My experience diving the Gili Islands, Indonesia
The Gili Islands off the coast of Bali contain some incredible diving spots, such as Turtle City and Bounty Wreck.
We visited these islands as part of our two month long Bali trip, and it did not disappoint.
This guide will take you through everything there is to know about the Gili Islands from a diver’s perspective, so let’s get straight into it.
The islands of Gili Meno and Gili Air
About the Gili Islands
The Gili Islands are an archipelago of three small islands or Gili island triplets — Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air.
They are located to the east of Bali and are a lesser-known diving spot, although they are popular with tourists for a day trip when staying in Bali.
How to get to the Gili Islands
The Gili Islands can be reached from mainland Bali, where you can take a boat ride to Gili Trawangan.
From there, you can take a short boat ride with the locals to either of the other islands.
Where to stay in the Gili Islands
The Gili Islands offer different things depending on the type of stay you want.
Gili Meno is more relaxed (locals call it honeymoon island) than the more touristy Trawangan.
People go there to party, and we wanted to avoid that. We believe the best island to dive and relax on is Gili Meno, so that’s why we specifically went there, as we were remote working and diving.
We stayed on the island for about two weeks with Divine Divers.
Gili Meno, a quiet and peaceful paradise
Food & Travel
Food options are very limited on the island, and there aren’t many shops.
The best thing to eat is fresh seafood, which is usually the catch of the day.
In terms of travel, there are no cars on Gili island; you can rent a sand bike, walk, or use a horse cart (the most expensive way). It’s definitely an experience if it’s your first time in this place.
Luckily, it doesn't take long to get around the island!
Best time of year to dive the Gili Islands
Diving in the Gili Islands between September and November is great as it’s much less touristy with good diving conditions, however, most people tend to go during the Summer.
Diving the Gili Islands
Dive conditions around the Gili Islands are easy for beginners and advanced divers. My wife just did her advanced open water certificate a few weeks before while staying in Tulamben and Amed, so it was a perfect place to stay and dive.
Gili islands are super famous for its turtles and the conservation efforts have helped the population strive.
Hawksbill turtle munching on corals
Green turtle passing by while snorkeling
Just walking in the water from shore - turtle sightings are almost guaranteed. Endangered hawksbill turtles are often seen munching on corals in the shallows while snorkeling. You will encounter turtles during dives as well.
Most common species: Hawksbill and Green turtles. Green turtles have rounded faces, while hawksbill turtles have hooked beaks.
Bounty Wreck
A small wreck called The Bounty Wreck is located on the island's Southwest side.
It is a sunken jetty. Whitetip reef sharks often swim around the wreck or rest on the ocean floor during the day.
Resting whitetip reef sharks
Soft coral growing on the wreck
Turtle City
The best dive site for turtles is Turtle City.
It’s a large pinnacle with lots of turtles lying around. According to locals, some of the turtles are over 100 years old. It’s a good opportunity to accumulate different types of turtle photos as turtles are resting on the ocean floor and occasionally go up for air.
One of the elderly turtles
My wife photobombing a resting turtle
If that wasn’t enough, a local octopus stole the show as it casually walked around (or on turtles) changing colors. Octopuses are naturally very shy and afraid of divers; they need time to build trust.
This individual however, was clearly used to divers and did not seem disturbed by our presence. Took awesome close-up photos.
Close-up shot of the Walking Octopus - See Print Here
Other things to do
We also participated in a voluntary beach clean-up organized by local Trash Heroes to educate kids on the island about the importance of keeping their island trash-free.
Kids were eager to clean up the beach
Swimming after the work
It was fun to see how enthusiastic the kids were to pick up trash from the beach. After the hard work, they went to a swimming party together. It was fun!
We spent our last night on the party island, Gili Trawangan, before flying to the Nusa islands (internal link to nusa island blog) chasing mantas. Trawangan is a busy place with a night market worth visiting.
