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