Located off the coast of Lombok Island in Indonesia, the Gili Islands are made up of three islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Fringed by white sandy beaches and swaying coconut palms, the isles are surrounded by crystal-clear seas that are home to spectacular coral reefs, making them a scuba diving paradise.

Each little island has something unique. The reefs around Gili Trawangan boast some of the best marine biodiversity around the islands. Head to Air and Meno if you want to escape the crowds and enjoy the best diving in Gili.

It's a bit of a journey to get there but well worth it. To get to the islands, take the public ferry from Padang Bai to Lombok, which is about a five-hour journey, followed by a fast boat from Lombok to the islands. Total travel time is around eight hours.

The best time for diving Gili is in May and June, and October and November, although you can dive all year round at some of these top dive spots around the Gili Islands.

1. Turtle Heaven

If turtles are your thing, then this is the place to scuba dive. The aptly named Turtle Heaven is a turtle haven, and you'll see plenty of these graceful creatures cruising and feeding around the reefs.

This site is great for both snorkelers and open water divers. In the shallows at the top of the reef, you'll see turtles and other small sea life, while further down you'll find bright sponge bommies and hard and soft corals surrounded by schooling fusiliers and confused-looking batfish. You might also spot families of bump head parrotfish who call the reef home.

2. Shark Point

This is one of the best dive sites in Gili. The site has three different levels, making it ideal for divers of any level. The reef consists of a steep wall that slopes from 60 to 100 feet and is covered with beautiful corals.

The steep slope attracts a wealth of large marine life and you'll see giant and blue trevallies, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, schooling Mobula rays, huge napoleon fish, and plenty of turtles. You enter the water from the shore on this dive and you can dive it all year round.

3. Deep Turbo

This dive site has beautiful sea mounds rising off the bottom with spectacular corals. You'll see massive sea fans waving in the current at 65 feet with myriad tiny invertebrates hiding among the fronds. Also, watch out for megafauna like manta rays and leopard sharks cruising the depths and garden eels poking their heads out on the sandy bottom.

4. Simon's Reef

This is a fantastic deep dive site for experienced divers with towering sea mounds that are home to huge coral bommies and amazing sea life. There are plenty of overhangs and crevices, so be sure to dive with a torch so you can explore the nooks and crannies to find lionfish, leaf fish, moray eels, and cuttlefish hiding in the shadows.

5. Air Wall

This dive site is located on the eastern side of Gili Air with a stunning vertical reef wall that drops to 60 feet and is full of magnificent corals, bommies, and sea fans.

Beautiful coral gardens teem with all sorts of creatures from cleaner shrimp, porcelain crabs, scorpionfish, and leaf fish to schools of butterflyfish, angelfish, brightly colored wrasse. You'll also see the odd bump head parrotfish mingling above the corals.