The Cheapest Dive Is Not Always the Best Value

The Cheapest Dive Is Not Always the Best Value

What Are You Actually Paying For? When comparing scuba-diving prices, it is tempting to choose the lowest number. A fun dive is a fun dive, right? You receive a tank, join a boat, go underwater and return to shore. Why pay more when another dive …

Should Dive Centres Refuse to Take Certified Divers Who Cannot Control Their Buoyancy?

Should Dive Centres Refuse to Take Certified Divers Who Cannot Control Their Buoyancy?

Cannot Control Their Buoyancy A scuba certification gives someone permission to dive within the limits of their training. But does a certification card automatically prove that the diver is currently capable of diving safely? The honest answer is no. Some certified divers return to the …

How to Improve Your Scuba Air Consumption

How to Improve Your Scuba Air Consumption

Using Air Faster Than Your Buddy? You finish a beautiful dive around the Gili Islands and look at your pressure gauge. You have 50 bar remaining. Your buddy still has 90 bar, and the Divemaster appears to have barely used any air. Does that mean …

Is the Era of Weak Enforcement in Gili Matra Coming to an End?

Is the Era of Weak Enforcement in Gili Matra Coming to an End?

The 27–28 August TCN survey and the announced beach clearance may mark a turning point—but only lasting enforcement will protect the marine park Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan are not simply three popular holiday islands. Together with their surrounding waters, they form Gili …

A Dive Briefing Is Not a Formality

A Dive Briefing Is Not a Formality

What Divers Should Know Before Entering the Water The equipment is ready. The tanks are on the boat. The water looks inviting, and everyone wants to start diving. Then the Divemaster begins the dive briefing. For some experienced divers, this can feel like information they …

Why the Best Dive Site in the Gili Islands Changes Every Day

Why the Best Dive Site in the Gili Islands Changes Every Day

The Best Dive Site in the Gili Islands “What is the best dive site in the Gili Islands?” It is one of the questions we hear most often at Oceans 5 Gili Air. Some divers arrive with a famous name already written in their logbook: …

Why Coastal Development Is a Marine Conservation Issue

Why Coastal Development Is a Marine Conservation Issue

The Ocean Doesn’t Start at the Shore When people hear the words marine conservation, they usually look toward the ocean. They think about coral restoration, turtles, sharks, plastic pollution, fishing, anchor damage and divers touching coral. But there is a fundamental problem with that way of …

Do We Need a Shark Etiquette Code for Diving the Gili Islands?

Do We Need a Shark Etiquette Code for Diving the Gili Islands?

Shark Etiquette Shark encounters are one of the highlights of diving around the Gili Islands. For many divers, seeing their first shark underwater is an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. Around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, divers regularly …

Can a Marine Protected Area Work If We Only Protect What Is Underwater?

Can a Marine Protected Area Work If We Only Protect What Is Underwater?

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 …

From Reaction to Prevention: Why Marine Conservation Must Start Before a Reef Collapses

From Reaction to Prevention: Why Marine Conservation Must Start Before a Reef Collapses

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 …