GILI MENO
The Gili Islands form a trio of tropical islands just off the coast of West Lombok and a boat ride from East Bali. Each Island all has its own character, featuring sandy beaches, mesmorising sunsets, and crystal-clear waters. Gili Trawangen is known for its beach resorts, lively nightlife, and diving operators, while Gili Meno is often dubbed the Honeymoon island offer a tranquil, quieter stay. Gili Air, on the other hand embraces resort living with an array of dining options.
The Gili Islands are the home to many turtles and vibrant coral reefs, making them a snorkelers paradise. In this guide, we reveal our top 5 snorkel spot picks with our first-hand snorkel experience, to help you plan your next trip.
Snorkel Snaps
1.
Turtle Paradise
Turtle Paradise is a turtle hot spot, snorkel spot! Located towards the North East of the island, there is plenty of sea plants that turtles enjoy feeding on. You can see several species, including Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead Turtles. Snorkeling with these gentle creatures is an incredible experience. Go earlier in the morning to beat the crowds, which can help with your chances of seeing turtles. Great variety of fish and coral, makes for a pretty good day out for the cost.
2.
Nest Statues
Woah! The Nest Underwater Statues is an iconic snorkel spot advertised on most snorkel trips. The artificial statue was sunk to promote coral growth. There’s something about seeing statues underwater that makes you feel like you’re swimming through art. The statues are only 2 meters below the surface and a super-cool experience. This spot is very busy, so go early to beat the crowds and to get an awesome vacation pic! There were many Damselfish and small reef fish swimming within the statue.
3.
Coral Gardens
The Coral Garden’s of Gili Meno are located just North of the pier on the East side of Gili Meno. What a treat it is snorkeling with vibrant, colourful corals, an underwater maze of red, green, and yellow healthy corals. I think the coral garden’s were some of the best coral reefs I’ve snorkeled in Bali, and a great stop off. Be careful of passing boats near the pier.
4.
Gili Meno Coral Wall
The Meno wall is an attraction on most snorkel trips around Gili Meno, and also the Gili Islands. It is a long ‘wall’ of coral on the drop off that mimics a wall as the sea bed drops away. The corals here are very diverse, with many small reef fish, with some larger fish and schools coming in from the deeper ocean. It’s cool to snorkel along the coral on the inside of the drop off, closer to the island.
5.
Wreck
The Wreck is part of snorkel trips if you’re only going around Gili Meno like I did. It is on the South West of the island, and out past the drop off. The Ship Wreck is almost 10 meters down, but visible from the surface. Cool to see such a large wreck close to the island and covered in sea plants and coral. We even spotted a Green turtle chilling on the wreck. Wouldn’t rush back, but cool to see on the island trip.
Popular Marine Life
ParrotFish
Moorish Idol
Butterflyfish
Sergeant Major Damselfish
Damsels & Chromis
Picasso Triggerfish
Hawksbill Turtle
Green Turtle
Rare Marine Life
Giant Moray Eel
Pufferfish
Titan Triggerfish
Clark’s Anemonefish
Damsels & Chromis
Star Fish
Nudibranch
Christmas Tree Worm
Unicornfish
Coral Reef
Table Coral
Massive Coral
Brain Coral
Acroporidae
Massive Boulder Coral
Branch Coral
Lettuce Coral
Blue Ridged Coral
Mushroom Coral
Cauliflower Coral
Encrusted Coral
Frequently Asked Questions
The local currency is the Indonesian Rupiah IDR. 5 EUR equals approximately 82K IDR.
The best time to visit Bali is during the dry season which runs from May-October.
In my opinion, the best snorkel spot was Turtle Paradise located on the North East coast of Gili Meno
Yes, you can snorkel with turtles at all three of the Gili Islands, however this isn’t guaranteed. From my experience saw most Turtles at Turtle Point at Gili Trawangan, and at most of the snorkel spots at Gili Meno.
Indonesia Snorkel Reviews
