Blog
Notes from the reef
Dive site stories, freediving notes, marine life curiosities, and the occasional rant about plastic.
12 Nov 2026
Macro season is back on Gili Air: photographers, this is your moment
November is here and the critters are out. Fewer divers on the boat, the freedom to pick the best macro and muck sites, and a boss with the eyes of a lynx. Here's why now is the best time to bring your camera to Gili Air.
Freediving 7 Nov 2026
Beyond Frenzel: hands-free, mouthfill and reverse packing
Once Frenzel works, ears can still stop you deeper. Here is what hands-free equalisation (BTV), the mouthfill and reverse packing really are, when freedivers use them, and how to train them safely.
10 Nov 2026
Before you dive again: be honest with yourself, be fair to your group
Certified, but your last dive was a while ago? Do you need a Scuba Skills Update, or just ten minutes with this page? Eight honest questions, a word about your future dive buddies, and the essentials to refresh before you arrive.
9 Nov 2026
Diving Gili Air in the rainy season: is it worth it?
November to March is low season on Gili Air. Here is what really changes underwater (and what gets better), who it suits, and how to plan your dives around the showers.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
When is the best time to freedive on Gili Air?
The water is about 28°C all year, so you can freedive on Gili Air in any month. What changes is the surface, the visibility and the crowds. Here is how to choose your dates.
4 Nov 2026
Women and dive computers: what science says, and five months underwater with Ksenia
Are decompression algorithms designed with women's bodies in mind? We read the studies, including a large 2026 DAN Europe analysis, and put the question to Ksenia, who dived with us every day for five months, all the way to Divemaster.
23 Oct 2026
The Indonesian Throughflow: the ocean current shaping every dive at the Gilis
Strong drift on some days, a sudden cold layer on others, green water after weeks of blue — the Gilis sit on one of the exit routes of the Indonesian Throughflow, the ocean current that moves the Pacific into the Indian Ocean. Here's what it actually is, and how to recognise its fingerprints on your dive.
18 Oct 2026
The Wallace Line: the invisible border running straight through the Lombok Strait
A narrow stretch of water between Bali and Lombok separates two completely different sets of wildlife. Here's what the Wallace Line actually is, why it runs exactly where it does, and what it does — and doesn't — explain about diving the Gilis.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Is freediving for me? An honest answer
Not sporty, average swimmer, sore ears on the plane, a little scared of depth? Here is who can really learn freediving, what you need, and the few cases where we will tell you to wait.
2 Oct 2026
GoPro and action-cam settings for the Gili Islands: what actually works underwater
Straight-out-of-the-box GoPro footage from a tropical reef almost always comes back blue-green and washed out. The three settings to change before you get in the water, the composition habits that separate usable footage from a blur of fish, and the mistakes that ruin more clips than bad gear ever does.
3 Sept 2026
Whitetip reef sharks of the Gili Islands: where to find them and why they're always "sleeping"
They rest motionless on the sand in broad daylight, which confuses almost every diver who sees one for the first time. Where the Gilis' resident whitetip reef sharks actually live, the biology behind that stillness, and why they're nothing to worry about.
15 Aug 2026
Seahorses, ghost pipefish and pipefish of the Gili Islands: a field guide
From thumbnail-sized pygmy seahorses gripping a gorgonian fan to the three named seahorse species of Kecinan Bay, plus the harlequin and seagrass ghost pipefish that mimic their surroundings almost perfectly. Where to find each one, dive by dive.
10 Aug 2026
Wreck diving in the Gili Islands: Glenn Nusa, the Bounty, and beyond
Two very different wrecks sit within a short boat ride of Gili Air — a coral-encrusted tugboat with a resident reef shark, and a former pier turned macro playground. Plus a word on the deep WWII wreck further out, for tec divers.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Your first freediving trial on Gili Air, step by step
Half a day, no tank, no experience needed. Here is exactly what happens during a Freediving Trial on Gili Air, from the first breathing exercise to your first descent in the blue.
5 Aug 2026
Night diving on Gili Air: the reef after dark
Every evening at 18:00 the reef changes shift — hunters come out, colours explode in the torch beam, and the plankton glows when you switch it off. What a Gili Air night dive is really like, and how to join one.
31 Jul 2026
Your first time diving: what a try dive on Gili Air is really like
Hour by hour, what actually happens on your first try dive — the coffee briefing, the pool, the boat, the turtles — and honest answers to the three fears everyone brings to the dive shop.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Ears and freediving: why Frenzel changes everything
For most beginners, ears stop them long before breath does. Here is why the Valsalva you learned on planes struggles head-down, how the Frenzel technique works, and a simple drill to practise on land.
26 Jul 2026
Snorkeling Gili Air — turtles, the three-island boat trip, and when to try a dive
You do not need a tank to meet a turtle here — some days you barely need fins. Where to snorkel straight off the beach, how the classic three-island boat trip works, how to behave around turtles, and the moment most snorkelers decide to try a dive.
21 Jul 2026
Diving Gili Air month by month
Gili Air dives all year in 28°C water — but the experience shifts with the seasons. Here is what to expect month by month, from the calm dry-season visibility to the manta and mola season.
16 Jul 2026
Gili Islands vs Nusa Penida vs Komodo — where should you dive?
Three of Indonesia's most-searched dive destinations, honestly compared — the Gili Islands, Nusa Penida and Komodo — by conditions, marine life, difficulty and who each one is really for.
11 Jul 2026
Planning your Gili Air dive trip
How to get to Gili Air, when to come, how many days to plan and what to budget — a practical, no-nonsense guide to organising a dive trip to the quietest of the three Gili Islands.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Freediving on Gili Air: the complete guide
Warm water, a training line five minutes from the beach and a pool for the first breaths. Everything you need to know about freediving on Gili Air: courses, depths, prices and how to start.
6 Jul 2026
How much does diving on Gili Air cost?
A transparent breakdown of what diving on Gili Air actually costs in 2026 — fun dives, try dives, the Open Water course and the extras like the marine-park fee — plus how to pay less.
1 Jul 2026
The 8 best dive sites in the Gili Islands
From shark-patrolled canyons to a reef where you'll count ten turtles on a single dive — the sites that make Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan one of the best places to dive in Indonesia, and who each one suits.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Freediving in Indonesia: where to go, and for whom
Indonesia has more coastline than almost any country on earth, and several great places to freedive. Here is an honest comparison of the main spots, and why the Gilis suit learners so well.
20 Jun 2026
Start Your SSI Course Before You Arrive — and Spend Your Holiday Diving, Not Studying
The free MySSI app lets you get the theory out of the way at home — so you arrive relaxed, skip the classroom, and spend your Gili Air holiday in the water. Here's how to get a free head start with us.
15 Jun 2026
Diving with kids at Gili Air — a family-friendly summer at the dive centre
Summer at Gili Air is dry season — calm water, 28 °C all day, and a whole catalogue of dives built around kids. Here is what each age can do, what it costs, and how a family week actually looks at the centre.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Freediving safety: why you never dive alone
Freediving is a calm sport with one non-negotiable rule: never alone. Here is why, how the buddy system works on the line, and the few habits that keep freediving safe.
15 Jun 2026
Gili Air, Gili Meno or Gili Trawangan — which island for your dive trip?
Three islands, one reef system, very different days on land. We run dive centres on Gili Air and Gili Meno and we send people to Trawangan when it makes sense. Here is the honest comparison — by atmosphere, by dive sites, by what your week actually looks like.
9 Jun 2026
Green Sea Turtles of the Gili Islands — Everything You Need to Know Before You Dive
The Gili Islands are one of the most reliable places in Southeast Asia to dive with green sea turtles. Here is who they are, where to find them, and how to approach without ruining the moment — for you and for the turtle.
28 May 2012
New Video of Wonderpuss in Gili Islands
Have a look to our sighteeing of this incredible and rare creature the wonderpuss…
4 Dec 2011
Finding Nemo with Gili Air Divers
Everyone that ever watched the movie Finding Nemo is very familiar with the cute orange-white striped fish that got lost in the big wide ocean. But what do we really know about those amazing creatures found all around the Gili islands?
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
A freediving training week on Gili Air
Already certified? The fastest progress comes from short sessions on consecutive days, not one heroic dive a month. Here is how to build a training week on Gili Air, with a sample plan and 2026 prices.
2 Oct 2011
Mirko's Reef gives divers the best of both worlds
Mirko's Reef sits in the valley between Gili Meno and Gili Air. Open Water-friendly depths, table corals two metres across, schools of sweetlips, and a pygmy seahorse if you've got a guide with the patience to find one.
2 Sept 2011
Where the predators come to play
A dive at Jack Point helps prove the Gili Islands have lots to offer Advanced-level divers, too. Schooling barracuda, swirling jacks, a black-tipped reef shark and the unmistakable bumphead parrotfish.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Freediving or scuba diving: which one is for you?
One breath and silence, or an hour underwater with a tank? We teach both on Gili Air, so here is an honest comparison of how they feel, what they cost, and how to choose.
18 Jun 2011
Big Clean Up Days in Gili Air — We are part of it !!!
The Local Community in Gili Air is now taking its environment in charge by organizing monthly clean ups. That was today — and Gili Air Divers was part of it, with a team of 12 divers cleaning the reefs on the east side of Gili Air.
7 Jun 2011
New amazing Muck Diving dive site found...
Gili Air Divers is proud of his new dive site near Lombok. The whole team went for an exploration dive at night and we found — believe it or not — 2 Ambon Scorpion Fish, plus bright yellow dwarf Lion Fish, many weird nudibranches, Blue Eye Stingfish, the whole family of Waspfish, seahorses and much more.
7 Jun 2011
Whale Shark in Takat Piniu
We had our first Whale Shark of the season in one of our new dive sites. After crossing a forest of giant Elephant Ear Sponge, meeting a Black Frogfish and finding a Fan covered with 8 Pigmy Seahorses, we spotted a beautiful 4-to-5 metre Whale Shark in the shallow part of the pinnacle.
Freediving 5 Nov 2026
Freediving with turtles on Gili Air
On one breath and in total silence, you can meet the turtles of Gili Air at their level instead of watching them from the surface. Where to find them, and how to approach them the right way.
4 Jun 2011
We know now where the Mandarin Fish is hiding...
We finally found the spot where the Mandarin fish lives. He only comes out at dawn for a few moments and is very secretive — but with enough patience, you'll get the chance to discover this incredibly coloured creature.