Oceans 5 Blog

Why not starting your PADI IDC at the Gili Islands in Indonesia? With so many different locations offering PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) it can be overwhelming to know which location is best for you. Nowadays you can become a PADI Diving Instructor in almost any country around the world. But how do you pick the best place to begin your career as a diving instructor?

We know that the PADI IDC is a big investment. But we strongly believe you should decide where based on which location and centre is best for you and your future, not on price. Selecting the right place to do your IDC will help you kick start your life as an instructor and ensure a return on that investment. Here’s a few questions you should ask yourself when choosing where to do your PADI Instructor Development Course.

What are the diving conditions like at this IDC location?

Do you want to be diving in warm or cool waters? Is the water fresh or salt water? What is the visibility like? Are conditions calm or are there large swells? Is there strong current? Will you be diving from the shore or on a boat? Do the boats come back between each dive or are you out all day?

These are all questions you want to ask when selecting a location for your IDC. Diving varies greatly around the world. It’s important to consider what type of diving you enjoy and what conditions you want to be learning to teach in. We will be honest, we prefer tropical climates, but we understand that’s not for everyone.

The diving conditions around the Gili Islands

Gili Air in Indonesia is the whole year open for diving. The water temperature is between the 27 and 30 degrees Celsius. In the dry season the visibility will be around 30 meters. During the rainy season 15 meters. 

Most of the dive sites are suitable for all level of divers, from beginners till advanced. And all dives are drift dives. This means we don’t have to dive back to the boat, but the boat will pick us up.

Where do you plan to work as a dive instructor after your Instructor Course?

As well as considering the conditions you like to dive in, it’s also beneficial to complete your Instructor Development Course in conditions similar to those you plan to work in. At least when you first start teaching. For example, if you plan to teach in Northern Europe where it’s often low visibility and requires a dry suit, you might not want to do your IDC in warm, crystal clear tropical waters. Before, during and after your IDC you have the opportunity to network and build connections in that location. You will also already be familiar with the dive practices specific to that area. You can then gain valuable experience in familiar dive conditions before moving on to a location.

What other professional dive training is available at this Instructor Training location?

In addition to the PADI Instructor Development Course, you often have the chance to complete further training to enhance your skills and employability. Have a look at what additional courses different IDC locations offer you, for example team teaching, Instructor Specialities, Master Scuba Diver Trainer Programs. All of these can help stand out from other new instructors and are often offered at special rates for IDC candidates. If you know you want to work towards becoming a PADI Staff Instructor, and perhaps Course Director, check out whether the IDC location or Course Director offer these opportunities.

PADI IDC Gili Islands and Master Scuba Diver Trainer program

PADI Course Director Sander offers a variety of extra training from free prep workshops to Instructor Specialities, MSDT training and even Disabled Divers International (DDI) Instructor training. 

The diving around the Gili Islands gives Sander the opportunity to teach you all different kind of instructor specialties. If you are interested in wreck diving, Sander can take you to the wreck “Glenn Nusa” located at the North West side of Gili Trawangan. Would you like to know more about diving with disabled persons, remember that Sander is a Disabled Divers International Instructor Trainer Examiner. He can teach you all kind of different teaching techniques when you are diving with disabled persons. Or would you like to become sidemount specialty instructor, a self reliant diver specialty instructor, drift diver instructor or more, Sander will help you.

What is the experience of the PADI Course Director teaching the IDCs in this location?

One factor to consider is how experienced is the Course Director who will be teaching you. But experience is hard to quantify. It’s not just about the length of time someone has been a Course Director or how many IDCs they’ve taught. It’s also good to know where your Course Director has worked, do they experience teaching a variety of courses in different conditions?

Your Course Director plays a pivotal role in your development as an instructor. So it’s important you find the right one for you. Not only will you spend a couple of weeks training with them, but they will continue to be your mentor throughout your career. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your potential Course Directors. They are there to answer your questions. If you don’t feel comfortable or reassured corresponding with your PADI Course Director, then it’s probably a sign to look for a different one.

PADI IDC Gili Islands with PADI Course Director Sander Buis

Not only does our Course Director Sander Buis have over 15 years of experience, he has also dived and taught in a huge variety of conditions. From the strong currents of Indonesia to the open ocean off Mozambique. Sander doesn’t teach you to pass the PADI Instructor Examination. He teaches you to become a confident scuba dive instructor!

What are the IDC facilities and accommodation like at this location?

To learn effectively, you need to be in the right environment. A spacious classroom, quiet areas for independent study and easy access to the water are all beneficial to your training. Does the location you are considering have adequate and spacious facilities?

• Is there a suitable training pool on site or do you prefer confined sessions to take place in the ocean?
• How good is the WIFI connection?
• Would you find adequate accommodation at this location?
• Do you want to stay at the IDC Centre or would you prefer offsite accommodatio

PADI IDC Gili Islands with Oceans 5 Gili Air

At our PADI IDC centre we have dedicated facilities specifically designed for teaching IDCs with air-conditioned classrooms, areas for independent study, large swimming pools and specific IDC boats. We strive to ensure you can train in a comfortable and relaxed environment. Oceans 5 Gili Air can offer accommodation onsite at our IDC location, or we can support you in finding different options offsite.

What is the location itself like?

You’re going to be living in this location for at least a few weeks, so you want to like the town, island or city you’ll be based in. Do you prefer a quiet tropical island, or do you like somewhere with more amenities and activities? As well as the actual PADI IDC centre, have a look at the location in which it is situated and make sure it suits your personality. 

PADI IDC Gili Islands on Gili Air

Oceans 5 Gili Air is a beautiful coconut paradise island. You can find Gili Air at the North West dide of Lombok. Gili Air is part of the island group Gili Indah, or the Gili Islands.

Gili Air is famous because we don’t have cars and motorbikes on the island. 

Take time to find the right IDC location for you.

The PADI Instructor Development Course is a big investment, not only financially, so it’s important you pick a location and Course Director that is right for you personally. Take time to consider what you want and need during your IDC, and when in doubt, go with your gut. It’s normally right.

PADI IDC Gili Islands in Indonesia

With a passionate Course Director Sander, Oceans 5 Gili Air offers an IDC location to suit everyone’s tastes and career aspirations. Choose from an extensive range of additional training including Speciality ratings, MSDT programs and even DDI Instructor training.

What did you eat for lunch today? And what did you have for breakfast? Are your meals a balance of essential food groups, are your meals planned well or are they quick fixes that contain fewer nutrients and comprise mainly of packaged foods. Do your busy schedules leave you little time to eat healthy? Do you often rely on junk food and takeaways for your daily meals? It is time to change this. Eating right is even more important than exercise, and the combination of a balanced diet along with the right amount of exercise can do wonders to your body.  Self-realization is important to make conscious food choices. This National Nutrition Week let us come together and spread awareness about the importance of healthy eating habits and good nutrition to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce your risk of lifestyle diseases.

Are you eating right?

A balanced diet provides your body the appropriate number of nutrients. 50–60% of the total calories should ideally come from carbohydrates, followed by 10%–15% from protein, and 20–30% from fat. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre should also be a part of your diet. Depending on the person’s gender, age, and specific needs, the body has different nutritional needs. Pregnant women and highly active individuals, and young children frequently have increased nutrient needs. Check more about alpilean.

Healthy nutrition tips

A healthy diet is important to support and strengthen your immune system. Nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fibres, fats, minerals, and water must be an essential part of your diet to maintain a healthy immune system and strengthen your body. Consistent healthy eating habits can reduce the likelihood of developing health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Follow these healthy eating tips:

• Eat local produce
  Increase your intake of locally available and seasonal fruits, vegetables, and whole grains near your region and reduce your intake of processed foods. Eat a rainbow, the more colourful the diet the more antioxidants it includes.
• Explore traditional foods
  You don’t have to find fancy ingredients to eat healthy. Instead choose simple but nutritious Indian millets that include jowar, bajra, ragi, etc as a part of your daily diet. Read more about alpilean weight loss.
• Eat a variety of food
  You must include a mix of wholegrains like wheat, maize and rice, legumes like lentils and beans, and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet. Choose unprocessed foods as much as possible.
• Limit your salt intake
  Limit your salt intake to 5 grams or a teaspoon a day. Further, when cooking and preparing foods, use salt sparingly and reduce the use of packaged salty sauces and condiments as they are usually high in sodium.
• Eat moderate healthy fats in moderation
  Replace butter with healthier fats like olive, soy, sunflower or corn oil when cooking. Avoid processed, baked and fried foods that contain trans-fat. Choose steaming, roasting or baking instead of frying food when cooking.
• Limit sugar intake
  Limit intake of sweets and sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, fruit juices, energy and sports drinks, flavoured milk drinks. Use jaggery, honey, dates, and raisins to sweeten you desserts instead of refined sugar.
• Stay hydrated
  Drinking enough water can help improve many of your bodily processes and is essential for optimal health. Drink water whenever thirsty and avoid sipping on juices, fizzy drinks or alcoholic drinks.

Traveling in Corona Times

Last Updated 07 June 2020 at 8:00 am (GMT +8)
Please note that this page will continue to be updated with the latest information.

Travelling to Gili Air, Lombok in Corona Times
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, we have been monitoring the situation regularly and are doing everything possible to assist you with your upcoming travel plans. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and colleagues is one of our top priorities. In light of the recent cases of coronavirus, we fully understand the concerns around travelling during this time.

Our flexibility on travel in Corona times
Oceans5 Dive Resort is offering a range of tailor-made accommodation packages – we also tailor our cancellation conditions for you. Certainly in this time. Because we want you to book your Island Paradise trip with minimum stress, we guarantee you can change your booking at any time.

Completely removing uncertainty: we simply cannot do that. What we can tell you is we have flexibility in the cancellation policy for new bookings. For new bookings made after 1st of March 2020 with stays between March 2020 and May 2021, your hotel arrangement at Oceans5 Dive Resort can be rescheduled or postponed, free of charge, at any time. Learn more about Exipure healthy supplement.

Transparency in communication is important here; if you request an accommodation proposal from us, we will inform you of the applicable cancellation policy.

Gili Air Beach Life

Precautionary Measures
At this point, no employees have shown any symptoms that indicate infection.
We care, more than ever,  for the safety and health of our guests and team members, and have taken the following safety precautions:
– All staff members’ temperatures are checked before entering the premises, and anyone that registers above 37° is not allowed to work
– Any staff with flu symptoms are refrained from working
– All guests’ points of contact are sanitized every morning and after each guest use in particular with scuba diving equipment.
– All other areas such as toilets, door handles, etc are sanitized regularly
– We will refrain from handshakes between guests and staff members, and social distancing practices are observed throughout.
– No back-to-back usage of rooms to allow for deeper sanitation practices between each guest
– Hand washing facilities are provided throughout the property

March 16, 2020 – The Gili Islands
In response to COVID-19, the Indonesian government has suspended all fast boat services between Bali, the Gili Islands and Lombok starting March 17, 2020. In order to help to stop the virus from spreading.

March 17, 2020 – Fastboats and Flights Bali-Lombok
As concerns about the COVID-19 continue to rise, the West Nura Tenggara Government stated that per 17/03/2020 all fast boats are being restricted to operate between Bali, the Gili Islands and Bangsal, Lombok. This is a temporary decision in order to minimize the flow of tourist between these destinations. In the meantime, slow boat / ferry services between Bali and Lombok are operating as usual. Flights between Bali and Lombok – by LionAir and Garuda Indonesia – are still operating as well. Indonesia AirAsia has suspended domestic flights between Bali and Lombok until 21 April 2020. ** See update 24th of April 2020.

March 17, 2020
Government Policy in Indonesia Related To People Crossing From And To Indonesia in Corona Times.
Regarding foreign visitors from all countries, the Government of Indonesia has decided that the Visa Free Arrival (BVK), Visa on Arrival and Free Diplomatic / Service Visa policies are suspended for 1 month. Therefore, every foreigner who will visit Indonesia is required to have a Visa from an Indonesian Representative in accordance with the purpose of the visit. When applying for a visa, you must attach a health certificate issued by the health authority in each country. If you are trying to improve your lifestyle check out the latest java burn reviews.

In addition to the above, there are special policies that concern the following countries;
1. The policy towards China is still valid according to the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 February 2020.
2. The policy towards South Korea for Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province is still in accordance with the Foreign Minister’s statement dated March 5, 2020.
3. Travelers who within the last 14 days visited the countries below are not permitted to enter / transit to Indonesia. These countries are: a. Iran; b. Italy; c. Vatican; d. Spanish; e. France; f. German; g. Switzerland; h. UK
4. All arrivals/travelers must fill out and submit a Health Alert Card to the Port Health Office prior to arrival at the entrance of the Indonesian International Airport. If the travel history shows that in the last 14 days the person concerned has visited these countries, then the person concerned may be refused entry to Indonesia.

The above policy will take effect on Friday 20 March at 00.00 West Indonesia Time. This policy is temporary and will be evaluated in accordance with developments. ** See update 1st of April 2020.

Gili Air Beaches

April 01, 2020
The Government of Indonesia has decided to temporarily ban foreigners from 2 April 2020 until the Covid-19 pandemic is declared complete by the Indonesian authorities. This ban is to apply to all foreigners with the exception of the following categories:
1. Temporary residence permit holders (ITAS) or permanent residence permits (ITAP)
2. holders of diplomatic visas or service
3. Humanitarian staff years in the medical and food sector
4. Crews (air, road and maritime transport)
5. Foreigners/expatriates active in National Strategic Projects

Foreigners who can enter the territory must meet the following 3 conditions:
1. Be in possession of a valid health book issued by the Health Authority of the country of origin
2. Not having stayed in the 14 days before the arrival in Indonesia in a country/territory seriously affected by Covid-19
3. Declaration to comply with the 14-day quarantine requirement of the Indonesian government

For more information, we recommend that you contact the Indonesia Embassy in the country you are in.

April 24, 2020
Indonesia suspends all passenger travel to prevent Ramadan Exodus.
The Transportation Ministry will restrict all passenger travel starting on Friday 24th of April as the government attempts to prevent citizens from participating in the annual Idul Fitri tradition of Mudik (exodus) to curb the spread of COVID-19. The ministry’s air transportation director general, Novie Riyanto, said all passenger transportation to domestic and overseas destinations – both commercial and chartered flights – would be suspended starting Friday at midnight until June 1. Passenger transportation by sea will be suspended until June 8 2020.
Read More > https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/23/govt-temporarily-bans-passenger-travel-to-prevent-mudik.html

April 30, 2020
At this stage, 8 people from North Lombok (1 from Pemenang, 1 from Tanjung, and 6 from Bayan District) were confirmed positive for Covid-19.
Over the entire island of Lombok, there are 166 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

May 20, 2020
At this stage, 8 people from North Lombok (1 from Pemenang, 1 from Tanjung, and 6 from Bayan District) were confirmed positive for Covid-19.
Over the entire island of Lombok, there are 188 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

May 31, 2020
Lombok airport will be open for a limited number of hours each day, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, and flights are limited. Arriving passengers must show proof of a negative PCR swab test valid for 7 days at the time of travel. This situation is subject to change. The same rules apply for passengers on local ferries arriving at Lembar and Kayangan Ports on Lombok.

Gili Air before COVID-19

June 7, 2020
It’s wonderful to see “The Great Lockdown” finally relaxing. Step by step, Indonesia is finding ‘The New Normal’. International Flights to/from Indonesia are available, however, there are still strong restrictions on the visit of Foreign Citizens. Limited Domestic Flights between Bali and Lombok are available by Garuda Airlines, however, currently, negative COVID-19 test are required. We all hope the situation will be more flexible mid-June 2020. We will keep you posted! Check out the latest exipure reviews.

June 28, 2020

Great news for Residents of Indonesia & KITAS/KITAP Holders! Only a quick 10-minutes COVID19 RAPID-Test – IDR 350k per person – is required for flights to Lombok by Lion, Batik & Air Asia. Starting today (27/06), the RAPID-test will be valid for 14 DAYS! Previously, travelers needed to present a certificate of a rapid test that had been done in the previous three days up to departure. More exciting news for Residents of Indonesia & KITAS/KITAP Holders: AIRASIA is Back! Route Lombok-Jakarta-Lombok – Starting 1st of July I Every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday!

July 13, 2020

Great News! – FAST BOATS FROM BALI TO GILIS & LOMBOK RESTART TODAY! Boats will run every Monday and Friday! Guests will require a valid negative rapid test before being permitted to travel. Pre-Departure Rapid tests are available as well on-site at the BlueWater Express Departure Lounge.

Oceans5 is keeping a close watch on developments related to the coronavirus.

For more information and our full range of Post-LockDown Packages please don’t hesitate to contact us and we can help you find the best package for you.

Our hearts go out to those around the world who’ve been impacted by the virus.

Thank you for reading our blog. Stay safe and take care of each other.

Sunny regards,

Your Oceans5 Team