There are still so many places to visit after Raja Ampat or Bali Islands. Here’s Gili Island which consists of three Islands named Trawangan, Air, and Meno Islands. Diving in Gili Island always gives immense pleasure to all the divers.
Gili itself means “small” so all three Islands in Gali are small yet give exceptional diving experiences for all levels of Scuba Divers.
Scuba Divers in Gili Island may explore 10+ different diving places and enjoy their vacations fearlessly.
You can head towards Gili Island via Fast Boat from Bali. Let’s check the best diving sites on Gili Island.
This is part of our diving in Indonesia we have also covered main Islands which have considerable dive sites.
most Favorite places for Scuba Diving in Gili Island
Halik Reef
Halik reef is located on the North side of Trawangan Island. This diving place offers a great adventure for beginners and expert divers. There’s a sloppy reef of 5 to 24 meters which is why this dive site is enjoyable for all divers.
What you will experience here is steady current and shallow water easy for drift divers. Don’t forget to take your Photography Camera with you if you love underwater photography otherwise, you will miss capturing Soft carol Garden, clownfish, Butterfly, Triggerfish, Reef fish and Green Turtles dwelling all year round. Let divers approach close enough for great photographs.
Simon’s Reef
This place is about 30 m deep and has a sandy bottom between gigantic sea mounds. There are a variety of sea mounds of various sizes and shapes and many different kinds of wildlife hide from the sun in the rocky ridges. Simon’s Reef allows you to see unique creatures which you can not find in any other diving place on Gili Island.
Take Underwater Camera and Torch in order to capture and see the beautiful underwater creatures such as Cuttlefish, invertebrates, scorpion fish, leaf fish, and shy eels are some of the species found here. You will see more marine life if you dive slower at this dive site.
Mirko’s Reef
Mirko’s Reef also known as Secret Reef lies between Air and Meno Island. This is a beautiful and eye-catching reef where Divers can practice deep diving and spot micro marine life at the sea mound, which is home to a variety of sea life. Steady Reef is home to Yellow Trumpetfish, beautiful Long-nosed Butterflyfish, Pufferfish, Scorpion Fish, Leaf Fish, etc.
Air Wall Reef
Air Wall Reef allows divers to dive 5-30 m depending on the locations of the wall. Divers can go to the sandy bottom 30m deep. The current of this dive site changes dramatically but the shallow water allows all types of divers to dive on this site.
There are many macro creatures hidden in the brightly colored gardens, such as cleaner shrimp, porcelain crabs, scorpionfish, and leaf fish. It is home to a variety of reef fish, including wrasse, parrotfish, butterflyfish, and angelfish.
Japanese Wreck
Gili Island was used by the Japanese in the second world war. Therefore, It left some of the memories hidden on this Island. Divers discovered this dive site and saw Japanese ships wreck. Basically, there were two ships which they used for patrolling after world war II. They left the ships, and villagers and dive experts decided to let the ships be sunk.
You can find wrecks of the ship if you dive deep and 45m. A stunning variety of rare nudibranchs live in the densely overgrown sides of the ship, which are covered in beautiful corals. Huge groupers peek out from the wreck when they dive, and batfish swim overhead.
Meno Bounty Wreck
A 30m-long platform has been left behind by the Meno Bounty wreck, which has provided a home for a variety of fish species. After a stormy night around 15 years ago, it was broken in half by the waves and sunk under the waves where it served as a jetty for the bounty cruise ship. The depth ranges from 8 meters to 16 meters.
Since the wreck has existed for so long and has been subject to such strong currents, it is virtually impossible to tell it apart from the reef around it. Divers cannot swim beneath the wreck because of the currents, which are slowly breaking the wreck apart.
In addition, Here you may find leaf scorpionfish, frogfish, sea moths, and little rays. Coral hosts many little crabs, frogfish, and crablets. Car tires, mooring lines, and bicycles have also been placed in this area along with other man-made items. Underwater, you should avoid touching these items, as they can easily cause you to cut yourself.
Glenn Nusa Wreck
In Feb 2016 Glenn Nusa was originally a tugboat which was sunk just to make nothing but a new dive site. You may visit this diving point between Shark Point and Halik. This site is very deep so only advanced level divers may dive here having an open water course or specialized in wreck diving. Since, it was intentionally sunk while diving, you can explore all aspects of Glenn Nusa such as the Captain’s cabin, toilets, guest rooms width of the boat, and the artificial reef.
Manta Point Gili Island
Manta Point is a prominent point for divers on the South side of Trawangan Island. This dive site offers soft carols and normal current which means this diving place is available for all types of divers. On this dive site, you can not only meet Manta Rays but also other marine creatures like Batfish, Cuttlefish, Stingrays green, and Hawksbill Turtles.
Manta rays often swim in a group for the divers. It’s a request to not touch them because touching them produces bacteria which is harmful to Manta’s immune system.
Deep Turbo
Deep turbo is located north of Trawangan. This dive site is a local favorite due to its dramatic topography and equally striking coral garden. It is only for experts or who hold an advanced-level certificate. The current is not stable here which is why snorkelers may face problems.
A sandy bottom surrounds the site’s impressive gorges, ridges, and sea mounds, where garden eels, blue-spotted stingrays, and cuttlefish thrive. Here you may also see rays, sharks, and large schools of fish.
Shark Point Gili Island
Seeing sharks closely is the dream of all Scuba divers. This is why this place is considered the best and most visited place on Gili Island. Here you can see large sea creatures.
Capture these all marine creatures with your Camera on this point you can encounter Reef Sharks. In the shallow parts of this dive, you can also see cuttlefish, stingrays, and green turtles. In the blue, you can see schools of trevally and other pelagic fish.
