Gili Islands scuba diving · Scuba diving in Gili Islands
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Scuba diving in Gili Islands
Scuba diving in Gili Islands
There is reasonably good diving here, and the islands are globally known as a teaching centre. An impressive array of sea creatures and plant life is to be seen, such as green and hawksbill turtles, manta rays (rarely), bumphead parrotfish, black-tip and white-tip reef sharks, and more. Visibility is commonly in the 15-20 m range. However, due to the exposed position of the Gilis, currents can be quite strong and drift diving is the norm.
Gili Trawangan has the most dive operators, but PADI and SSI licensed dive operators exist on all three islands. Equipment is kept in top shape, with excellent facilities and (mostly) western dive instructors. Divemasters are more commonly experienced locals. Dive and course prices are fixed by agreement between the dive operators on each island, so there is nothing financial to be gained by shopping around between the operators. A good approach is to settle down on your chosen island, get to know the dive shops, and chose to dive with the one with which you feel most comfortable.
For those interested in learning to dive or advancing existing qualifications, several of the operators now offer both PADI and SSI options. Nitrox and other technical diving options are also offered by operators on Gili Trawangan especially.
All dive shops on the Gili Islands are members of the Gili Eco Trust , a non-profit organisation set up to protect coral reefs surrounding the islands and provide environmental education. There is a one time only reef tax of Rp 50,000 payable by all divers and dive students. This is collected by the dive operator and it is this reef tax that funds the work of the trust. If you are interested in learning more about the work of the trust, or volunteering to help, ask for Delphine at the Big Bubble dive shop on Gili Trawangan.
Dive Prices and PADI/SSI courses:
Fun dives $US38
Scuba Review US$60
Discover Scuba US$60
Discover Scuba Diving with Nitrox US$70
Advanced Open Water US$280
Open Water US$350
Open Water + Nitrox US$400
Open Water + Discover Nitrox US$470
Rescue Diver US$350
Rescue Diver + Emergency First Response US$450
Divemaster Course US$750
All dive shops accept US dollar and rupiah cash as well as credit cards, except when the telephone lines are down (in this case, pay using internet banking).
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Gili Islands Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
