If you love seeing turtles than diving around Gili Trawangan, Indonesia offers one of the best possible diving experiences available. Whilst being famed for its nightlife on one side of the island and it’s palm swept, un spoilt beaches on the other side; Gili Trawangan has long been home to a massive turtle protection initiative which has been in place since tourists started coming to the island.

Around the island of Gili Trawangan there are a number of conservation projects aimed at providing turtle trips, educating people and protecting marine turtles and in fact if you walk along the beach you may come across metal dome structures randomly placed on the beach and upon closer inspection you will find that each and everyone one of them is labeled with the relevant information pointing out that it is actually a turtle nesting guard separating the buried turtle eggs from the hazards of beach going tourists. Another great site that you may have the opportunity to see is a turtle hatching; Once the turtles hatch a group of volunteers will assist in stopping passersby, removing the turtle nesting guard and provide safe passage for these tiny young turtles back into the ocean.

Another new addition to the island is the PADI Turtle Specialty Course which takes place at Big Bubble Dive Center offering divers the chance to learn a lot more about turtles and how we can help protect the species. The program is conducted over 2 dives and a theory / knowledge development session and will be scheduled over a 1 to 2 day period. The course has been specifically designed to encounter, observe and interact with both Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles in their natural environments in a responsible manner whilst providing observations in a strictly scientific way. The course will also address the history, living habits and threats faced by each species as well as the immediate threats that surround them. Students will also get the opportunity to develop photographic knowledge through the use of photos within the identification procedure. The course itself is taken as a standalone course which requires divers to be at least an Open Water Certified Diver and be over the age of 10 and is a great experience for every level of diver including new divers and experienced divers, both professional and nonprofessional.

Both the Green Sea Turtle and the Hawksbill turtle are seen in abundance around the Gili Islands offering great scope for this particular course, but is also great for taking further courses or training. As well as offering the full range of PADI courses and programs many dive shops in the Gili Islands offer the Professional PADI Courses. To find out more about PADI Programs and Courses including the Gili Islands PADI DivemasterCourse or the PADI IDC Gili Islands Scuba Diving Instructor Course (IDC) check out the full range of opportunities for Gili Islands Dive Courses and further training opportunities.