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, an environment where you can learn without feeling rushed.

So, is Gili Air good for beginner divers?

The short answer is yes. Gili Air is an excellent place to learn to scuba dive, and thousands of people have discovered the underwater world around the Gili Islands for the first time.

Warm tropical water, abundant marine life, a variety of dive sites and relatively short boat journeys make Gili Air particularly attractive to new divers. But there is another important factor: the Gili Islands also experience currents. Learning here therefore shouldn’t simply be about completing the minimum requirements for a certification. Good training should teach you to become comfortable, confident and environmentally responsible underwater.

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe your first diving course creates the foundation for everything you do later as a diver.

Why Gili Air Is Such a Good Place to Learn to Dive

Gili Air is one of three small islands located off the northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia, together with Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. The waters surrounding the islands form part of the Gili Matra marine protected area.[1]

For a beginner diver, the location offers something special: within relatively short boat rides you can find coral reefs, sandy areas, slopes, walls and different underwater environments.

That variety is valuable during training.

A beginner isn’t simply learning how to breathe underwater. You are learning how to control your body, manage your equipment, communicate, monitor your air, equalize your ears, control your depth and become aware of the environment around you.

And after mastering those skills, there is a very good chance that you will be doing all of this while watching a turtle swim past.

Warm Tropical Water Makes Learning More Comfortable

One of the challenges when learning to dive in colder destinations is dealing with thick wetsuits, gloves and additional weight.

Around the Gili Islands, the water is generally warm throughout the year. For beginners, that can make training considerably more comfortable.

Less exposure protection generally means less bulky equipment and greater freedom of movement. Instead of thinking about being cold, students can concentrate on their breathing, buoyancy and surroundings.

Comfort should never be underestimated when learning to dive.

The more relaxed you become underwater, the easier it usually becomes to concentrate on developing your diving skills.

You Don’t Have to Go Far to Find Marine Life

Another advantage of learning to dive around Gili Air is that interesting marine life isn’t reserved only for advanced dive sites.

The Gili Islands are particularly well known for their sea turtles, and both green and hawksbill turtles can be encountered around the islands. Depending on the dive site, beginners may also see anemonefish, angelfish, butterflyfish, moray eels, pufferfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, lionfish and many other tropical species.

For someone completing their first open-water dives, seeing a turtle underwater can be unforgettable.

It also creates an important connection.

Suddenly, the skills you practiced in the swimming pool have a purpose. Buoyancy isn’t just something you need to demonstrate to your instructor. Good buoyancy allows you to observe a turtle or coral reef without crashing into the bottom or damaging the environment.

Divers Alert Network describes buoyancy control as an important element of diving safety and notes that poor buoyancy can contribute to problems including excessive descents, increased gas consumption and uncontrolled ascents.[2]

At Oceans 5, we therefore put a lot of attention on developing good buoyancy from the beginning.

First Learn in the Pool

The ocean is exciting, but your first experience with scuba equipment doesn’t have to start there.

Oceans 5 Gili Air has two purpose-built training swimming pools. This gives beginner divers an opportunity to become familiar with their equipment and basic diving skills in a controlled environment before going into the ocean.

This is especially valuable if you are nervous.

Your first experience breathing through a regulator feels unusual. You suddenly discover that you can breathe while your face is underwater. Then you learn how to clear water from your mask, recover your regulator, control your buoyancy and communicate using hand signals.

There is no reason to rush this process.

If you need to repeat something, you repeat it.

Confidence underwater isn’t created by pushing someone beyond their comfort level. It develops through understanding, repetition and experience.

Small Groups Make a Difference for Beginners

A beginner diver needs attention.

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we deliberately keep our training groups small, with a maximum of four students per instructor.

This allows an instructor to see what is actually happening with every student.

One person might immediately understand mask clearing but struggle with buoyancy. Another may have excellent buoyancy but need more time equalizing their ears.

Learning speeds are different.

Scuba diving shouldn’t be an assembly line where everyone must perform a skill at exactly the same speed.

Small groups give instructors more opportunity to recognize problems early and help students become comfortable before progressing.

What About the Currents Around the Gili Islands?

This is probably the most important point when discussing whether the Gili Islands are suitable for beginners.

Yes, there can be currents around the Gilis.

The islands are located in an area where water movement can produce anything from almost no current to enjoyable drift dives and, at times, stronger conditions.

Does that make Gili Air unsuitable for beginners?

No.

But it makes good dive planning extremely important.

Beginner students shouldn’t simply be taken to a dive site because that is where everyone else is going. The dive site and entry point should be selected according to the conditions and the experience of the divers.

At Oceans 5, our dive professionals check the conditions and currents before dives. We can adjust the entry point, dive site or dive plan when necessary.

Learning to dive in an area where some current exists can actually give students useful experience. You learn that the ocean isn’t a swimming pool and that conditions can change.

The important difference is that this experience should be introduced gradually and under professional supervision.

Your First Option: SSI Basic Diver

Not everyone knows immediately whether they want to complete a full diving certification.

For those people, the SSI Basic Diver program can be a great introduction.

The SSI Basic Diver program includes an academic component, pool or confined-water training and an open-water introductory dive. SSI allows Basic Divers to dive to a maximum training depth of 12 metres under the required professional supervision.[3]

The minimum age is 10.[3]

An additional advantage is that the Basic Diver program can be credited toward the SSI Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver program when the applicable requirements are met within six months.[3]

That makes it ideal for someone thinking:

“I would love to try scuba diving, but I’m not sure yet whether I want to become certified.”

You can first experience diving and then decide.

Ready to Become Certified? SSI Open Water Diver

If you already love snorkeling, enjoy being in the ocean or simply know that you want to become a diver, the SSI Open Water Diver course is usually the better option.

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we offer Open Water Diver courses throughout the year.

The course combines digital learning, confined-water training and four open-water training dives. SSI describes Open Water Diver as its globally recognized entry-level scuba certification.[3]

But obtaining the card shouldn’t be the only objective.

The goal should be to finish your course feeling that you can actually dive.

That means developing good habits from your very first course:

• performing proper pre-dive safety checks;
• knowing your equipment;
• monitoring your air and depth;
• communicating with your buddy;
• controlling descents and ascents;
• maintaining neutral buoyancy;
• respecting marine life;
• understanding your personal limits; and
• knowing when you aren’t comfortable with a dive.

These principles remain important long after your Open Water course. DAN similarly recommends equipment checks, pre-dive checklists, reviewing dive plans with your buddy or dive professional and regularly practicing fundamental skills such as buoyancy and emergency procedures.[4]

What If You Are Nervous About Diving?

Being nervous before your first dive is completely normal.

Some people worry about breathing underwater. Others are concerned about their ears, removing their mask or simply being below the surface.

Tell your instructor.

There is no prize for pretending that you aren’t nervous.

A good instructor wants to know what concerns you because then they can work with you.

One of the advantages of starting in a proper training pool is that everything can happen gradually. You can stand up. You can put your face underwater and breathe. You can swim in shallow water. You can move deeper when you are comfortable.

Step by step, something that initially feels completely unnatural starts feeling normal.

Gili Air Is Also a Great Island for Your First Diving Holiday

Learning to dive isn’t only about what happens underwater.

Gili Air has developed into a popular holiday destination while maintaining a smaller-island atmosphere. There are restaurants, cafés, accommodation options and beaches around the island, while distances remain short.

That makes it easy to combine your diving course with a holiday.

You can complete your morning training, have lunch, relax around the pool or beach and review your SSI digital learning later.

For couples or families where not everyone wants to dive, this is particularly useful. One person can complete a diving course while others enjoy snorkeling, the beach or simply island life.

Why Learn to Dive at Oceans 5 Gili Air?

Oceans 5 Gili Air has been teaching scuba diving on Gili Air since 2010.

Today, Oceans 5 is an SSI Instructor Training Center, teaching everything from beginner programs through Divemaster and professional-level instructor education.

For beginners, however, the philosophy remains simple:

Don’t rush the student.

We have two dedicated training pools, experienced SSI instructors and small training groups. Our dive boats depart directly from Gili Air, and most dive sites around the three islands can be reached relatively quickly.

More importantly, Oceans 5 isn’t interested in becoming a diving factory.

Learning to scuba dive should be personal.

Some students need additional time.

Some students are nervous.

Some students learn quickly.

Some have dreamed about scuba diving for years.

The certification requirements may be standardized, but the people completing them aren’t.

Learning to Protect What You Are Discovering

Your first scuba course should also teach you something beyond diving skills.

It should teach you that you are entering an ecosystem.

Corals aren’t decorations. Turtles aren’t underwater attractions to chase for photographs. Marine animals shouldn’t be touched, moved or harassed.

As divers, we are visitors.

This is especially important around the Gili Islands because the reefs are part of a designated conservation area.[1]

Good buoyancy therefore becomes more than a diving skill. It becomes a conservation skill.

A diver who can control their position can observe coral without standing on it, photograph marine life without crashing into the reef and move through the underwater environment with minimal impact.

That is the type of diver we want our students to become.

So, Is Gili Air Good for Beginner Divers?

Absolutely.

Gili Air combines warm tropical water, diverse dive sites, abundant marine life and the possibility of seeing turtles during your very first dives.

But what makes a destination good for beginners isn’t simply the number of turtles or the water temperature.

It is the quality of the training.

Choose a dive center where you feel comfortable. Ask about group sizes. Look at the training facilities. Talk to the instructors. Ask how much pool training you will receive and how they select dive sites when conditions change.

Your Open Water course isn’t just another holiday activity.

It is the beginning of your life as a diver.

And Gili Air is a pretty amazing place to begin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gili Air suitable for someone who has never dived before?

Yes. Many people complete their first scuba experience or full Open Water certification on Gili Air. Beginners can first learn fundamental skills in a swimming pool before progressing to open water.

Are there strong currents around Gili Air?

Currents do occur around the Gili Islands, and conditions vary between dive sites and throughout the day. This makes appropriate dive-site selection and professional supervision particularly important for beginners.

Can I see turtles during my Open Water course?

It is certainly possible. Turtles are commonly encountered around the Gili Islands, although marine-life sightings can never be guaranteed.

Do I need to be an experienced swimmer?

You don’t need to be a competitive swimmer, but entry-level certification involves water-comfort and swimming requirements. SSI requires students in entry-level programs such as Open Water Diver to complete a water-fitness evaluation.[3]

What if I am afraid of scuba diving?

Tell your instructor. Nervousness is common among first-time divers. Starting in a controlled pool environment allows you to become comfortable with breathing, equipment and basic skills gradually.

How old do you have to be to learn to scuba dive?

SSI lists a minimum age of 10 years for programs including Basic Diver and Scuba Diver.[3][5] Age-related training and depth limitations apply to younger divers.

Should I do a Basic Diver program or an Open Water course?

If you simply want to experience scuba diving before deciding whether to become certified, Basic Diver is a good introduction. If you already know that you want to continue diving, starting the Open Water Diver course usually makes more sense.

How deep does an SSI Basic Diver go?

SSI specifies a maximum open-water training depth of 12 metres/40 feet for the Basic Diver program.[3]

Is Basic Diver a scuba certification?

No. SSI specifically identifies Basic Diver as an introductory recognition rather than an entry-level scuba certification. To become a certified diver, you need to complete an appropriate certification program such as Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver.[6]

Why is buoyancy so important for beginner divers?

Buoyancy allows you to control your position and depth while using less effort. It is important for both diving safety and protecting the underwater environment. DAN identifies good buoyancy control as a fundamental component of safe diving.[2]

References

[1] Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia (KKP) — Documentation concerning the Gili Matra conservation area covering the waters surrounding Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan.

[2] Divers Alert Network (DAN), The Importance of Buoyancy Control. Reviewed and updated March 2026.

[3] Scuba Schools International (SSI), Basic Diver Program — program requirements, minimum age, training sessions, depth limits and progression toward Scuba Diver/Open Water Diver.

[4] Divers Alert Network (DAN), Safe Diving Practices — equipment checks, pre-dive planning, checklists and fundamental diving skills.

[5] Scuba Schools International (SSI), Scuba Diver Certification — minimum age, training requirements and 12-metre certification limit under professional supervision.

[6] Scuba Schools International (SSI), Basic Diver Completion Record — clarification that Basic Diver is a recognition rather than an entry-level scuba certification.