Three small car-free islands off northwest Lombok inside the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area, the Gili Islands are one of Indonesia's most popular beginner and training destinations: warm, generally gentle reefs with exceptionally high green and hawksbill turtle densities, reef sharks, pioneering Biorock coral restoration, and the famous 'Nest' underwater statues off Gili Meno.
Destination info
Conditions, highlights, and the resident marine life.
Conditions
Water and air temperature across the year.
WaterAirDryShoulderWet
Description
The Gili Islands—Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air—are three small, sandy, car-free islands off the northwest coast of Lombok in the Coral Triangle, sitting within the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area established in 1993 and covering roughly 2,273 hectares of reef and seagrass across all three islands. Warm water (27–30°C year-round) and mostly gentle conditions have made the Gilis one of Indonesia's busiest scuba-training and beginner hubs, with sloping coral gardens, easy drift dives and shallow reefs suited to all levels—though exposed deeper sites and channels between the islands can carry moderate to strong current. The islands are best known for their turtles: green and hawksbill turtles are seen on almost every dive at very high density, with sites such as Turtle Heaven off Gili Meno regularly producing double-digit sightings, and the Gili Matra seagrass meadows serving as critical turtle foraging habitat. Whitetip and blacktip reef sharks patrol the deeper ridges at Shark Point and Halik, while macro life—frogfish, cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, nudibranchs and blue-spotted ribbontail rays—fills the muck and reef. The Gilis are also a conservation showcase: more than a hundred Biorock electrified-steel structures accelerate coral growth around the islands, and Jason deCaires Taylor's 'Nest' installation of 48 life-size figures off Gili Meno doubles as an artificial reef. Manta and eagle rays appear seasonally at Manta Point during the plankton-rich wet season.
Highlights
What makes this dive worth the trip.
The Gili Islands sit inside the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area, established in 1993 and covering roughly 2,273 hectares of coral reef and seagrass around Gili Trawangan, Meno and Air, managed by Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. The park protects hawksbill, green and olive ridley turtles plus reef sharks and rays, and Gili Meno's extensive seagrass meadows are key turtle foraging and nesting grounds.
The Gilis hold some of the highest turtle densities in Indonesia: green and hawksbill turtles are seen year-round on almost every dive, and a local photo-ID database run with Coral Catch has identified over 400 individual green turtles since 2016 and roughly 150 hawksbills. At Turtle Heaven off Gili Meno, divers can encounter ten or more turtles in a single dive.
The Gili Islands are a global leader in coral restoration: more than a hundred Biorock electrified-steel structures placed around the islands grow coral fragments several times faster than natural reefs and boost coral survival under heat stress, while doubling as artificial reefs that draw abundant fish life.
Marine life
43 species you’re likely to encounter on a dive here.
Dive sites
8 signature sites at this destination.
Shark Point
A signature drift dive on the northwest side of Gili Trawangan, starting on a sloping reef around 6–18 m and feeding into a series of progressively deeper canyons and ridges that drop past 30 m. Reef sharks—mostly juvenile whitetips with blacktips—are regularly found basking in the canyons, alongside schooling bumphead parrotfish, blue-spotted stingrays, turtles, cuttlefish, trevally and sweetlips. Currents can be strong, so it is best suited to divers comfortable with drift conditions and good buoyancy.
6–30 mintermediateDay boatStrongVisibility 15–30 m
Halik
A popular site on the north of Gili Trawangan and a favourite drift dive, with a mini wall of healthy hard coral, crevices and a descending slope dotted with small coral bommies down to around 24 m, with canyons reaching deeper. Marine life includes juvenile whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, bumphead parrotfish, groupers, octopus and turtles. Shallow entry points and gradual slopes make it accessible to a range of levels, though the current can be strong on a drift.
5–24 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 15–30 m
Meno Wall
A drift dive along a steep coral wall west of Gili Meno, dropping past around 18 m, with coral formations, colourful fish and the occasional passing shark or turtle. The wall and its crevices shelter crustaceans—coral and sponge crabs, shrimp and lobsters—plus parrotfish, scorpionfish and moray eels, which together make it one of the best-regarded night dives in the Gilis.
5–22 mbeginnerDay boatModerateVisibility 12–25 m
Turtle Heaven
A sloping reef on the north/northeast side of Gili Meno that lives up to its name, with some of the highest turtle densities in the region—divers regularly lose count of green and hawksbill turtles, and on a good day can encounter ten or more in a single dive. The reef also holds damselfish, moray eels and nudibranchs, and its sheltered, gentle profile makes it a reliable, beginner-friendly turtle dive.
5–20 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 12–25 m
Deep Turbo
A deeper drift site in the channel between Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno, with sea mounds and ridges from around 18 m down past 30 m, draped in colourful corals and gorgonians and feeling like the open ocean. It attracts larger fish in greater numbers, including reef sharks, barracuda, sweetlips and scorpionfish, plus blue-spotted ribbontail rays under the overhangs. Strong currents and the depth make it a site for experienced divers.
18–35 madvancedDay boatStrongVisibility 15–30 m
Bounty Wreck
The sunken remains of a floating pontoon jetty off the west coast of Gili Meno, lost in a storm around 1999–2001 and now one of the first artificial reefs around Lombok. The wreck lies in about 18 m and rises to roughly 8 m, putting it within reach of all levels. Soft corals encrust the structure, sheltering scorpionfish, schooling fusiliers and butterflyfish, and a notable diversity of angelfish.
8–18 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 10–25 m
Manta Point
A shallow site south of Gili Trawangan, no more than about 18 m deep, set over staghorn and soft coral. Despite the name, mantas are a seasonal bonus: the site is most productive in the plankton-rich wet season, when manta, mobula and eagle rays can appear. Year-round it is an easy, beginner-friendly reef rich in turtles, whitetip reef sharks, reef fish, cuttlefish and octopus.
5–18 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 10–25 m
Bask Nest (underwater statues)
A shallow site off the west coast of Gili Meno built around 'Nest', a 2017 underwater sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor: a circle of 48 life-size human figures cast in pH-neutral marine-grade cement and stainless steel, sitting roughly 4 m below the surface. Commissioned by the BASK resort as an artificial reef, the statues are colonising with soft corals, sponges and reef fish and are easily reached by snorkel or as an easy first dive, often combined with Meno Wall.
3–7 mbeginnerShoreLightVisibility 8–20 m
Where to dive & stay
Local dive centers, resorts, and hotels.
Featured operators coming soon
Verified dive centers, resorts, and hotels around Gili Islands will list here — pricing, photos, and direct contact.
