Reef
down to 24 m
Manta Point (Sunset Reef)
Gently sloping staghorn coral gardens off south Gili Trawangan: a relaxed, slow dive with reef sharks, turtles and batfish in the shallows.
- Open Water
- Manta rays
Gili Islands
Diving in Indonesia
12 documented dive sites, 7 of them for Open Water divers. Known for blacktip reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks and turtles.
- Best months
- Apr–Oct
- Water
- 26–30 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced
- Nearest airport
- LOP
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Gili Islands in October
Best season- Sea
- 30 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 32 °C
- 24 °C at night
- Rain
- 100 mm
- average for the year
- Wind
- 11 km/h
- on average
The warmest water of the year. The windiest month.
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Diving is year-round. Operators give April–October (Manta Dive) / May–October (BASK) as best; the December–February/March rains bring plankton and lower visibility (10–15 m vs 15–25 m+), but also the best manta chances. November–March is shown as good, not possible, because sites remain diveable all year.
Dive sites in Gili Islands
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m7 sitesArtificial reef
down to 20 m
Bounty Wreck
A sunken structure off Gili Meno from about 5 to 20 m, suiting beginners and snorkelers, home to moray eels, lionfish and scorpionfish.
- Open Water
- Scorpionfish
Muck
down to 24 m
Hans Reef
A Gili Air macro and muck site known for warty, painted and giant frogfish, leaf scorpionfish, seahorses and ribbon eels.
- Open Water
- Stingrays
Wall
down to 30 m
Air Wall
- Open Water
- Nudibranchs
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m5 sitesDrift
down to 40 m
Halik
Coral bommies on a 5-15 m platform off north Gili Trawangan, with juvenile white-tip reef sharks in small caves and humphead parrotfish.
- Advanced
- Whitetip reef sharks
Drift
down to 50 m
Shark Point
A popular drift on north-west Gili Trawangan: a 6-18 m reef slope above deeper ridges, with jacks, reef sharks, batfish and turtles.
- Advanced
- Blacktip reef sharks
Pinnacle
down to 40 m
Deep Turbo
Drop into the blue north of Gili Trawangan onto pinnacles rising from the sand, where spotted eagle rays and reef sharks pass by.
- Advanced
- Blacktip reef sharks
Drift
down to 30 m
Meno Wall
A Gili Meno wall and top night dive, with Spanish dancers, lobsters, crabs from tiny to huge sponge crabs, and sleeping turtles.
- Advanced
- Cuttlefish
Rock formations
down to 40 m
Simon's Reef
- Advanced
- Eagle rays
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TurtlesSource: divessi.com | ||||||||||||
| Manta raysSource: frommers.com |
- Peak season
- Seen
Turtles: All year. Manta rays: Dec–Mar
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Blacktip reef sharks
- Whitetip reef sharks
- Stingrays
- Trevally
- Cuttlefish
- Frogfish
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus
- Whale sharks
- Eagle rays
- Mola mola (sunfish)
- Blue-ringed octopus
- Ghost pipefish
- Pygmy seahorses
- Scorpionfish
- Seahorses
- Bumphead parrotfish
- Sea snakes
Where is the Gili Islands?
- Nearest airport
- LOP
Somewhere quieter?
Gili Islands is one of the busiest dive hubs in the world. These destinations dive in a similar way and see far fewer divers: Sipadan & Semporna, Siquijor and Wakatobi.
See all alternatives to Gili Islands →Gili Islands: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Gili Islands?
- The best months to dive Gili Islands are Apr–Oct. Diving is year-round. Operators give April–October (Manta Dive) / May–October (BASK) as best; the December–February/March rains bring plankton and lower visibility (10–15 m vs 15–25 m+), but also the best manta chances. November–March is shown as good, not possible, because sites remain diveable all year.
- Is Gili Islands good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 7 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Manta Point (Sunset Reef), Nest (Underwater Statues) and Turtle Heaven (Turtle Point / Turtle City). The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Gili Islands?
- The water is usually between 26 °C and 30 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Gili Islands?
- Divers regularly see blacktip reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, turtles (all year), stingrays, trevally and cuttlefish.
- How do you dive Gili Islands?
- The nearest airport is LOP.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash