SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Blog

The Turtle Capital of the World

If you ask divers why they love the Gili Islands, chances are that one of the first things they will mention is the turtles. Whether you are snorkeling from the beach or exploring deeper reefs on a scuba dive, seeing sea turtles is almost an everyday experience. This is why many visitors have started calling the Gili Islands the Turtle Capital of the World.

But what makes these three small islands so special?

A Healthy Population of Green and Hawksbill Turtles

The waters around Gili Air, Gili Meno, and Gili Trawangan are home to two species of sea turtles:

• Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) – the most commonly encountered species, often seen grazing on seagrass beds or resting beneath coral formations.
• Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) – slightly smaller, with their distinctive pointed beak, usually found around coral reefs where they feed on sponges.

It is not unusual to see several turtles during a single dive. On some dive sites, divers may encounter five, ten, or even more turtles in one dive.

Perfect Habitat

The Gili Islands offer almost everything sea turtles need to thrive.

Extensive Coral Reefs

Healthy coral reefs provide shelter and feeding grounds for juvenile and adult turtles. The reefs around the islands include shallow coral gardens, reef slopes, and deeper walls, giving turtles plenty of habitat.

Seagrass Meadows

Green Sea Turtles are herbivores as adults and feed mainly on seagrass. The extensive seagrass beds surrounding the islands are one of the reasons why so many green turtles choose to stay in the area.

Warm Tropical Water

With water temperatures ranging between 26°C and 30°C throughout the year, turtles can remain active in every season. Unlike many destinations where turtle sightings are seasonal, the Gili Islands offer excellent chances of seeing turtles all year round.

Protected Marine Environment

The Gili Islands are part of the Gili Matra Marine Recreation Park, a protected marine area managed by the Indonesian government.

Although challenges remain, marine protection has helped preserve important turtle habitats. Regulations on fishing, marine conservation initiatives, coral restoration projects, and increasing environmental awareness all contribute to maintaining healthy ecosystems where turtles can survive.

Many local dive centres, conservation organisations, universities, and volunteers also participate in reef monitoring, beach clean-ups, marine education, and scientific research.

Turtles for Every Level of Diver

One of the unique aspects of diving around the Gili Islands is that turtles can be found at almost every certification level.

Snorkelers

Many snorkelers encounter turtles only a few metres from the beach, especially around Gili Air and Gili Meno.

Beginner Divers

Open Water students often see turtles during their very first ocean dives, creating unforgettable memories that inspire many to continue diving.

Experienced Divers

Advanced divers regularly encounter turtles while exploring drift dives, deep reefs, and wrecks. Watching a turtle effortlessly glide through the current is one of the highlights of diving in the Gilis.

Why Turtles Feel Comfortable Here

Unlike many destinations where turtles quickly swim away, the turtles around the Gili Islands often appear calm and relaxed.

This is largely because:

• Divers are taught to maintain good buoyancy.
• Responsible operators promote respectful interactions.
• Feeding or chasing turtles is discouraged.
• Increasing awareness helps reduce stress on marine life.

Giving turtles enough space allows them to behave naturally, making encounters more enjoyable for both divers and the animals.

A Responsibility to Protect

Being known as the Turtle Capital of the World also brings responsibility.

Sea turtles still face many threats, including:

• Plastic pollution
• Lost fishing gear
• Boat strikes
• Coral reef degradation
• Climate change
• Disturbance at nesting beaches

Everyone visiting the islands can help by avoiding touching turtles, maintaining good buoyancy while diving, reducing plastic waste, and choosing environmentally responsible dive operators.

Experience Turtle Diving at Oceans 5 Gili Air

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, turtle encounters are part of everyday diving. Whether you are trying scuba diving for the first time, completing your Open Water Course, or joining guided fun dives, there is an excellent chance you’ll meet one or more sea turtles.

Our experienced instructors and divemasters focus on small dive groups, excellent buoyancy control, and environmentally responsible diving practices. We believe the best turtle encounters happen when the animals are allowed to behave naturally in their own environment.

Every dive is an opportunity not only to admire these incredible animals but also to understand why protecting the reefs around the Gili Islands is so important.

The Turtle Capital of the World

The title isn’t official, but after just one day in the water around Gili Air, Gili Meno, or Gili Trawangan, it’s easy to understand why so many divers use it.

With warm tropical waters, healthy reefs, abundant seagrass, protected marine habitats, and turtle sightings that are possible almost every day of the year, the Gili Islands have earned a reputation as one of the best places on Earth to see sea turtles.

If seeing turtles in their natural habitat is on your diving bucket list, few destinations can match what the Gili Islands have to offer.

Why Evidence Matters More Than Tradition

Scuba diving is built on safety, knowledge, and continuous learning. Equipment evolves, research improves, and training standards are regularly updated. Yet some pieces of advice continue to be repeated decade after decade, not because they are supported by modern evidence, but because instructors learned them from previous instructors.

Many divers can probably remember hearing statements such as:

• “Always turn the tank valve back a quarter turn.”
• “Follow the smallest bubbles during your ascent.”
• “Open your tank slowly or the pressure gauge glass can break.”

These recommendations have been passed from instructor to instructor for years. But are they still correct? Let’s take a closer look.

Myth 1: Always Turn the Tank Valve Back a Quarter Turn

This is probably one of the oldest myths still found in scuba diving.

Years ago, many valves required a slight turn back after fully opening because some older valve designs could become difficult to close if they were opened with excessive force. Turning the valve back slightly was intended to prevent the valve from binding.

Modern scuba valves are different.

Today’s valves are designed to be opened completely. Manufacturers generally recommend opening the valve fully until it stops naturally, without forcing it, and leaving it fully open.

Why is the quarter-turn dangerous?

Imagine the following situation:

A diver opens the valve, then turns it back a quarter turn.

Another buddy performs the pre-dive safety check and notices the valve is not fully open. Thinking they are helping, they turn it clockwise to “open it completely.” Unfortunately, they actually close the valve because it was already backed off.

The SPG may still show a full cylinder because there is pressure trapped in the regulator hoses. The diver starts the dive without realizing the tank valve is now closed.

The regulator continues to breathe normally for several breaths before suddenly becoming extremely difficult or impossible to breathe from.

This scenario has caused real diving incidents.

For this reason, many training organizations, equipment manufacturers, and dive safety experts now recommend opening the cylinder valve fully and leaving it fully open.

The best practice is simple:

• Open the valve completely.
• Do not force it once fully open.
• Confirm proper gas delivery by breathing from the regulator while watching the pressure gauge.

Modern equipment no longer requires the old quarter-turn practice.

Myth 2: Follow the Smallest Bubbles During Your Ascent

Many divers have heard:

“Just follow the smallest bubbles and your ascent rate will be correct.”

It sounds logical—but unfortunately, physics is more complicated.

Bubble speed depends on many factors besides your ascent rate.

These include:

• Bubble size
• Water currents
• Water movement
• Turbulence from exhalation
• Regulator exhaust design
• Depth
• Pressure changes
• Bubble merging
• Surface tension
• Buoyancy changes
• Drag forces

Small bubbles don’t always move the slowest

Tiny bubbles may remain attached to larger bubbles.

Some merge together into larger bubbles.

Others become trapped in eddies created by your body or equipment.

Water moving upward or downward can dramatically affect bubble speed.

Even your own exhalation changes how bubbles behave.

Pressure changes matter

As bubbles rise, the surrounding pressure decreases.

According to gas laws, the bubbles expand.

Larger bubbles become more buoyant and often accelerate as they approach the surface.

This means the same bubble does not travel at a constant speed throughout the ascent.

Bubble columns are unpredictable

Instead of one neat stream, divers create an entire column of bubbles.

Some bubbles rise faster.

Others collide.

Others merge.

Some spiral.

Some are pulled sideways by current.

Watching “the smallest bubble” is therefore highly subjective.

Which smallest bubble?

The one nearest your mask?

The one behind your shoulder?

The one affected by another diver?

There simply is no scientifically reliable bubble that represents a safe ascent speed.

What should divers do instead?

Modern dive computers continuously calculate ascent rate using pressure sensors.

They provide a much more accurate indication than observing bubbles.

Good buoyancy control, proper trim, and monitoring your dive computer are far more reliable ways to maintain a safe ascent.

Bubbles can provide a rough visual reference that you are moving upward, but they should never replace your ascent rate indicator.

Myth 3: Opening the Tank Quickly Can Break the Pressure Gauge Glass

Another myth still heard in some dive briefings is:

“Open the cylinder very slowly or the glass of the pressure gauge may break.”

There is little evidence that properly functioning scuba pressure gauges fail this way.

Modern submersible pressure gauges are specifically designed to withstand the operating pressures of scuba equipment.

When the cylinder valve opens, the pressure inside the high-pressure hose and gauge increases rapidly—but this pressure is internal and distributed throughout the system. The glass itself is not suddenly exposed to an uneven force that would normally cause it to shatter.

If an SPG window breaks while opening a cylinder, it is almost always because something else is already wrong, such as:

• A damaged gauge
• Manufacturing defects
• Severe corrosion
• Previous impact damage
• Poor maintenance

Opening the valve at a normal, controlled pace is perfectly acceptable.

The greater concern is not protecting the gauge glass—it is protecting the first-stage regulator from unnecessary stress caused by a rapid pressure surge.

Many modern regulators are designed to handle this without issue, but opening the valve smoothly and steadily remains good practice for overall equipment care.

The key point is this:

Opening a scuba cylinder normally does not cause a healthy pressure gauge window to explode.

Why Do These Myths Continue?

Scuba diving has a proud tradition of mentorship. Instructors learn from instructors, who learned from instructors before them.

That tradition is one of diving’s greatest strengths—but it can also allow outdated information to survive long after equipment and knowledge have changed.

Many myths persist simply because:

• “That’s how I was taught.”
• “Everyone does it.”
• “We’ve always done it this way.”

None of these are scientific evidence.

The diving industry has changed enormously over the last few decades. Regulators are more advanced. Cylinder valves have improved. Dive computers have replaced many older techniques. Research into diving physiology and equipment continues every year.

Good instructors continue learning throughout their careers and are willing to question long-standing habits when better evidence becomes available.

Modern Diving Requires Modern Thinking

Safe diving does not mean rejecting tradition—it means understanding why procedures exist and whether they are still relevant.

The best instructors are lifelong students. They read manufacturer recommendations, follow updates from training agencies, stay informed about equipment developments, and adapt their teaching when new evidence becomes available.

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe scuba education should be based on current best practices, critical thinking, and an understanding of the science behind diving. Rather than simply repeating what has always been said, we encourage divers to ask questions, understand the reasons behind procedures, and continue learning throughout their diving journey.

Because in scuba diving, the safest tradition is never to stop learning.