika notice, and the Ubud briefing covers the rice fields.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor forum threads and a resort review and linked so you can read them in full. Only one carries a year (2020), so read them for where and when bites happen and use the figures above for this year.

• Kuta Lombok & the south coast · 2020

  Asked about malaria around Kuta and the south coast, a reply said the malaria risk in south Lombok is considered very slim and that dengue is the greater risk in Indonesia today. TripAdvisor ↗

• Gili Trawangan · rainy season (about Nov-Apr)

  A reply said the rainy season, roughly November to April, is traditionally the worse time for mosquitoes, though not in huge clouds, and recommended DEET plus coils or sprays from the island's mini-markets. TripAdvisor ↗

• Manta Dive Gili Trawangan Resort · after heavy rain

  A guest's review complained about mosquitoes. The resort's manager replied that mosquitoes multiply very fast after heavy rain and that rooms have plug-in vaporizers and air conditioning but no mosquito nets. TripAdvisor ↗

• Senggigi

  A reply said the mosquito that spreads dengue and chikungunya was present in the Senggigi area and that malaria cases there had been few in recent years. TripAdvisor ↗

• Gili Air

  A traveler asked about bites that did not look like mosquito bites, saying they had not seen or heard many mosquitoes; the thread did not confirm what caused them. TripAdvisor ↗

One more rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were on Lombok, and whether you trekked or stayed on the Gilis. Dengue usually shows up within two weeks; malaria can take longer.

Traveler questions