1

Personally I favor Amed and the wreck of the USS Liberty off of Tulamben, just a bit north of Amed.

One thing you can do for yourself is to have a look at the many YouTube videos that are currently uploaded with short movies from a variety of areas in Bali, the Gilis and etc.

Both of the sites shown in the two videos below are equally good for snorkeling and accessible from right off the shore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvwkSv067tM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2MSWdq1eSw&feature=related

This one is from Gili T:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHnXaBsUzCQ

2

Thank you; in fact I was watching some videos before your post. I think I will stick to a round trip in Bali. The Gilis corals are in pretty bad shape, turtles are nice though. I think I am going to enjoy tulamben and menjangan quite a lot.

Regards
Javier

3

Part of the reason that the coral reefs are in better shape here in Bali is that bomb fishing was eradicated earlier in Bali than in Lombok.

Given more time there is little reason to doubt that the reefs in Lombok will be as good.

4

In the Amed area, Lipah beach has good coral and lots of fish. You can see fish within ten feet of the shore; have to swim out a little farther for the coral and more fish.The added bonus is that the beach is sandy(albeit gray sand) unlike some of the stoney beaches in the area. The Amed area is very rural, a little arid looking, but the different coves are beautiful.

5

About 100 metres along the beach from the Liberty Wreck in Tulamben is a lovely area to snorkel, lots of coral and fish and very easy access from the shore, just ask around for the location of the Coral Garden site..

6

http://www.aquamarinediving.com/bali-dive-sites/tulamben-bay-area.php

7

Unfortunately there is more coral on the beach than in the water at the gilis. You can see fish and turtles, but it is a little disappointing.
Amed is lovely! A little spot at the bay where you can gorgeous coral and fish. You can walk in the ocean and go for it.

I read that north of bali (permuteran) is also a good spot for snorkeling.

good luck and enjoy.

8

Also, as a destination we found the Gillis a bit boring.

9

The coral bombing stopped 20 years ago at the Gili Islands. And the place were u find broken coral is not a result of this. In 1998 and 2010 Indonesia , but also Asia has the El Ninio and el Ninia at the same time. The result was there was a lot of coral bleaching. At that time the water temperature was to hot for the coral and the coral can die.

At some places around the Gili Islands the coral died, and try to recover but unfortunly these place have in big, strong water movements in December, January when the storms come in. The young coral will break again and there is no chance to become a big nice reef.

This is only on a few places. The Gili island are still in the coral triangle with the most coral diverity of the world. Most of the corals are hard corals, and these one doesnt have the nice colours as u see around Bali. If u see hard corals are no colours doesnt mean there is no coral. There are different corals on different depth and different places for a reason.

There are nice coral place in the shallow parts of North Trawangan, Around Meno and between Air and Meno. and these are perfect for snorkelling. Not in a lot of parts of the world u can say that u can see turtles everywhere.

10

“The coral bombing stopped 20 years ago at the Gili Islands.”

I think ten years ago would be more accurate, at least from my own recollections, discussions with dive masters and this article published May/June 2001 by World Watch Magazine:

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/502

As the article states, “coral almost never recovers from bombing. Young corals, which need a solid substrate to grow upon, cannot mature on fields of rubble that shift with the passing of every wave.”

11

Thank you for all the feedback; it is true that the amount of turtles in the Gilisis a good reason to go. But it is also true that the amount of tourist without brains anoying them is high; you can see videos on youtube of people disturbing the turtles.

I think we'll stick to Bali and do it at a slow pace; the money we can save without going to the gilis can be spent diving on P. Menjangan

MadeIndra, very interesting article. So sad bombing fishing has destroyed so much coral..

Regards
Javier