Gili Trawangan: nice island, bad dives..?!...

[mad]

Hello!

I went to Gili for scuba diving last summer and I found a wonderful hippie island, that's Gili Trawangan, close to Lombok. I enjoyed the island but I went there for scubadiving so I quickly looked for a diving center. The closer to our resort was Trawangan Dive so I booked there 5 days of dives. Here's my reportage with picts.

I've been very unlucky because I choose the worst for my holiday: 4 on 10 dives were completely wrong, expecially one: a Japanese wreck.. we did not find

So I came home with a very bad souvenir of the dives and I really can't say if dives are good or bad. A part from my bad experience I noticed that the bottoms of the islands have been partly 'smoked' by the fishermen who have destroyed the reef with the dynamite and with other brutal methods of fishing.

Maybe I'll have the possibility to go again next summer so can someone confirm me I missed something or better to go somewhere else?

ciao, Marco

 

[reefman]

i did a couple of decent drift dives on the eastern side of the island(facing bali); a few sharks, okay coral coverage and little dynamite damage. overall the gili islands, in my view, have below average diving when you consider the rest of indonesia(you didn't miss much). if you decide to return to lombok and the gilis, try diving in southern lombok, ive heard the diving is decent, lots of current and pelagics!!!

reefman
key largo

 

[TravelSimone]

Many of the dive sites around the Gilis are a sad state of affairs. There has been a lot of dynamite fishing, which has caused a lot of damage. Supposedly, dynamite fishing is no longer taking place- supposedly. It is sad to see so much destruction. That said... there is still some decent diving to be done at the deeper sites- below the dynamite level. What I like about diving there is the atmosphere of being on Gili Trawangan and the dive camaraderie. I always dive with Blue Marlin and they are a professional, fun and social dive center.

Still... if you are in the Bali/Lombok area, there are better dive sites available.

 

[silent running]

Hello all, I found the diving on Trawangan to be so, so. There were a few decent dives at Shark Point, ripping current. I was the only person out of 10 who was not blown off the reef. But it was quite good, went there 3 times, lots of fish. There were also some great macro/critter dives, not bad for a few days of diving. And I did get to the Japanese wreck, which was very fishy and great, although deep-45meters.

But, the good news is that Blue Marlin has a reasonably priced liveaboard that goes to Komodo all year long. I did 2 Komodo trips with them, both excellent. 2nd trip I did a few days diving in Trawangan and after Komodo, any decent dive was gravy.
I think thats the way to do Trawangan... -Andy

 

[Stijn]

Hi

I worked on the gillis for 3 years. I had good fun above water but underwater was a little bit dissapointing. There has been some bomb fishing in the past but that's not happening anymore since a few years thanks as well to the gili eco trust run by the local dive shops. they also have some good initiatives with coral regrowth programs and reef patrol in the past.

If you are looking for a similar place have a look at Padang bai on Bali. that's where the ferries leave from Bali to make their 4 hr trip to lombok. Small, laid back fishing village with some good restaurants and small bars. Diving here has a big variety and nearby divesites. Critter diving on blue lagoon, sharks at tepekong, mola2 at crystal bay and mantarays at mantapoint of nusa penida. Take a 1hr car daytrip and you're at the worldfamous liberty ship wreck.

Or even better, get your diving done at padang bai and take the 2 hr fast boat straight to the gillies to chill out. Either way, both places are awesome. It just depends what you're looking for

 

[TripleST]

I always dive with Blue Marlin and they are a professional, fun and social dive center.

Is this the same professional Blue Marlin that lost some divers last season?

The boat crew was sleeping and the divers were picked up 20 hours later by a fisherboat 50 kilometers further on the shore of another island after a cosy night in the water...

 

[dutchpickle]

With all Indonesia has to offer I suggest giving the Gillis a pass. If you are a kid into the gap year thing it might be ok.

Stign gives the possibility of Padang Bai.

Komodo is loaded with mantas. Easy access from Labuanbajo, Floreshttp://www.dutchpickle.com/indonesia/flores-komodo-rinca/

 

[RajaAmpat_IrianJaya]

i agree with you - western lombok is a waste of time for divers but eastern Lombok is quite good.