Best Snorkelling Spots On Gili Meno Island To See Coral & Turtles

First Published: 28th August 2026 · Last Updated: 28th August 2026

Snorkelling is one of my favourite activities to do on a tropical island holiday so as soon as I planned my trip to Gili Meno I was excited to get in the water!

I was overjoyed to swim amongst Gili Meno’s beautiful coral gardens and fish but also to discover that there are plenty of turtles to be seen while snorkelling in the Gili Islands! I have seen turtles before while snorkelling but nothing to the extent we saw them here in Lombok, Indonesia. Every time we went into the water for a snorkel, we saw a turtle!

We spent most of our time on Gili Meno snorkelling and at several locations all around the island. Through trial and error we found the best snorkelling spots on Gili Meno Island and that is exactly what I will share in this blog post!

You’ll learn where the best places for snorkelling are on the island, as well as my vital tips on tides, currents, if a snorkelling tour is worth it, where to rent snorkelling equipment and more, you can have the safest and best snorkelling experience on Gili Meno!

The Best Snorkelling Spots On Gili Meno Island! 🤿🇮🇩

All the best snorkelling spots on Gili Meno Island can be accessed directly from the beach, so no need to spend time and money going on a snorkelling tour! Just grab your gear and get in the water!

In Front Of Mahamaya Resort 🪸🐢🐠

Our favourite spot for snorkelling on Gili Meno Island is on the west of the island, in front of the Mahamaya Resort Gili Meno.

We saw lots of turtles while snorkelling here, which was absolutely amazing! We were swimming along with the turtles observing them in their natural environment which is so cool to witness.

The water was just beautifully clear here!

We also saw many different kinds of fish including a large white-spotted puffer fish, parrot fish, surgeonfish, butterfly fish, and more. The corals were varied and gorgeous colours like purple, yellow, and red.

At this snorkelling spot, you can also see deeper into the ocean where it drops off the ‘wall’, where bigger fish tend to hang out!

There’s plenty to see swimming up and down the coral reefs.

You can leave your belongings near to the bar/restaurant at the beach in front of Mahamaya Resort and enter the water from there.

It is very easy to enter the water here as the waves tend to be calm and there is a gradual decline into the sea.

Swim straight out from the beach and once past the cloudy area close to the beach, you will soon find plenty of beautiful coral reefs.

I felt very safe as we were never that far from the beach. This is one spot on the island where the corals are very close to the beach and you don’t need to swim out that far to have good snorkelling.

Additionally I found there was very little boat activity here so it was never crowded with people or boats. We found this spot to be very peaceful and beautiful to see the underwater world!

We returned back to this snorkel spot more than once during our visit to Gili Meno as we found it to be the best spot for snorkelling on the island!

In Front Of Le Pirate Resort Gili Meno 🪸🐢🐠

Another great snorkel spot for corals, fish and turtles is in front of Le Pirate Resort Gili Meno.

We were fortunate to be staying here and having access to beautiful snorkelling just off the beach.

The water can get a little choppy here due to boat activity and the currents can be a little strong at times. However I still felt very safe snorkelling here.

You do need to swim a little further out to see good corals and the best bits are just slightly north of the resort (between Le Pirate and Bask).

It is also a little easier to get in and out from the beach a little further north as it is sandy beach and a little steeper. Closer to Le Pirate there is a rock/reef shelf that is completely exposed at low tide, so it can be tricky getting in/out there unless the tide is very high.

At this snorkelling spot we saw lots of schools of hundreds of fish swimming just below the surface of the water which was very cool! We also saw many turtles here close to the beach, as well as two turtles hanging out together in a deeper part of the water and they were taking turns returning to the surface from the seabed which was awesome to see!

Bask Nest Underwater Sculptures 🐠🏊‍♀️

The most popular snorkelling spot on Gili Meno is to see the Bask underwater sculptures. The sculpture called ‘The Nest’ was installed underwater in 2017 and is a circle of 47 figures. The figures show a woman being held by a man and several female figures also lying down on the floor.

The Nest was installed to encourage new coral growth because the surface of the sculpture is cast in a PH-neutral marine cement. While snorkelling at The Nest I saw lots of butterfly fish and new growth of corals and sponges on the sculptures so it appears to be working as intended in that respect.

You can access The Nest from the beach, in front of Bask Resort just slightly to the south of the restaurant area. You can see the snorkelling spot easily as it is where there will be loads of boats and crowds of people in the water!

It can be a little tricky accessing the water at the beach due to the waves, but it is quite steep. So if you can get in and swim out quickly you will be past the break.

To see the statues you will need to swim out about 100 meters from the shore. Once you reach the statues they are located in 3 to 6 meters of water depending on the tide. You can see them from the surface but if you want to get closer you’ll need to dive down.

The Bask Nest underwater sculptures is a very popular snorkelling spot on Gili Meno so it is always incredibly busy. One day we went by EARLY, like 8am early, and there was already a huge crowd of boats and snorkellers at the site. Snorkelling trip boats come to the underwater sculptures on Gili Meno from the surrounding islands too, so there is always a lot of people at this snorkelling spot. If you’re interested in snorkelling here, I suggest you set your expectations for it to not be a peaceful experience!

Another challenge here is the currents. The currents are STRONG and make swimming very exhausting. We went after high tide at around 11am and the currents were pulling very strong to the south. Combining this with hundreds of bodies in the water, thrashing about struggling to swim/snorkel, avoiding drifting into the boats, all while trying to see the sculpture – it reminded me of the scene in “Titanic” when everyone was panicking in the water after the boat sank!

Besides the sculptures and a few fish there is not much else to see at this snorkelling spot. We didn’t see much in terms of coral and we didn’t see any turtles there – perhaps they have all been scared away by the boats and people!

It was cool to see the underwater sculptures and they are a little spooky looking. But we did not stay long and we didn’t really get a good look at them either because of the circumstances. The currents were too strong and there were just too many people at this snorkelling spot to enjoy it, particularly with people trying to do their photoshoots swimming into the centre which was annoying for others interested in simply observing the artwork.

There are plenty of other great snorkelling spots of Gili Meno so if you do decide to give this one a skip I wouldn’t blame you!

If you do want to see what the sculpture looks like, there is a copy of the sculpture inside Bask in the restaurant area just next to the pool. You can see it from the public path out the front so you don’t even need to go inside!

Where To Swim & Snorkel On Gili Meno 📍

North West Coast

The north-west of Gili Meno Island has the best snorkelling spots on the island. This tends to be where most of the accommodation and resorts are located anyway so you will likely be close by to this area of the island.

Your accommodation may even be right on the beach and have great snorkelling in front of it, so give it a try during your stay. If not, the island is very small and its very easy to get around by walking. Walking around the whole island only takes 1.5 hours at most.

If you want to try a few of the best snorkelling spots on the island, then anywhere along the coast between Divine Divers/Bubbles and Le Pirate Gili Meno you will find amazing access to beautiful reefs, fish and turtles! This is the location of all the best snorkelling spots I have mentioned above.

The waters tend to be calmer on this side of the island, and access from the beach is easy with white, sandy beaches with gradual slopes.

Be mindful that in some places there are a lot of dead corals in the water close to the beach. This can make it uncomfortable to walk on so having water shoes is a great idea!

Additionally the waves churning the dead corals and sand can give the water a very cloudy look which makes visibility zero!

You may see a turtle here close to the beach as they are munching on sea grass in the shallow waters, but besides that you won’t see anything in this section.

Swim further out past the cloudy zone and the water will become clearer and all the beautiful corals and sealife will appear!

North Coast

We attempted snorkelling on the north coast of Gili Meno but never had a successful snorkel there.

We heard that there are supposedly good spots for snorkelling there to see turtles, perhaps because there is a lot of seagrass in the shallower waters (good food for the turtles!). But there is also a lot of dead coral and this causes the water to get cloudy which makes spotting a turtle very challenging.

Snorkelling on the north coast to see coral reefs would require swimming out a long way from the beach and with the currents it can be too difficult.

We entered from the beach near to Toofeys Beach Lounge. We saw snorkel tours and boats further out so we knew there must be something good, so we were trying to swim to that area.

However we quickly became exhausted swimming against the current pulling us south and didn’t make it any closer to the boats as we were drifting south too quickly. Unfortunately we had to give up because it would have been dangerous to continue.

The beaches here were gorgeous with spawling white sand and milky turqoise water but for snorkelling it is probably best accessed via a snorkelling tour/boat as the corals will be a long way off shore.

East Coast

The east of Gili Meno Island has a few snorkel spots, the most notable being the coral gardens just north of the ferry pier close to the shore. I saw a snorkel tour going on here while waiting for my ferry to depart the island, and the water looks beautifully clear.

The problem with the east side of the island is it tends to be very busy with boat activity so I wouldn’t consider it to be very safe. The main harbour on Gili Meno is on the east of the island with boats and ferries coming and going all day.

If you are going to give snorkelling a shot here, the only place you can really enter from the beach is just north of the harbour pier. South of the harbour is dangerous because there are too many boat routes. Additionally there’s not really a beach here to enter from as there is a harbour wall, so it could be challenging to get in and out of the water.

South East Coast

The south east of the island seemed like it could have been a good spot to get in the water at low tide as there seemed to be a steep drop here, but we were sadly mistaken!

There were a lot of jagged and uneven rocks close to the shore at this beach, and the waves at this beach were much more powerful. This combination prevented us from being able to enter the water safely.

There are also plenty of boats and ferries heading by here at speed so you’d need to be mindful of those.

I’d say the south east beach is a good spot for sunbathing and lounging on the beach, or a quick dip to cool off, but for snorkelling it is not very good.

South West Coast

As for the south west of the island, I would avoid this area because it is incredibly rocky.

Access from the beach is not very good at all and you’d have to swim out a very long way to be able to see anything. That can be very challenging due to the currents and the tides so I just wouldn’t recommend trying to snorkel in the south west.

Best Places To See Corals & Turtles On Gili Meno 🪸🐢🐠

The best places to see coral gardens while snorkelling in Gili Meno is just off the beach in front of Mahamaya Resort and also at the spot in front of Le Pirate Resort. There are plenty of gorgeous corals in these two spots with lots of diversity, along with sealife including lots of kinds of tropical fish.

Seeing turtles on Gili Meno is very easy as there is an abundance of turtles hanging all around the island.

You can see Green and Hawksbills turtles.

Just a few steps into the water from the beach and you will likely see a turtle on Gili Meno! I was amazed at the number of turtles we saw and how easy it was to see them while snorkelling just from the beach.

Sometimes they can be a little hard to spot because the water can be cloudy and the turtles blend in as they can have white on their shells! But once spotted the turtles seem very relaxed and used to people so you can hang with them in the water as they go about their day.

Don’t touch the turtles and try to keep a safe distance which can be tricky as the waves and currents can make it hard to move in the water.

If you don’t get into the water then it is easy to spot turtles even while you are standing on the beach as they will come up to the surface for air. The turtles also tend to stay closer to the shoreline as they are foraging in the shallow waters for the seagrass.

Having the opportunity to see turtles in their natural environment was a really amazing experience. The Gili Islands are a turtle paradise and we need to do what we can to protect them.

Please DON’T go to the “turtle sanctuary” on Gili Meno or any business where they are stealing turtle eggs and keeping baby turtles in tanks for tourists to gawk at or even handle. Sadly we saw a couple of locals on the island doing this which as an animal lover was really hard to see. The turtles looked half-dead and the tanks were dirty and overcrowded. These people are hurting the turtles and their businesses are in no way ethical, so please AVOID these places if you see them and join me in writing them a 1-star review on Google!

Is Snorkelling From Gili Meno Beach Enough Or Is It Worth Booking A Snorkelling Tour? 🏖️

If you’re staying on Gili Meno or visiting the island for the day you will be able to access amazing snorkelling spots right from the beach. I would say that it is enough to snorkel from the beach and a tour is not necessary.

You will see wonderful fish, corals and turtles from the snorkel spots I recommended in this post, all of which can be accessed from the beach.

It was enough for our trip and I preferred the flexibility to go in/out of the water and wander up/down the beach to choose our spots as we pleased, but it can be a bit of trial and error.

Snorkel tours are offered by many operators all over the island if you’re interested in a tour. A snorkel tour can be a good idea if you aren’t confident getting in/out of the water at the beach due to waves, and swimming out from the beach is too exhausting as sometimes you have to go quite far.

The advantage of a boat is you will be taken right to the snorkel spot and you can get right into the water – no faffing about! A tour will also take you to lots of different snorkelling spots further from the shore – ones that can’t be accessed from the beach – meaning you could also snorkel at lower tides.

If you’re staying on Gili Meno, Gili Air or Gili Trawangan, the tours can take you between the islands so you may be able to experience snorkelling at other islands too.

Snorkelling tours will likely provide you with rental of the snorkelling equipment too (check with the tour provider).

The problem with the snorkel tours is that people book onto private tours as a small group and that means each group has their own boat meaning heaps of boats in the water! It can be really disruptive and also dangerous to swimmers with so many boats hanging about at the snorkel spots and travelling along the coast.

If you do a snorkel tour try to book onto a group trip – see suggestions for tours below!

Self-Guided Snorkel Day Trip To Gili Meno From Gili Air/Gili T ⛴️

If you’re staying on one of the other islands Gili Air and Gili T, you could do an easy day trip to Gili Meno using the public bus boat ‘Island Hopper’.

The price is very reasonable at around 40,000 IDR (approx £1.60 GBP / $2 USD) per person. You could leave in the morning and return in the afternoon, leaving a good amount of time on Gili Meno to walk around the island and access the snorkel spots.

I’d suggest heading from the harbour on the east straight across the island to the west and go snorkelling along the north-west coast.

Below is a photo of the timetable for the Island Hopper, as of August 2026.

Lunch/Dinner Spots To Refuel After Snorkelling On Gili Meno 🍽️

There’s plenty of good places to get lunch/dinner on Gili Meno on the west side of the island, such as Le Pirate, Bubbles (both mid-range prices) and Bask (fancy prices) all located right on/near the beach near the snorkelling spots! We ate at all of these restaurants during our stay on Gili Meno and we enjoyed the food and the vibe at all of them!

If you want a cheap and cheerful option, our favourite restaurant was The Backyard Island Cafe. This cute eastery is located inland (next to the hostel) and could be convenient on your trip to/from the boat harbour, although it is only a 10 minute walk from the beach! Our delicious 2-course lunch here cost 300,000 IDR (£12 GBP / $30 USD) for 2 people!

What To Pack For Snorkelling On Gili Meno 🎒

• Snorkel Mask – A good quality mask is essential to a pleasant snorkelling experience.
• Flippers – I’d say these are essential on Gili Meno because the currents can be very strong, and you’ll need to swim away from the beach to see the corals. I like the flippers that have adjustable straps so they are easy to put on and a clip on them so they are easy to take off!
• Water Shoes – There is a lot of dead coral close to the beach in Gili Meno, so wearing water shoes will protect your feet.
• Reef-Safe Sunscreen – We want to protect the reefs so wearing a reef-safe sunscreen is one way to help.
• Rashguard/long-sleeved swim top and/or shorts/leggings – If you’ll be spending a long time in the water, then wearing a rashie will protect you from the sun, and also any sneaky jellyfish!
• Waterproof Phone Case / Underwater Camera – With so much amazing underwater life including turtles, you’ll want to take some pics/videos! I used a cheap Decathlon underwater phone case, but I’m hoping to invest in a better underwater camera soon!
• Dry Bag – We used bright coloured (easy to spot) dry bags to keep our stuff safe on the beach. We felt very safe leaving our belongings on the beach and occassionally keeping an eye on them from the water.
• Water Bottle – Snorkelling is thirsty work, especially in the hot sun, so don’t forget to bring water!
• Travel Towels – We like using our travel towels for water adventures as they are lightweight and dry quickly.

Where To Rent Snorkel Equipment On Gili Meno Island 🤿

You’d be better off taking your own snorkelling equipment to Gili Meno, but if you can’t then there are plenty of places to rent it for the day.

We didn’t have our own equipment so we did borrow it on the island.

There are plenty of snorkel rental places all along the beaches on Gili Meno island so you will find a place to rent easily. We asked several vendors and the prices tended to be the same at around 70,000 IDR (approx £3 GBP / $4 USD) for a days rental. Just make sure to get there early before they sell out for the day. If you go to a stall at the beach you’ll need to take cash for payment! If you rent from your resort, they can likely add it to your room charges like they did for us.

We stayed at Le Pirate Resort, which rented snorkel equipment (mask and flippers) out to guests for 120,000 IDR (approx £5 GBP / $7 USD) per person per day. I felt that this was a little expensive compared to other rental places on the island, but the equipment was new and of good quality which made it worth the cost!

We needed to make sure we borrowed this early in the morning though otherwise it was sold out! One day we were unable to get snorkel equipment from the resort so we had to go to a local vendor just next door.

The guy next door was renting out equipment (mask and flippers) for 70,000 IDR (approx £3 GBP / $4 USD) per person per day (cash only), which is significantly cheaper than the cost at the resort. However, his equipment was definitely not as good and was pretty frustrating to use (fogging snorkel masks, uncomfortable flippers!)!

Despite the price being a lot cheaper from the local vendor, we decided to rent from Le Pirate for the rest of our stay because it was just so must better quality and made our snorkelling experience a lot better!

If you do a snorkel tour, they will likely provide you with snorkelling equipment as part of the tour.

Tides On Gili Meno Island 🌊

While visiting Gili Meno Island be mindful of the tide times.

Snorkelling at low tide can be very difficult and dangerous because the coral reefs tend to be very close to the shore. You may find that getting in and out of the water is uncomfortable as you’ll be forced to stand on the reef which is never a good idea anyway.

Areas where there is a lot of boat activity and the beach is not sheltered can cause large waves making it difficult to keep your balance. Many times we were caught snorkelling too close to low tide and unexpected strong waves would push us smacking into the reef which is very painful and not fun at all! So you really want to avoid snorkelling at low tide if you can.

The best time to go snorkelling on Gili Meno is therefore at high tide, and 2 hours either side of it. We found we absolutely needed to be out of the water 4 hours before low tide because otherwise the water would be too shallow.

For example if low tide is due at 4:30pm then you really need to be out of the water by 12:30noon.

You can use websites online that will tell you the tide times during your visit to Gili Meno. We like this one by Tideschart because it gives an easy to view graph of the tide times.

The tides on the island can be different to how you might expect them. Sometimes the low tide is only 0.5 meters different from the high tide and sometimes it is 2 meters different.

Best Times To Set Your Snorkel Schedule ⌛

Make sure to prioritise swimming in the sea and getting out snorkelling when the tide is high! When the tide is low, you can do other activities such as walking or cycling around the island or relaxing at your accommodation.

During our visit to Gili Meno high tide tended to be in the morning around 10am, so we were getting up at 5am to be in the water by 6am.

We would take a break for breakfast around 8-9am, then go back into the water at a different snorkel spot for the rest of the morning.

By 1pm we had to get out of the water as low tide was due by 5pm.

After snorkelling all morning we were ready to relax anyway, so from 1pm we had all day to chill out, get a nice lunch and dinner, wander around the island, and chill by the pool at our resort!

We really enjoyed snorkelling in the morning because the waters seemed to be calmer and it was not as busy with other people or boats. The light was also really beautiful and you will avoid the height of the sun.

Plan Snorkel Routes Based On The Sea Currents On Gili Meno 🗺️

The currents on Gili Meno can be very strong and at times made swimming in the water very difficult. The currents can be so strong that you cannot control where you swim and you can become very exhausted swimming against it.

Each day we found as the waters were rising for high tide the currents were pulling north, and after high tide heading to low tide the currents were pulling south. With this knowledge we were able to plan how we entered the water and out snorkel routes to be much easier and less exhausting.

For example if it was after high tide, we would enter the water further north, swim straight out to the snorkel spot, then allow the current to drift us south, making snorkelling very easy and peaceful and then swim back into the shore.

Best Snorkelling Spots On Gili Meno Island – Thanks For Reading! 🐚✨

Snorkelling in the Gili Islands is a must do activity for lovers of the ocean and animals.

Gili Meno Island has so much beautiful coral, fish and turtles as well as the unique underwater sculptures.

For me, seeing turtles in their natural environment is very special and the Gili Islands are one of the best places to see them.

By visiting these key snorkelling spots on Gili Meno you will have the best chance to see the amazing underwater world.

Keep in mind the tides and currents to plan when and where to go snorkelling, and be mindful of boats too.

Have fun and respect the reef! – Lauren x

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