10 Best Dive Sites in Gili Island in 2023

This dive site is ideal for beginners along with any experts looking to start their dive trip on a beautiful multi-level diving site. There is a canopy of rich and vibrant coral stretching from 5-24m of depth. You can choose what depth to stay at to experience the beautiful underwater world.

• Docile, tranquil turtles are year-round residence on this dive site
• Gullies with rich variety of marine life at depth
• Can be a great drift dive thanks to steady currents.

What you will see:

This coral filled dive site is the home to many reef fish which frolic in the shallow waters. If you want to practise your photography skills, then you will enjoy the shallow and colourful views at around 5m. Green and hawksbill turtles are also year-round residents who munch on the coral and let divers approach close enough for a great photograph.

For anyone who wishes to see a Manta Ray, this is a dive site they should add to their bucket list. The currents at this dive site tend to be mild, meaning divers of any level can enjoy seeing the spectacular creatures gliding overhead.  Often, manta rays will swim in trains, with certain divers being lucky enough to see up to 20 individuals on a dive dive! Ensure to not touch these regal creatures as contact with human skin can transfer bacteria and lower their immune system.

• Manta Rays congregate at this dive site
• The wall descent attracts reef sharks and sting rays.
• Great dive for beginners.

What you will see:

Apart from the majestic manta, this dive site gives you the opportunity to enjoy seeing masses of staghorn coral with small fishes hiding within. There are also many sting rays passing in the blue water, cuttlefish swimming around, and octopus hiding in cracks and crevices.

This deep dive site includes many sea mounds rising from the 30m sandy bottom attracting a variety of sea creatures and growing beautiful coral. The frequent coral means that massive sea fans have grown at a depth of 20m, where you can see many small invertebrates hiding.

• Advanced Certification Required
• Deep dive with beautiful sea mounds
• Megafauna such as leopard sharks and rays pass through

What you will see:

There are plenty of hard and soft corals surrounded by reef fish. The depth of this dive site means that divers can see leopard sharks and giant rays cruising in the blue around the sea mound. Keep an eye out on the sandy bottom, as rays can camouflage extremely well. There are also garden eels poking their heads out of the sand, butterfly fish amongst the coral, and sea turtles making the occasional appearance.

This is one of the most popular sites at Gili T because of the amount of megafauna that aggregates here. The unique topography of the area attracts the animals in large numbers. The dive site has a flat sandy bottom which transitions into deeper canyons that run parallel to the shore.

• Greatest variety of marine species to be seen on a single dive
• Almost guaranteed shark sightings
• Canyons providing excellent hiding spots for marine invertebrates.
• The full moon brings a massive congregation of bump head parrot fish

What you will see:

Make sure to bring your camera on this dive to capture the reef sharks hiding in the canyons with fish fluttering all around them. This is also a great spot to see cuttlefish, stingrays, and green turtles hanging around in the shallow parts of this dive. Schooling trevally and other pelagic fish can be see swirling in the blue.

The Glenn Nusa is a wreck that was originally a tugboat in Lombok. Then it was retired and bought by Trawangan dive centres to be purposefully sunk as a new dive site. It is situated between Halik and Shark Point on a sloping bottom. The hull is at a depth of 22m, with the other side of the ship descending to further down to 29m. Its depth means it is an advanced dive, and ideal to be completed as part of the Advanced Open Water Course or Wreck Specialty.

• Ship that was purposefully sunk as a dive site
• Deep dive with the wreck lying at 29m
• Safe penetration possible

What you will see:

Since it was purposefully sunk, safe penetration into the wreck is able. You will be able to swim through the captain’s cabin, check out the anchor on the outside, see the massive cargo space, and ship toilets. The ship is slowly transforming from a massive hunk of metal into an artificial reef, with every passing month attracting more sea creatures.

All that remains of the Meno Bounty wreck is a 30m long platform which has become the home to many fish species. It used to be a jetty for the bounty cruise ship until around 15 years ago when a stormy night broke it in half and sunk it beneath the waves. It is located at a relatively shallow 8m descending to 16m. The length of time and persuasive currents means the wreck is virtually hard to distinguish from the surrounding reef. The wreck is slowly breaking apart due to the currents, and divers are therefore not allowed to swim underneath the wreck.

• Old Jetty which is now a great wreck dive
• Shallow at 16m at the deepest point
• Rich iron material stimulates coral growth

What you will see:

Due to the iron structure of the bounty jetty, this dive site is particularly stunning in terms of the soft and hard coral coverage. The coral is the home to many leaf scorpion fish, little crabs, frog fish, sea moths, and little rays. There is also a collection of other man-made items that have been placed in this area including car tires, mooring lines, and bicycles. Be careful not to touch any of these items, as they can easily cut you underwater.

This deep dive site is also known as the secret reef and features a stunning long sea mound that stretches the length of Meno Island. It’s a stunning deep dive that requires divers to be a minimum of advanced certification. The sea mound is the home to a variety of sea life and provides a fantastic spot to practise deep diving and spotting micro marine life.

• Deep sea mound along the East of Meno
• Astonishing coral coverage
• Macro photography

What you will see:

The amazing coral coverage hides plenty of small glass shrimps, porcelain crabs, leaf fish, scorpion fish, and other well camouflaged marine creatures. It also has plenty of schooling reef fish twirling in beautiful patterns above the diverse coral garden. You will be able to spot pufferfish, yellow trumpet fish, and plenty of species of butterflyfish.

In Loving Memory of Mirko Naumann

A great deep dive site which allows divers to see unique coral species that are hard to find on other shallower dive sites. The bottom of this dive site is at 30m where bommies and sea mounds rise above the sandy bottom. The sea mounds are diverse in size and shape and attract a variety of wildlife to hide in the rocky safety.

• Deep dive great for advanced divers
• Unique coral species
• Mounds attracting marine life from long distances

What you will see:

For this dive site it is advisable to bring a dive torch as you will get the best view of the marine creatures hiding under the various overhangs and outcrops on the sea mounds. Take you time to spot cuttlefish, invertebrates, scorpion fish, leaf fish, lionfish, and shy eels. This is the type of dive site where the slower you dive the more marine life you see.

This stunning reef wall is one of the largest in the near by area. Divers will see a vertical drop from 5-30m on the East side of Gili air. Once divers descend, they begin their dive at the sandy bottom at 30m and pass impressive bommies along the wall. The currents can sometimes be strong here, so make sure you are comfortable with changing conditions. However, the range of depths means even beginner divers can visit this dive site.

• Deep wall dive
• Congregations of Bump Head Parrot Fish
• Caution of the vertical drop

What you will see:

Wall dives allow divers to choose which depth to remain at and guarantee spectacular views at any point. The sea mounds have gorgeous coral with many macro creatures such as cleaner shrimp, porcelain crabs, scorpionfish, and leaf fish all hiding in the brightly coloured gardens. The wall attracts many reef fish including bump head parrot fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, and a range of brightly coloured wrasse.

The Gili islands were used during the second world war by the Japanese forces as outposts and prisoner camps. Now the ocean around the islands still holds mementos of this turbulent time. There are two Japanese Patrol ships just off the south coast of Gili Air. This dive site is reserved for experienced divers as the Japanese wreck lies at a depth of 45m. Dive shops require a minimum of advanced certification, nitrox, and enough logged dives to feel comfortable descending to 45m of depth and doing a decompression dive. The dive centres will provide divemaster’s or dive instructors as guides to ensure you have a safe and unforgettable dive.

• Deep and advanced wreck dive
• Historic Japanese patrol ships
• Decompression Dive

What you will see:

The location of the wreck was discovered relatively recently, making it a spectacular artificial reef taken over by the ocean. For 60 years the ship remained undisturbed, and now in total has over 75 years of coral growth on it. It is covered in beautiful corals with massive groupers peering out of the wreck, batfish swimming overhead, and the densely overgrown sides of the ship holding a stunning variety of rare nudibranchs.