SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
Marine Protected Area When people hear the words Marine Protected Area, they naturally think about what lies beneath the surface: coral reefs, turtles, fish, sharks, seagrass and other marine life. But the ocean does not begin at the shoreline. Everything happening on a small island like …
Marine Conservation When people hear the words marine conservation, what do they imagine? Coral nurseries. Reef restoration. Coral transplantation. Artificial reefs. Beach clean-ups. Divers attaching fragments of coral to structures underwater. All of these activities can have value. But there is an uncomfortable question that we …
Marine conservation has become an increasingly important part of the diving industry. Dive centres organise beach clean-ups, participate in coral restoration projects, share conservation messages on social media and encourage divers to behave responsibly underwater.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe all of these things are important. But we also believe conservation has to go further.
For us, conservation is not something we do only when funding is available. It is not something we organise because it creates a good photograph for social media. And it is not something that should stop when a project or grant ends.
Oceans 5 invests its own money, boats, equipment, facilities and staff time into marine conservation because the ocean surrounding the Gili Islands is directly connected to everything we do.
Our business depends on a healthy marine environment.
So why shouldn’t protecting that environment be part of the cost of running our business?
Oceans 5 Gili Air is located inside one of Indonesia’s most popular diving destinations. Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan are surrounded by the Gili Matra marine conservation area, which covers approximately 2,268 hectares.[1]
Thousands of visitors come to the Gili Islands because of the ocean.
They come to see turtles.
They come to dive coral reefs.
They come to snorkel.
They come because they want to experience the underwater world.
Without a healthy marine environment, the Gili Islands would be a very different tourism destination.
For a dive centre, the connection is even more obvious. Almost everything we do depends on the ocean. Our Open Water students train there. Our certified divers explore it. Our Divemaster candidates learn to guide there, and our SSI Instructor Training Course candidates learn how to introduce future generations of divers to it.
The reef is therefore not something separate from our business.
It is one of the foundations of our business.
That creates responsibility.
Many conservation organisations depend on grants, donations and sponsorships. There is nothing wrong with that. Large scientific and conservation projects can require significant funding, and external financial support can make important research possible.
But there is also a problem if every conservation activity has to wait until somebody provides money.
Sometimes action is needed now.
A researcher may need access to a boat.
University students may need diving equipment.
Scientists may need tanks, guides or logistical assistance.
A survey may need to be conducted.
An environmental problem may need to be investigated.
A beach needs cleaning whether there is a sponsor or not.
At Oceans 5, we don’t believe our first question should always be:
“Who is going to pay for it?”
Sometimes the better question is:
“What can we do?”
And if we have the boat, tanks, equipment, people and facilities available, why wouldn’t we use them?
One of the best examples of this philosophy is our cooperation with the University of Mataram.
Oceans 5 has worked with the university to support marine research and education around the Gili Islands. The partnership has enabled university students and researchers to conduct surveys around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan.[2][3]
For Oceans 5, supporting this work isn’t simply about providing money.
A dive centre has resources that can be extremely valuable to marine scientists.
We have boats.
We have compressors.
We have scuba tanks.
We have diving equipment.
We have experienced dive professionals.
We have classrooms.
We have swimming pools.
And, perhaps most importantly, we operate on the ocean every day.
Providing access to those resources can significantly reduce the practical barriers to marine research.
That is where a dive centre can make a real contribution.
We also believe conservation should help develop local knowledge.
Indonesia contains some of the most biologically important marine ecosystems on Earth. Long-term protection of those ecosystems requires Indonesian marine scientists, conservationists, dive professionals and local communities to be directly involved.
This is why Oceans 5 supports Indonesian university students in developing practical marine knowledge.
Students don’t only need textbooks.
They need to see coral reefs.
They need to identify species underwater.
They need to understand diving.
They need to conduct surveys.
They need to understand how scientific methods work in real marine environments.
Combining academic education with practical underwater experience can create a much stronger connection between science and conservation.
For Oceans 5, investing in these students is an investment in the future of Indonesian marine conservation.
The waters surrounding the three Gili Islands are not simply recreational dive sites. They form the Gili Matra national marine conservation area, managed under Indonesia’s marine conservation framework. Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries identifies Gili Matra as a national marine conservation area under BKKPN Kupang.[1]
Oceans 5 believes dive operators working inside a marine protected area should cooperate with the organisations responsible for managing it.
That means communication.
It means following regulations.
It means reporting observations.
And when possible, it means helping.
Dive centres have something extremely valuable: daily eyes underwater.
Our instructors and Divemasters dive the reefs constantly. We can notice changes.
Maybe there is unusual algae growth.
Maybe coral conditions change.
Maybe rubbish appears at a particular location.
Maybe there is fishing activity where it shouldn’t be.
Maybe something simply looks different from six months earlier.
Observations are not automatically scientific conclusions. That distinction is extremely important.
But observations can create questions.
And those questions can lead to research.
The recent expansion of Halimeda around parts of Gili Trawangan demonstrates why this approach matters.
We observed areas where Halimeda had expanded considerably. Together with other stakeholders, we investigated affected areas and experimented with removing algae from selected locations to observe what happened.
But as the affected area expanded, something became increasingly clear:
Simply removing the algae isn’t a realistic long-term solution.
The important question is not only how to remove it.
The important question is:
Why is this happening?
We currently should not pretend that we know the answer.
There may be different environmental factors involved, and determining those factors requires proper scientific research.
That is why Oceans 5 supports further research, including investigation of water quality and environmental conditions around the affected reefs.
Research costs money.
Boats cost money.
Fuel costs money.
Tanks need filling.
Equipment requires maintenance.
People need transportation.
But waiting until somebody somewhere creates a grant doesn’t help us understand what is happening today.
If we can help research happen sooner, we believe we should.
There is sometimes a tendency to associate marine conservation mainly with coral planting.
Coral restoration can certainly play a role in conservation, but healthy reefs depend on a much larger system.
Water quality matters.
Waste management matters.
Coastal development matters.
Boat activity matters.
Fishing pressure matters.
Tourism numbers matter.
Diver behaviour matters.
Education matters.
Scientific monitoring matters.
Government regulation matters.
A coral nursery cannot solve every environmental problem.
Sometimes conservation means restoring something that has already been damaged.
But conservation should also mean understanding why the damage happened in the first place.
Prevention can be much more effective than repairing damage afterwards.
Not every conservation activity requires scientists or research projects.
Sometimes conservation is much simpler.
Every Friday, Oceans 5 organises a beach clean-up around Gili Air.
Our Divemaster candidates help organise these activities, and staff, tourists, divers, local residents and volunteers can participate.
Over time, these clean-ups remove significant quantities of plastic, glass, fishing equipment, metal, clothing and other rubbish from beaches and coastal areas. Previous Oceans 5 clean-up activities have removed dozens of kilograms of waste at a time.[4]
Does one beach clean-up solve the global plastic problem?
Of course not.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.
If everyone waited for someone else to solve a problem completely, very little would ever happen.
Financial support is only one part of our conservation philosophy.
How we teach scuba diving is equally important.
Oceans 5 teaches students to perform skills neutrally buoyant in open water rather than routinely kneeling on the seabed.
Why?
Because this is how divers should actually dive.
Green Fins environmental guidelines encourage divers to maintain good buoyancy, avoid stirring sediment and stay clear of reefs. They specifically discourage touching, kicking, kneeling or lying on coral.[5]
So why would we build dependency on the bottom into someone’s initial diving education?
If we want divers to protect reefs, responsible behaviour should begin during their first course.
The same philosophy applies during our SSI Instructor Training Courses.
Instructor candidates should be able to control themselves neutrally buoyant while demonstrating skills. They should learn to position students without relying unnecessarily on the seabed and should understand their responsibility as future role models.
Green Fins recommends that dive professionals promote good buoyancy, environmentally responsible diving and regular participation in marine monitoring and clean-ups.[6]
For us, those ideas belong inside diver education.
There is another reason Oceans 5 invests directly in conservation.
We want conservation to continue even when nobody is watching.
It is easy to organise an environmental event when cameras are present.
It is easy to post a photograph of people holding bags of rubbish.
It is much harder to make conservation part of normal business operations year after year.
That is the difference we are trying to create.
Of course we communicate about conservation. We actually believe dive centres should talk about it. Sharing information can encourage divers and other businesses to become involved.
But communication should follow action.
Not replace it.
A dive centre might think:
“We aren’t scientists. What can we really do?”
Actually, quite a lot.
A dive centre already has much of the infrastructure needed to support marine conservation.
We have access to dive sites.
We have boats.
We have people underwater.
We have compressors and cylinders.
We have experienced professionals.
We meet hundreds or thousands of divers every year.
We train new divers.
We train Divemasters.
We train instructors.
That creates an enormous opportunity.
Imagine if every dive centre in a marine protected area dedicated even a small percentage of its resources to monitoring, education, research support and environmental activities.
The combined effect could be significant.
There is no reason to pretend that conservation has no economic dimension.
Healthy reefs are good for our business.
We want turtles.
We want healthy coral.
We want abundant fish.
We want clean beaches.
We want good water quality.
We want future generations to travel to the Gili Islands and experience the underwater world that divers enjoy today.
Protecting the marine environment therefore protects both nature and the long-term future of tourism.
Green Fins itself recognises the relationship between environmentally responsible diving and sustainable marine tourism, establishing standards designed to reduce the negative impacts of diving and snorkelling operations on marine ecosystems.[6][7]
For a dive centre, environmental responsibility and economic sustainability don’t have to compete with each other.
Over the long term, they depend on each other.
So why does Oceans 5 invest its own money in marine conservation?
Because we live here.
Because we dive here.
Because our staff work here.
Because our business depends on these waters.
Because the Gili Matra Marine Park gives us an extraordinary environment in which to operate.
And because waiting for somebody else to take responsibility isn’t enough.
We will continue cooperating with universities, government organisations, conservation groups, students, researchers and the local community.
Sometimes that means providing a boat.
Sometimes tanks.
Sometimes diving equipment.
Sometimes staff.
Sometimes education.
Sometimes money.
And sometimes it simply means showing up and helping.
Businesses normally understand investment.
We invest in boats because we need them in the future.
We maintain compressors because we need reliable air.
We train staff because we want better instructors and Divemasters.
We maintain our swimming pools because they are essential for teaching.
So why wouldn’t we invest in the environment on which our entire diving operation depends?
For Oceans 5 Gili Air, marine conservation isn’t separate from running a dive centre.
It is part of running a responsible dive centre.
The reefs around the Gili Islands have provided Oceans 5 with a place to teach, dive, work and build a business.
Investing some of what we earn back into protecting and understanding that environment isn’t charity.
It is responsibility.
Oceans 5 believes that a dive centre benefiting economically from the marine environment also has a responsibility to help protect it. Instead of making every conservation activity dependent on grants or donations, Oceans 5 can contribute boats, tanks, equipment, staff time, facilities and direct financial support when appropriate.
Yes. Oceans 5 cooperates with the University of Mataram and supports students and researchers conducting marine surveys and conservation-related activities around the Gili Islands.[2][3]
Yes. Gili Matra is a national marine conservation area managed within Indonesia’s marine conservation system under BKKPN Kupang.[1] Oceans 5 believes communication and cooperation between dive operators, scientists, authorities and local stakeholders are essential for effective marine conservation.
Coral restoration can be valuable, but it addresses only part of the problem. Reef health is influenced by water quality, pollution, coastal development, tourism pressure, fishing, temperature, diver behaviour and many other factors. Sometimes understanding and preventing the cause of degradation is more important than repairing the visible damage afterwards.
Oceans 5 has participated in observations and practical interventions in affected areas. However, because the affected area has become extensive, simply removing Halimeda isn’t considered a realistic long-term solution. Oceans 5 supports further scientific investigation to better understand environmental conditions and potential causes. Until research provides evidence, Oceans 5 does not want to speculate about the cause.
Yes. One of the easiest ways is to participate in the regular beach clean-ups. Divers can also contribute simply by following environmentally responsible diving practices: maintaining good buoyancy, keeping equipment away from the reef, avoiding contact with marine life and respecting marine park regulations.
Because neutral buoyancy is how divers should behave underwater. Teaching skills without unnecessary contact with the seabed helps students develop buoyancy control from the beginning and reduces their potential impact on the marine environment. This approach is consistent with environmental best practices promoted by Green Fins.[5][6]
Yes. Oceans 5 believes dive professionals should be environmental role models. Divemaster and instructor candidates are not simply learning how to pass assessments. They are learning how to lead and educate future divers. Environmental awareness, good buoyancy, responsible behaviour and respect for the marine environment should therefore be part of professional dive education.
Because observation and scientific evidence are different things. Divers may notice changes underwater, but determining why those changes are happening requires systematic research. Monitoring programmes such as Reef Check demonstrate how long-term data collection can help scientists and managers understand changes in reef ecosystems.[8]
The future of scuba diving around the Gili Islands depends on healthy marine ecosystems. Investing in research, education, monitoring and responsible diving practices helps protect the natural environment while also supporting the long-term sustainability of the local diving and tourism economy.
[1] Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Republic of Indonesia. National Marine Conservation Areas – Gili Matra / BKKPN Kupang. The Indonesian government’s marine conservation information identifies Gili Matra as a national marine conservation area and provides information regarding permits and activities within conservation areas.
[2] Oceans 5 Gili Air. Diving Into the Future: Universitas Mataram and Oceans 5 Gili Air Create a Novel Route in Marine Conservation. November 2023. Describes the partnership between Oceans 5 and Universitas Mataram and Oceans 5’s sponsorship of marine conservation activities.
[3] Oceans 5 Gili Air. Oceans 5 Gili Air Partners with University of Mataram for Expanded Marine Surveys. September 2024. Describes expanded marine surveys around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan involving University of Mataram students and Oceans 5 support.
[4] Oceans 5 Gili Air. Reef CleanUp Gili Islands. Documents Oceans 5 clean-up activities and its wider cooperation with organisations including the University of Mataram and BKKPN.
[5] Green Fins / The Reef-World Foundation. Environmental Best Practice for Divers. Guidelines encourage good buoyancy, keeping fins away from reefs, avoiding sediment disturbance and not touching, kicking, kneeling or lying on coral.
[6] Green Fins / The Reef-World Foundation. Green Fins Code of Conduct and Guidelines. Environmental standards for dive and snorkel operators include no-touch policies, environmental education, marine-life monitoring, clean-ups and responsible waste management.
[7] Green Fins / The Reef-World Foundation. Certified Membership. Green Fins describes its certification framework for dive and snorkel operators committed to environmental standards and continuous reduction of their environmental impact.
[8] Reef Check Foundation. Reef Check Indonesia and Global Reef Monitoring Data. Reef Check’s long-running monitoring programme demonstrates the importance of systematic data collection for understanding coral reef condition and environmental change.
Touching the Seafloor? For decades, scuba students around the world have learned diving skills while kneeling on the bottom. It creates a stable platform, makes it easier for an instructor to organize a group, and allows students to concentrate on one skill at a time. …
Introduction Dive Have you always wondered what it feels like to breathe underwater, but you have never tried scuba diving before? At Oceans 5 Gili Air, you have two opportunities every day to start your Introduction Dive: at 08:30 and at 15:00. You don’t need any previous …
Choosing a dive center can have a much bigger influence on your diving experience than choosing the dive site itself.
When people plan a diving holiday, they often compare three things first: location, reviews and price. They search Google, look at Instagram, check a few photos and perhaps send several dive centers a message asking for their prices.
But is the cheapest dive center automatically the best choice? And does a five-star rating tell you everything you need to know?
Not necessarily.
Scuba diving is different from booking a restaurant or renting a bicycle. You are trusting a dive center with your training, equipment and, to a certain extent, your safety. A professional operation should therefore be judged on much more than price.
Divers Alert Network (DAN) recommends asking potential dive operators about subjects such as equipment maintenance, breathing-gas testing, staff qualifications, emergency oxygen and emergency procedures before choosing where to dive.[1]
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe divers should ask questions. In fact, we encourage it.
Here are 10 things you should check before booking a dive center.
One of the first questions to ask is simple:
How many divers will be in my group?
This can completely change your experience.
Imagine being a newly certified diver in a group with seven experienced divers. They descend quickly, use less air and may be completely comfortable in current. You might spend the entire dive trying to keep up instead of relaxing and enjoying the underwater world.
The same applies to dive courses.
Training agencies establish maximum student-to-instructor ratios, but a maximum is not necessarily an ideal target. SSI, for example, allows up to eight students aged 15 or older per instructor for Open Water Diver in-water training under standard conditions, with provisions for additional certified assistants. SSI also specifically states that ratios should be reduced when conditions require it.[2][3]
A good dive center doesn’t ask:
“How many divers are we allowed to put with one professional?”
It asks:
“What group size gives these particular divers the best experience?”
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we deliberately keep our groups small. For certified diving, we normally have a maximum of four divers per guide, and for courses we work with a maximum of four students per instructor.
That is stricter than simply working to the maximum permitted ratio.
Smaller groups allow instructors and divemasters to pay more attention to individual divers. They also make it easier to separate divers according to experience, certification level, air consumption, photography interests and comfort in current.
You are not cattle being moved from a boat into the water.
You are a diver.
A beautiful swimming pool and a shiny boat look great on Instagram, but they don’t teach you how to dive.
People do.
Before booking a course, find out who will actually teach you.
Is your instructor experienced? Is the instructor active with the training agency? How long have they been teaching? Does the dive center have experienced senior instructors who can support newer instructors?
The same applies to certified divers.
Who will guide you?
A professional divemaster should do much more than swim in front of a group and point at turtles.
A good guide understands local currents, entry and exit procedures, boat traffic, dive-site topography and emergency procedures. They should be able to evaluate the experience of the divers in their group and adjust the dive accordingly.
Professionalism can often be noticed before you even enter the water.
Does the staff ask about your certification?
Do they ask when you last dived?
Do they listen when you explain that you are nervous?
Do they discuss your experience?
DAN specifically recommends checking staff qualifications and asking about ongoing training and emergency drills.[1]
Good dive professionals don’t just collect certifications.
They continue learning.
You don’t need to be a regulator technician to notice poorly maintained diving equipment.
Look around.
Are wetsuits organised?
Do BCDs look properly maintained?
Are regulator mouthpieces in good condition?
Do tanks appear cared for?
Is the equipment storage area organised?
DAN recommends asking operators how frequently rental equipment is serviced and how often breathing gas is tested.[1]
Rental equipment gets used much more frequently than privately owned equipment, particularly at busy tropical dive destinations. That makes proper inspection and maintenance essential.
But equipment quality isn’t only about age.
Older equipment that has been professionally maintained can be perfectly functional. New equipment that is poorly maintained can quickly develop problems.
Ask questions.
A professional dive center should not be offended when you ask about equipment maintenance.
It should be happy that you care.
This is something many divers never ask.
Where is the oxygen?
They assume it exists.
Don’t assume.
DAN advises divers to verify that emergency oxygen and first-aid equipment are available and that staff know how to use them.[4] For boat diving, DAN also recommends checking that oxygen, first-aid supplies, communication equipment and appropriate lifesaving equipment are readily accessible.[5]
Ask the dive center:
Where is the emergency oxygen?
Is oxygen taken on the boat?
Is there a first-aid kit?
How does the boat communicate with the dive center?
What happens if there is an emergency?
Where is the nearest appropriate medical facility?
A professional operation should be able to answer these questions easily.
At Oceans 5, our dive boats carry oxygen, first-aid equipment, flares and communication equipment.
We hope we never need them.
But “we have never had a problem” is not an emergency plan.
Preparation matters.
In many destinations, the boat is an essential part of your diving day.
Don’t only ask:
“How long does it take to reach the dive site?”
Look at the whole operation.
How many divers are put on the boat?
Is there enough room for equipment?
Is there drinking water?
How do divers enter and exit?
Where is the emergency equipment?
Is the boat organised?
Are tanks secured?
Does the crew know what they are doing?
DAN notes that emergency equipment needs to be readily accessible because during an actual diving emergency, valuable time should not be lost searching for it.[5]
Logistics also affect the quality of your holiday.
Oceans 5 has three dive boats. Having multiple boats gives us more flexibility to organise divers according to courses, experience and dive plans instead of trying to squeeze everybody onto the same boat simply because that is the only boat available.
Infrastructure might not sound exciting when you book your holiday.
But once you start diving, it makes a huge difference.
If you are taking a scuba course, ask where you will learn your skills.
Is there a proper training pool?
How deep is it?
How many groups use it simultaneously?
Will you have enough space?
Or will you be sharing a small pool with several instructors and groups?
Learning scuba diving involves doing something that initially feels very unnatural: breathing underwater.
Some students immediately love it.
Others need time.
A good instructor should never make you feel that you are delaying the schedule because you need another ten minutes to become comfortable.
The environment matters.
Oceans 5 has two large training pools, which gives us the ability to spread courses out instead of crowding everyone into one confined space.
Space creates calm.
Calm creates better learning.
And better learning creates more confident divers.
There is a major difference between having safety procedures and creating a safety culture.
A safety culture becomes visible in small things.
Are proper briefings given?
Are divers encouraged to perform a pre-dive safety check?
Does the guide check current conditions?
Does someone know which divers are on which boat?
Are divers counted before departure and after diving?
Does the staff take a diver seriously when they say they don’t feel comfortable?
A professional dive center should never make you feel embarrassed for cancelling a dive.
Conditions change.
People have bad days.
Sometimes the correct diving decision is not to dive.
DAN advises divers to evaluate operators not just through online research but also through the organisation of the facility, condition of equipment, staff professionalism and willingness to discuss safety.[1][6]
Safety isn’t a five-minute speech before jumping into the water.
It is part of the entire operation.
A dive center depends on the ocean.
Protecting that ocean should therefore be part of its everyday operation, not simply something mentioned on social media once a year.
Look at what the dive center actually does.
Does it teach good buoyancy?
Do instructors and guides touch marine life?
Do staff stand on coral?
Does the operation anchor on reefs?
Does it educate guests about the marine protected area?
Does it participate in clean-ups or marine monitoring?
Does it reduce unnecessary waste?
Green Fins’ environmental standards for marine tourism include practices such as environmental briefings, no-touch policies, responsible waste management, the use of mooring buoys where possible, marine monitoring and teaching responsible buoyancy and photography techniques.[7][8]
Oceans 5 has made conservation part of its identity for many years.
We organise weekly beach clean-ups, participate in marine research and monitoring, work with Indonesian universities and conservation organisations, and support projects inside the Gili Matra Marine Park.
For us, conservation isn’t a marketing campaign.
If your business earns money because people want to see coral reefs, turtles, sharks and other marine life, protecting that environment should be part of the business.
Imagine two dive centers.
One charges slightly less.
The other has smaller groups, more boats, spacious training facilities, experienced staff, properly maintained equipment, emergency oxygen, environmental programs and more time for individual divers.
Are you actually comparing the same product?
Probably not.
DAN makes a similar point when advising divers to investigate significant price differences between operators and find out exactly what is included, while also noting that price alone doesn’t guarantee quality.[1]
This is particularly important with dive courses.
You aren’t simply buying a certification card.
You are paying for education.
The question should therefore not only be:
“How much is your Open Water Course?”
Ask:
At Oceans 5, we know we are not always the cheapest dive center on Gili Air.
That is okay.
Our goal isn’t to provide the cheapest possible diving experience.
Our goal is to provide a professional, spacious, personal and safe environment where people can enjoy learning and diving.
This might be the most important point.
After looking at the reviews, equipment, facilities, instructors, boats and prices, ask yourself:
Would I trust these people underwater?
DAN specifically suggests asking yourself whether you ultimately trust the operator you are considering.[1]
Pay attention to communication before booking.
Do they answer your questions?
Do they explain things clearly?
Are they interested in your diving experience, or only in getting your deposit?
If you tell them you haven’t dived for three years, do they immediately suggest jumping onto a deep drift dive—or do they discuss a refresher?
If you say you are nervous, do they listen?
Good diving is built around trust.
You trust your equipment.
You trust your buddy.
You trust your instructor or divemaster.
And you should trust your dive center.
The internet has made comparing dive centers incredibly easy.
Within ten minutes, you can message five operators and ask:
“How much for two dives?”
But perhaps that isn’t the best first question.
Instead, ask what you are getting for that price.
How large are the groups?
Who are the guides?
What are the safety procedures?
What emergency equipment is available?
How is the rental equipment maintained?
How are the boats operated?
What happens if you are nervous or need more time?
What does the dive center do to protect the environment that provides its income?
The cheapest option can be excellent.
The most expensive option can be disappointing.
Price alone tells you very little.
A good dive center combines professional staff, sensible group sizes, maintained equipment, appropriate facilities, strong safety procedures, responsible environmental practices and personal attention.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, that is what we aim to provide.
We don’t want divers to feel like numbers.
We want people to arrive as guests, enjoy their diving, improve as divers and hopefully leave as friends.
Because ultimately, a great dive center doesn’t simply take you underwater.
It makes you want to come back.
Look beyond price and online ratings. Check group sizes, staff qualifications, equipment condition, emergency procedures, boats, training facilities and environmental practices. Ask questions before booking. A professional operator should be comfortable explaining how it works.
Not necessarily. A cheaper dive center can still provide excellent service. The important thing is to compare what is actually included. A slightly higher price may reflect smaller groups, better facilities, additional staff, more boats, equipment maintenance or other operational costs. Price should be one factor, not the only factor.[1]
Training agencies establish maximum ratios depending on the program, age and conditions. For SSI Open Water Diver training, for example, the maximum standard ratio for students aged 15 or older is eight students per instructor, with possible increases when qualified assistants are used. SSI also requires ratios to be reduced when conditions dictate.[2][3] A dive center may voluntarily operate with much smaller groups. Oceans 5 limits its courses to a maximum of four students per instructor.
Appropriate equipment depends partly on the boat and local regulations, but divers should expect an operator to be prepared for diving emergencies. DAN specifically highlights first-aid supplies, emergency oxygen, communication equipment and lifesaving equipment when evaluating dive boats.[5]
Yes. Emergency oxygen is an important part of diving emergency preparedness. DAN recommends asking operators about oxygen availability, maintenance and staff training before diving with them.[1][4]
No. Equipment age alone doesn’t determine quality. Maintenance, inspection, cleaning and servicing are extremely important. Ask how the operator maintains its rental equipment and breathing-gas systems.[1]
Smaller groups generally make it easier for a professional to monitor divers, adapt the dive to different experience levels and provide personal attention. They can be especially beneficial for beginners, photographers, nervous divers and people returning to diving after a long break.
Yes, but don’t rely only on the overall star rating. Read recent reviews and look for repeated comments about instructors, organisation, safety, equipment, group sizes and customer service. Reviews are useful, but they should be combined with your own questions and research.
Very important. Dive tourism depends on healthy marine ecosystems. Green Fins encourages travellers to choose environmentally responsible operators and has developed environmental standards covering both underwater and above-water practices.[8]
Ask about group size, staff qualifications, rental-equipment maintenance, emergency oxygen, first aid, boat safety, course schedules, refresher requirements and what is included in the advertised price. If the operator is reluctant to answer reasonable safety questions, consider another option.[1]
[1] Divers Alert Network (DAN). Check, Check, Check: Find the Right Dive Operator. DAN discusses questions divers should ask about equipment maintenance, breathing gas, safety records, oxygen, staff training and facilities.
[2] SSI. Open Water Diver (ISO 24801-2). SSI training standards covering instructor qualifications, training requirements, depth limitations and student-to-instructor ratios.
[3] SSI. Supervision – SSI Training Standards. Guidance covering student-to-instructor ratios, supervision and reducing ratios when diving conditions require it.
[4] Divers Alert Network. Safer Diving for All. Guidance on evaluating staff training, emergency oxygen, first aid, equipment, breathing gas, boat safety and emergency action plans.
[5] Divers Alert Network. What to Look for on a Dive Boat. Guidance concerning first aid, oxygen, communications and lifesaving equipment aboard dive vessels.
[6] Divers Alert Network. Travel Smarter: Evaluating an Unfamiliar Dive Operator. Advice on assessing facilities, rental equipment, staff professionalism and safety practices when visiting an unfamiliar operator.
[7] Green Fins. Guidelines to the Code of Conduct. Best-practice recommendations covering environmental briefings, no-touch policies, waste management, mooring practices, clean-ups, marine monitoring and responsible diving practices.
[8] Green Fins. About Green Fins – Environmental Standards. Overview of the Green Fins Code of Conduct and its environmental standards for marine tourism operators.
A Complete Guide to Learning to Dive in the Gili Islands If you have never scuba dived before, choosing where to take your first breaths underwater is an important decision. You want warm water, interesting marine life, professional instructors, good training facilities and, most importantly, …
Open Water Diver Course If you already love snorkeling, you probably know the feeling. You are floating at the surface, looking down at a beautiful coral reef. Below you are colorful reef fish, perhaps a turtle, a moray eel disappearing between the rocks, or something …
There was a time, not so long ago, when Gili Air was famous for something rather unusual in the modern world: there were no motorized vehicles.
No cars. No motorbikes. No traffic jams.
Just bicycles, cidomos, people walking barefoot along sandy roads, coconut trees, the sound of the ocean and the occasional chicken making the questionable decision to cross the road.
Then something happened.
Years ago, Gili Air got an electric bike.
One.
And there was a very good reason for it. It was used by a disabled person who needed transportation around the island.
Nobody had a problem with that. In fact, this is exactly where electric mobility makes sense.
But apparently that lonely electric bike was secretly reproducing at night.
Because one became ten.
Ten became fifty.
Fifty became hundreds.
And today, depending on how you count them, there appear to be more than 1,000 electric bikes and scooters moving around our tiny island.
Welcome to Gili Air 2026.
Or, as we may soon have to rename it:
The Gili Air International MotoGP Training Circuit.
One particularly interesting development is that Gili Air has apparently become an international training center for future MotoGP champions.
And recruitment starts young.
Very young.
Six years old? Perfect.
Seven? Almost professional.
Eight? Probably ready for qualifying.
Parents can simply rent an electric scooter, put their child on it and release their future Valentino Rossi onto the roads of Gili Air.
Helmet?
Optional, apparently.
Driving experience?
Why ruin the excitement?
Knowledge of Indonesian traffic rules?
Details, details.
Understanding which side of the road Indonesia drives on?
Something you can discover during the journey.
The roads of Gili Air have therefore become an excellent slalom course.
Walking tourists are the poles.
Bicycles are moving obstacles.
Cats add an advanced difficulty level.
Cidomos are the boss level.
And crossroads are apparently designed specifically to test acceleration.
The objective seems simple: reach the intersection as quickly as possible and hope everybody else has better brakes than you.
For younger readers who may not remember him, Alberto Tomba was a legendary Italian alpine skier famous for attacking slalom courses at incredible speed.
On Gili Air, we now have our own tropical version.
Instead of skis, we use electric scooters.
Instead of snow poles, we use pedestrians.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Tourist with suitcase.
Right.
Local carrying groceries.
Left.
Small child.
Sharp right.
Cidomo.
BRAKE!
Congratulations.
You have successfully completed the Gili Air Slalom Championship.
The interesting thing is that many visitors would never allow their children to behave like this at home.
In many countries, there are clear restrictions concerning the age at which children can operate powered vehicles on public roads.
Parents wouldn’t normally say:
“Darling, you’re six now. Take this motorized vehicle and go practice between pedestrians.”
But apparently the moment some people step off the boat onto Gili Air, normal logic goes on holiday too.
The island becomes a theme park.
No cars means no rules.
No police on every corner means no danger.
Holiday means everything is allowed.
Except physics unfortunately doesn’t take holidays.
Perhaps before renting out an electric bike, we could introduce a revolutionary new concept:
Knowing how to ride one.
I know. Very controversial.
Lesson one:
How do you start an electric bike without accidentally launching yourself into a restaurant?
Lesson two:
Which side of the road do we drive on in Indonesia?
Lesson three:
What happens at a crossroads?
Hint: the correct answer is not “accelerate.”
Lesson four:
Pedestrians are human beings, not slalom poles.
Lesson five:
When you see a child, dog, cat, bicycle or cidomo in front of you, slowing down is an available option.
Lesson six:
Your holiday insurance does not magically turn you into Valentino Rossi.
Perhaps after completing these six highly complicated lessons, tourists could receive the prestigious:
A beautiful laminated card.
Valid for seven days.
With a photograph, signature and perhaps a little golden coconut for people who successfully understand that Indonesia drives on the left.
Fail the test?
Congratulations.
You have won a bicycle.
This is the more serious question.
Gili Air is tiny.
You can walk from the south of the island to the north in roughly 30 minutes.
Walking around the whole island takes approximately 90 minutes, depending on how often you stop for coffee, food, turtles, sunsets or conversations.
That was part of the charm.
You arrived on an island where life moved differently.
You walked.
You cycled.
You slowed down.
You didn’t need an engine for a seven-minute journey.
Of course, there are reasonable exceptions.
Businesses need transportation.
Older people may need assistance.
People with disabilities should absolutely have access to suitable mobility.
There are also legitimate practical situations where electric transportation makes sense.
But that doesn’t automatically mean everybody arriving at the harbor needs an electric scooter.
At what point do we ask ourselves what kind of island we actually want?
Because if every visitor needs motorized transportation to travel 500 meters, perhaps the problem isn’t Gili Air.
Gili Air used to sell a very simple image.
A tropical island.
Coconut trees.
White beaches.
No cars.
No motorbikes.
Walk barefoot.
Ride a bicycle.
Slow down.
Now perhaps our tourism marketing needs updating.
Visit beautiful Gili Air!
Enjoy our beaches.
Dive with turtles.
Watch the sunset.
And experience the thrilling sensation of having a twelve-year-old pass you at maximum speed while you peacefully walk back to your hotel.
For an additional authentic experience, try crossing an intersection at 6 p.m.
No reservation required.
And this is where the joke stops being quite so funny.
When the number of electric bikes increases dramatically while riders include inexperienced adults and very young children, the risk inevitably increases.
Eventually, somebody is going to get seriously hurt.
Maybe it will be a rider.
Maybe a pedestrian.
Maybe a child.
Maybe somebody stepping out of a restaurant.
Maybe a collision with a bicycle or cidomo.
And after that happens, everyone will suddenly become extremely interested in regulations.
There will be meetings.
There will be discussions.
People will ask:
“How could this happen?”
“We need to do something!”
“We need rules!”
But we don’t actually have to wait for a serious accident before discussing the problem.
We can see it developing in front of us.
There are several possibilities.
We could establish clear rules about who may rent and operate electric bikes.
We could introduce a minimum age.
We could require rental companies to provide a basic safety briefing.
We could establish speed limits in busy areas.
We could clearly explain Indonesian road rules.
We could restrict electric vehicles in certain pedestrian-heavy areas.
We could create a simple Gili Air riding certificate.
Or we could take the strongest approach and stop renting electric bikes to tourists altogether, while maintaining sensible exemptions for residents, businesses, older people and people with disabilities.
Maybe that sounds extreme.
But is it really?
One of the reasons people came to Gili Air in the first place was precisely because it was different.
No cars.
No motorbikes.
No rushing.
An island where you could walk.
Perhaps progress doesn’t always mean adding more engines.
Sometimes progress means protecting what made a place special.
Nobody is suggesting that electric mobility itself is evil.
Electric bikes can be extremely useful.
The question is whether a tiny island needs more than a thousand of them and whether everybody—including young children and people who have apparently never ridden one before—should be allowed to use the public roads without basic instruction.
Gili Air doesn’t need another thousand Valentino Rossis.
It doesn’t need a MotoGP circuit.
It doesn’t need pedestrians practicing emergency evasive maneuvers every time they walk to dinner.
It needs some common sense.
So perhaps next time you arrive on Gili Air, try something truly adventurous.
Walk.
Yes.
With your legs.
It’s an ancient transportation system that requires no battery, no charging station and remarkably little driving experience.
You might even notice the coconut trees.
You might say hello to somebody.
You might discover a small restaurant you would otherwise have passed.
You might remember why you came to a tiny tropical island in the first place.
And don’t worry.
Valentino Rossi already retired from MotoGP.
We don’t urgently need to find his replacement on Gili Air.
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