Known as the must-see destination for snorkeling and scuba diving in Indonesia, the Gili Islands have gained immense popularity among divers of all types, both experienced and beginners. With the water temperatures averaging around 28 degrees throughout the year, the islands are perfect for water sports and activities at almost any time. The islands are also home to diverse marine life and a wide variety of topography, including canyons, ridges, walls, and slopes. The most exotic marine life found when diving in the Gili Islands includes an abundance of turtles, white tip sharks, scorpion fish, octopuses, cuttlefish, lionfish, sea snakes, and moray eels, not to mention a wide variety of both hard and soft coral.
Haan’s Reef in Gili Air has developed into a renowned diving spot known for excellent “muck diving.” Here, divers can explore all kinds of rare species, such as flying gurnards, pink leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, frogfish, robust ghost pipefish, ringed pipefish, blue ringer octopuses, pygmy seahorses, and different varieties of frogfish and turtles.
Diving in the Gili Islands
The Gili islands and the neighboring town of Lombok are regarded as some of the best diving spots in the world because of their diverse and rich sea bed topography. Diving in the Gili islands can bring you face to face with myriad species of ocean life, including angel fish, moray eels, cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, and turtles. Visitors interested in extreme sports like diving in the Gili islands can even visit Shark Point to view various sharks. The Volker’s Golf course is just a short distance away from there, and it is so named because the green sea floor looks just like a golf course.
Exciting Marine Life in the Gili Islands
Marine Creatures
Almost every species of reef fish can be found in the Gili Islands. Really lucky divers will spot exotic marine creatures such as the black-tip reef shark and the white-tip reef shark. The giant manta ray and oceanic sunfish are other rare marine life varieties found here. If you are fond of turtles, diving Gili will not disappoint; the Gili Islands are fondly known as the turtle capital of the world. On rare occasions, turtles can even be seen coming up to the water’s surface.
Coral
The corals in the region that are easiest to see are mostly dead or in extremely bad shape. To really see the exquisite coral that the islands have to offer, you’ve got to go for a dive, and the view is more than worth it.
Best Diving Sites in the Gili Islands
Three islands make up the Gili Islands:
Gili Trawangan
This island is at the top of the list for the best diving opportunities. It has held on to its reputation as a ‘party island’ due to the large number of restaurants, hotels, and dive operations that are ever-increasing.
Gili Meno
This is considered the quietest option for tourists wishing to dive in the Gili islands. Though it doesn’t have many accommodation options, its white sand beaches and coral life are breathtaking and make the trip worthwhile.
Gili Air
This island is where you can find the largest local population out of all islands in the region. It offers facilities for enjoying marine life through dives and allows visitors to experience the region’s local culture.
There are currently 18 dive sites surrounding the three islands; a complete list of all the sites islands is included below:
- Air Slope
- Air Wall
- Basket Coral
- Biorock
- Boomies
- Bounty Wreck
- Coral Fan Garden
- Deep Sponge Coral
- Frogfish Point
- Manta Point
- Meno Slope
- Meno Wall
- Mikro Reef
- Shark Point
- Sponge Coral
- Sunset
- Takat Malang
- Turtle Point
Best Time to Go Scuba Diving in the Gili Islands
Visitors can enjoy scuba diving for most of the year, but it’s generally a good idea to avoid booking a trip from December through January. The rain in the area during these months reduces visibility greatly, creating increased danger risks, especially for novice divers. The most ideal months for diving in the Gili islands are from May through September.
Scuba Diving Conditions
The water temperature in the region ranges between 26°C and 30°C, making it ideal for scuba diving, snorkeling, and other extreme sports. Most of the dives you will go on in the Gili Islands will, however, be drift dives due to the strong current in the area. The dive operators on the islands are well aware of the currents and will not expect you to swim back to the boat – instead, the dive boat will come and find you. A quick crash course in drift diving will be given to beginners in these conditions.
Diving Courses
The Gili Islands offer several inexpensive options for taking scuba diving courses. The islands have gained a worldwide reputation as a great dive teaching center. With such a vast array of plant life and sea creatures to observe even during a class, the Gilis are perfect for all kinds of water-related extreme sports. They offer excellent visibility in the 15 to 20-meter range, thus allowing divers to witness the exotic marine life. Due to the significant popularity of diving in the Gili islands, the number of diving courses and instructors keeps increasing.
Gili Trawangan offers the largest number of diving operators, though SSI and PADI-licensed operators can be found on all three islands. Fantastic facilities are provided, and they also hire Western dive instructors to improve the services they provide to visitors worldwide. Great options are available for every type of diver, from those who are learning to dive for the first time to those who are looking for a challenge or advancing their existing qualifications. Most of the operators offering diving Gili islands courses offer SSI as well as PADI options.
Some of the most common diving courses that visitors opt for include fun dives, discover scuba, scuba review, advanced open water, open water + nitrox, rescue diving, drift diving, and dive master courses.
