Gili Air diving worth it?

[Leftcoaster7]

I will be in Indonesia for 6 weeks in October November with diving planned at Nusa Penida, Sangalaki, Komodo and Amed. I’m debating spending 3 days on Gili Air at the end of my trip to unwind and relax, is the diving there in early November worth it or should I allocate those 3 days to Amed (already 4 diving days in Amed)?

I’m not expecting anything like the quality of Komodo or my other destinations, just want some easy diving with lively reefs.

 

[Madacub]

The 4 locations you mentioned should give you some very good diving. 4 diving days in Amed is probably enough. I've been to Indonesia several times, but always steered clear of the Gilis because it is not well reputed as a diving location. But a couple of years ago I had a few days to spare after Bali and I decided to stay at Manta Dive Gili Air for 3 nights, 2 diving days. I was very pleasantly surprised, warm water, easy conditions, few sharks, couple of rhinopias, lots and lots of turtles, very good night dives at the pier. All in all, I'm glad I went. This was in the month of February. One time we were bombarded by the music from a day boat that had come over from Gili Trawangan, but apart from that it was a very enjoyable stay.

I went from Amed - Gili Air and returned Gili Air - Serangan.

 

[rcaqua]

I will be in Indonesia for 6 weeks in October November with diving planned at Nusa Penida, Sangalaki, Komodo and Amed. I’m debating spending 3 days on Gili Air at the end of my trip to unwind and relax, is the diving there in early November worth it or should I allocate those 3 days to Amed (already 4 diving days in Amed)?

I’m not expecting anything like the quality of Komodo or my other destinations, just want some easy diving with lively reefs.

I've been twice to Gili Air in (April 2018 and April 2023) with my family (3 generations of divers and snorkelers, approx. 200 dives under our respective belts) and we definitely enjoyed it. Coral was not great, but the fish, including sharks, were definitely there! Also, octopus, scorpion fish, frogfish, cuttlefish and the usual reef-dwelling suspects. Diving was quite easy-going and the team we dove with (Gili Air Divers) were great. Shark point lived up to its reputation, and there were indeed turtles galore, swimming, sleeping and feasting on the coral.

In 2018 we actually (briefly) saw a Mola Mola (in April, completely out of season)...

We also liked the laid-back vibe of the island, very different from Gili Trawangan (no cars or ICE motorbikes on the island), food in the local restaurants was good, with a special mention for the ZZZ Warung, which cooked up a storm of Indonesian delights . Kids loved it, as did we all. There is also a good Italian restaurant and a popular pizza place on the beach.

Best,

Rene

 

[DanielM85]

We want to go to Gili Air next July/August for around a week with my wife and two kids (6+9 Years).
Before Gili we will stay in Padangbai (Ok Divers) and before that in Tulamben (Mimpi Resort).

For Gili Air we are searching for a nice place to stay as a family + chance of diving for me.
Do you have any recommendations ? We would like to snorkel from the beach (Kids-Friendly) + nice food around

 

[rcaqua]

I stayed at the Sunrise hotel in 2018 and at the Vyaana in 2023. They are not the cheapest options, but fine for a family, including beachside accommodation, pool, etc. Sunrise had good food, Vyaana has no restaurant (serves breakfast only) but there are many options within walking distance. There is a very simple hyper cheap but excellent warung called ZZZ near the Vyaana.

On the Vyaana side of the island there are other good food options, including an Italian restaurant (Dolcemare, good but pricey) and a popular pizza place on the beach

Re snorkeling the Sunrise side of the island is far better than the Vyaana side, but I believe the Gili Air Divers outfit will accommodate snorkelers on boat trips. Gili Air Divers (run by Birkan Tanis) is really great, also for young kids wanting to learn to dive (your 9-year old could take a Bubblemaker course, just be aware that he/she will most likely get hooked! (I have 2 diving grandchildren, now aged 15 and 10, who loved the turtles, morays, reef fish etc.). We will be going to Komodo next year...

Hope you enjoy Gili Air, we certainly did!

Best,

Rene

 

[touny71]

It's not the most exciting diving but it's good.

Tons of turtles, nice reefs and calm water.

For indonesia standards is a 6/10. Worlwide probably a 8/10

 

[DanielM85]

It's not the most exciting diving but it's good.

Tons of turtles, nice reefs and calm water.

For indonesia standards is a 6/10. Worlwide probably a 8/10

We had the idea of having a nice Island and some beaches with nice Food around, Diving wont be our main focus here - but we did not find any good accomodation for less than 200usd yet- would you suggest another Island instead?

 

[matts1w]

We had the idea of having a nice Island and some beaches with nice Food around, Diving wont be our main focus here - but we did not find any good accomodation for less than 200usd yet- would you suggest another Island instead?

How do you define "good" accommodations? And do you mean you mean less than $300 per room? There are many really nice places for around $100 per night.

 

[DanielM85]

We searched for a room for 4 of us - 2 Kids and 2 adults - it should be close to the Beach, not to loud (party) and clean.
We asked for rimba Villa - but they were to expensive

 

[dirtfarmer]

Have you checked Agoda? Probably the widest selection of places to stay on it to look for a place suitable.