Diving in gili with family. Suggestions?

[Arsalan Ahmed]

Planning on flying into Bali mid April with my family and hoping to dive in gili. Bring the only diver and with 2 kids, 3 and 6 plus wife, I was hoping for suggestions?

What island would you recommend for a family? My older sub likes to snorkel with me. The rest is beach, eating fish, pool and anything top side of available. Fishing would be good too. Snorkel from shore would be great.

Any recommendation on hotels that accommodate families?

My research has been limited but do I need to worry about security while I dive? I've read conflicting reports on this.

How difficult is it too get from ubud to gili? What would be the clearest pier for fast boat? Is it better to fly?

It's diving good around April? Strong currents? Visibility? I heard visibility is generally 20m year round.

Thanks so much

 

[Arsalan Ahmed]

We decided to stay in Gili Trawangan in an Airbnb.

Is it relatively easy to get to dive shops near the pier or the main beach strip?

Thank you

 

[charlier]

Have fun in Gili Trawandan with your family. Perhaps go to Gili Air for a day away from Gili T. Please post a review of the Airbnb.

 

[matts1w]

Have fun in Gili Trawandan with your family. Perhaps go to Gili Air for a day away from Gili T. Please post a review of the Airbnb.

I would seriously, seriously do this the other way around: Gili Air is perfect for families. Gili T. is perfect for 20 year old, high fivin', drunken backpackers.

 

[charlier]

I would seriously, seriously do this the other way around: Gili Air is perfect for families. Gili T. is perfect for 20 year old, high fivin', drunken backpackers.

Completely agree with you, but it seemed that the op was set in visiting Gili T. That said, there are accommodations located off of the main road and craziness on Gili T. Also, just about all building built on the beach were removed in earlier this year.

 

[Arsalan Ahmed]

We really wanted to stay in Gili Air but sadly, there were no accommodations left (reasonably priced) for the dates we were traveling for a family of 4. We reached out to about 15 places, all replying back with a negative.

We decided to get an airbnb.

One question that I'm still struggling with. What is the best way to get from Ubud to Gili. I'm having trouble identifying the right fast boat to catch or if I should just fly (flying would cut down on my dive time though)

 

[Dive Explore Indonesia]

Hi Arsalan,

From Ubud, i would suggest going to Padang Bay, the boat leave at 9:30 am (more or less.. Indonesian time .

It usually stop at Lombok first, and then to the three differents Gilis, where you can jump off to your final destination.

You can very easily find someone in Ubud who will manage the booking for you. Usually you will have a car picking you up at your hostel around 7:30 and then they will drop you at the pier in Padang Bay.

The other solution would be to fly to Lombok and then reach Gili, but I don't think it's worth it. The boats are pretty fast, around 60/90 mns to go. So not worth the hastle of crossing Denpasar and Kuta, then security, boarding and so on...

Regarding security, I did a few dives there and felt ok. Pretty smooth dives, a lil current for a nice drift dive but far away from a washing machine

I can't recomend any dive center in Gili T, but in Air I dived with Manta, I bringed some friends for a discovery and they had a really good time. The water is usually crystal clear and insanely hot, so it's perfect for beginners.

Looooooots of turtle around too that you can see snorkling as well, so it would be good for your kids

However, it seems that in recent years the coral was pretty damaged and I have to say that when I did the snorkling tour around the 3 Gilis, I didn't see anything really good.

There's probably some much better sites for diving around, but I can't say as I didn't dive them (yet!).

Enjoy your family time in Gili

Fred.

 

[buiszie]

There are plenty of fast boat companies that bring you from Ubud to Padang Bai or Amed, The boat ride from Padang Bai is 1,5 hours and Pandang Bai is a busy harbor. amed is more relax, a bit further by car from Ubud but the boat ride is 45 min.
The fast boat companies will pick you up at your hotel, no extra costs. And the Boats arrive in the Harbor of Gili Trawangan. There you can catch a Cidomo, Horsecart, to get to your hotel.

 

[Arsalan Ahmed]

Thank you so much. Any recommendation for a fast boat? Are they all made equal are there any that should be avoided? Should I book in advance or once I arrive at the pier?