Gili Trawangan: Dinner with Locals & Private Cooking Class
Join an authentic Indonesian cooking class inside a real local family home on Gili Trawangan. This hands-on cooking class and authentic dinner with our local hosts, Lalu and Sintha, lets you cook…
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Languages
- English, Indonesian
- Group
- Small group, 2–8 guests
- Pickup
- Any hotel or homestay on Gili Trawangan
- Starts
- 17:30 daily
- Cancellation
- Free, see below
Highlights
- Hands-on Cooking Class: Prepare traditional dishes from scratch with fresh, local ingredients and traditional recipes—far more personal than a standard Bali food tour.
- Authentic Home Visit: Step inside a real family house for a true village experience and experience how locals live.
- Open Cultural Experience: Ask anything about daily life, from dating to politics.
- Small group (max 8), hotel pickup & drop-off included.
- Safe & Hygiene: Enjoy a completely safe and welcoming environment with high hygiene standards.
About this dinner
The evening
Lalu and his team will come pick you up from your hotel or homestay anywhere in Gili Trawagan by electric scooter (on the Gili’s, no motorized vehicles are allowed other than electric bikes and scooters!). Pick up time is at 17:30 for you and all of your guests and you will go straight to their family house on Kalapa road in the middle of the island. This is a great opportunity to see how locals live in the Gili’s while Lalu and his wife Sinta tell you more about their culture, religion, their way of life and answer any questions you might have.
Cooking
You will learn how to cook traditional Sasak/Lombok dishes with Lalu, Sinta and their family. They will walk you through the ingredients, the preparation, the cooking steps and food presentation on banana leaves. A sample menu includes tempe, satay veggie, otak-otak tofu, veggie curry and sambal. For the main dish, we allow you to choose between Fish, Chicken and Meat.
Eating
Lalu and his family with show you how they prepare the banana leaves they eat on, you get to sit with the whole family and enjoy the dinner you just helped prepare!
Meet Lalu & Sinta
Lalu and Sinta live on Gili Trawagan with their family, a total of 10 people in the house! Sinta is currently pregnant and they are expecting their first child! Lalu and Sinta are super social, enjoy hanging out with locals and tourists alike and love to talk about their culture, religion and way of life.
More from this kitchen
What's included
Included
- A full home-cooked dinner: choose vegetarian, chicken or fish
- Hands-on cooking class with Sinta
- A look around the family home
- Drinking water
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Private group — no other travellers
Not included
- Alcohol
- Hotel or accommodation
- Tips
Getting there
- Pickup
- Any hotel or homestay on Gili Trawangan
- Meeting point
- Your hotel or homestay anywhere on Gili Trawangan. Lalu confirms the exact time by WhatsApp the day before.
- Start time
- 17:30 daily
- Ends
- Back at your hotel
Important information
What to bring
- Comfortable clothes you don't mind cooking in
- A little cash if you'd like to tip
Not allowed
- Pets
- Littering
Not suitable for
- Children under 12
- Pregnant women
- Wheelchair users
Know before you go
- The house is a family home, not a restaurant — floors are uneven and there are steps
- Tell us about allergies or dietary needs when you book, not on the night
- Dinner is at the family's own pace; allow a little longer than the listed time
- Photos are welcome, but please ask before photographing family members
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before your dinner, for a full refund. After that the family has already shopped for your meal, so we cannot refund.
Book by 13:30 on the day of your dinner
Questions travellers ask
How much does dinner with Lalu and Sinta cost?
USD 29.95 per person, with a minimum of 2 guests. That covers pickup, the cooking class, dinner, drinking water and the ride home. Alcohol is not included.
Do you pick up from my hotel?
Yes, from any hotel or homestay on Gili Trawangan, at no extra cost. Lalu confirms the time by WhatsApp the day before and takes you home again at the end of the evening.
Can you cook vegetarian?
Yes. Choose vegetarian, chicken or fish when you book. Tell us about allergies or other dietary needs at the same time, so Sinta can shop for them — not on the night.
How long does it take?
About 3 hours from pickup to drop-off. Roughly half of that is cooking; the rest is eating and talking, and the family will not rush you out.
Is this a restaurant?
No. It is Lalu and Sinta's home, and you are a guest in it. You cook in their kitchen and eat what you made, with them. There is no menu and no other table.
Can I bring children?
Children over 12 are welcome. Younger children are not, because of open cooking and the layout of the house.
Why book here instead of on GetYourGuide?
It is the same dinner with the same family. Booking direct means more of what you pay reaches the household that cooks for you, instead of an agency commission.
What guests said about this dinner
★★★★★ 5.0 from 1 review
We were collected from our hotel at five thirty and spent the evening in Lalu and Sinta's kitchen. Sinta showed me how to grind the sambal properly but mine was far too coarse and we ate everything we had made off a banana leaf on the floor with the whole family. Easily the best evening of our trip.
Also bookable on
The same dinner, the same hosts. Booking here sends more of what you pay to the family who cooks for you.
Other dinners in Gili Trawangan
from $29.95
Gili Trawangan: Grill Night with a Fishing Family
Grill and eat the day's catch with Amir and Rohani at their home on Gili Trawangan. They collect you, you thread the skewers and make sambal over the coals, and you eat outside by lamplight. 3 hours, from USD 29.95 per person.
3 hours Private group Pickup included