1. Visit Selong Belanak Beach which is located in the south of Lombok, a 20min drive from the airport. 1km of just divine beach! Lovely white sand not like the dark sand and sandflies that you’re likely to meet up north of the island. No need to pack a picnic with casual bamboo food stalls along the beach or if you’d like a more cool beach vibe then head to Sempiak Villas Laut Biru cafe & restaurant where kids can enjoy a fresh coconut and munch on some ote ote ( fried zucchini frittas).
Meet Jack the owner of one of the stalls along the beach. He’ll also rent you a board and take your kids out into the waves. 
Sempiak Villas Laut Biru Cafe
2.Visit the Pearl farm just north of Senggigi and take a tour of the pearl farm. One of the best tours I’ve been on. Gibo the tour guide was great with the kids (Autore Pearl farm blog coming soon) and the tour was so informative and educational for the kids. My son’s favourite phrase was “no baby no pearl”.
3. Gili Islands- Trawangan although less orientated to the family crowd it makes for a great 1/2 day trip. We visited Trawangan after the Pearl farm trip and stayed 4 hours on the the largest of the three islands. Taking a normal public boat from Bangsal with black sand on the foreshore we arrived to lovely turquoise waters with washed up coral. Enjoy a lunch at one of the many restaurants and the kids will love searching for their favourite coral while they wait for their food to be served. Then hop on a local taxi (horse & carriage) and take a 40min ride around the island for RP 150,000. Our taxi uncle let the kids hold the reigns and honk the horn! So much fun!
4. Watch the crabs come out to play! Once the tide goes out the little crabs come out to play. Kids will love watching these crustaceans popping in and out of their holes. 
5.Get involved and help the local community by collecting plastic waste or donating toys and clothes to the local schools. I was amazed at the waste on streets, villages and what washes up on the shore. Only through educating and the government implementing correct waste disposal can a real change come into effect. Local communities have no other means than to collect and burn off their waste as there is no collection. During our stay we had the chance to be part of a collective organised by Selong Selo and donated a suitcase of clothes, books and toys. It was lovely to experience the gratitude from these young children and such an important first step for our own children to see what effect their gift in giving had made.
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