Diving Bali - including the Gili's?

[Ingmar_loko]

Hello,

In June my girlfriend and I (both 300+ dives) will leave for a 3 week-holliday to Bali.
We made a rough planning for diving and non-diving activities.

The Dive sites on our planning are now (alternated with on-land activities):
1 day Menjangan
1 day Tulamben
1 day Amed
1 day Padang Bai/ Gili Tepekong
2 days Nusa Lembongan

At the end of our trip we plan to go to one of the Gili Islands (probably Gili Air)
We want to leave from Amed on "day 1" and relax at the island, make 2 dives on "day 2", and return to bali at the end of "day 3".

My question is : Is it worth the hassle and costs of the boat-trip to go to the Gili's for such a short time at all. Is it a must-do or will you suggest taking an extra 3 days on Bali?

Thanks!

 

[Luko]

With 3 weeks, I'd better save a week to go to Flores/Labuan Bajo, dive Komodo for 2 days, then follow my way through Flores up to Maumere.
It will keep 2 weeks for Bali then.

 

[Tippytoes12]

If your heart is set on just doing Bali then with three weeks you could easily do the Gilis , we have had two here week trips to Bali and have comfortably fitted in mainland Bali , the Gilis and Lembongan. All are wonderful and we love topside Gilis.

However the diving in Komodo is , in my humble opinion , the very best in the world. So if you are unlikely to come this way again for a while then do consider spending a week in Komodo. Mermaid Liveaboards from Bali to Bali are fantastic. However if you will come back soonish then 3 weeks in Bali would also be awesome.

Best fishes

 

[scubafied]

Take their advice and scratch Gili's for Komodo. The Gili's are amazing little islands topside but the diving is lacking unless you want to stare at nothing but turtles. The other sites you mentioned, combined with Komodo would be the route I would suggest after having lived on Bali for awhile. If you can manage to squeeze Flores in as well you won't be disappointed.

 

[ocdiver1]

From a diving standpoint, Gilis aren't a "must do," although fun/scenic. If it's three days of your holiday that's not planned and would only be spent Gilis vs Bali...I'd stay on Bali. If you have more of your holiday to plan and can get away to Komodo (as others have mentioned) or Sulawesi, or..the list goes on, I'd get away and enjoy/dive another area of Indonesia rather than Bali for at least part of your trip

 

[Ingmar_loko]

Thanks for the fast comments!

We ain't gonna make it to Komodo/Flores as we only have 2,5 days to spare. But we will deffinately be back for a Lombok/Flores/Komodo trip some other time. For now we just want to make sure to see all Bali has to offer, so we don't have to come back . And we have a big topside wishlist as well (like climbing both volcano's, Hiking Manduk, Cycle tours, etc.)

Since it seems that the diving at the Gilli's isn't a must do (and we're not the party people that have to go to Gili T), we will probably fit in an extra dive in the Amed / Padang Bai area and have a more relaxed schedule...

 

[divewench1]

we will probably fit in an extra dive in the Amed / Padang Bai area and have a more relaxed schedule...

Padang Bai has 6+ dive sites along the coast, so plenty to cover 2 days of diving, plus the addition of the three small islands in Amuk Bay (Gili Tepekong, Gili Mimpang and Gili Biaha), you could easily fill your extra two diving days with quality diving on these sites.

Where are you planning to stay?

 

[gekodivebali]

Make sure to enjoy the island of the Gods. It can be the trip of a lifetime, both topside and underwater. Just avoid the South of the island and tourist traps off Lombok and you should be fine!

 

[Ingmar_loko]

Padang Bai has 6+ dive sites along the coast, so plenty to cover 2 days of diving, plus the addition of the three small islands in Amuk Bay (Gili Tepekong, Gili Mimpang and Gili Biaha), you could easily fill your extra two diving days with quality diving on these sites.

Where are you planning to stay?

We will stay in a bungalow in Amed for 5 days, and will decide at that point if we need more time there, but probably travel to Padang Bai or Candidasa for a few days as well. All depends on the weather and if/when we can climb the Agung volcano. No idea where to stay yet, but i usally use agoda or booking.com for good deals just one day ahead.(we like to be flexible)

We will probably go to gekodiving for the divetrips around the padang bai area. Their website is really informative and helpfull!

 

[divewench1]

Cedric and his team at Geko dive at Padang Bai come highly recommended.