Bali Dive Cove

Lombok & Gili Islands, Indonesia

The team at Bali Dive Cove are all about the unhurried dive, and that’s why we like them. If you’re tired of being crammed onto a boat with 20 other divers, feeling rushed through your surface interval, this is your kind of place. They run a tight ship, but it’s a calm one, focusing on small groups and giving you the space to actually enjoy the dive. We’d pick them if we were bringing a newer diver along, or if we just wanted to slow down and really soak in the Gili vibe without the usual dive shop hustle. Their specialty really shines when you’re looking to explore the calmer, often overlooked sites around the Gilis, or even across to Lombok. We’ve had some fantastic, lazy drifts with them, spotting sleeping reef sharks tucked under bommies and watching turtles graze without another group in sight. Their instructors have this knack for finding the smaller stuff too – nudibranchs we’d definitely have swum right past, and pygmy seahorses on gorgonian fans that look like they’ve been painted on. We love that personal touch, it makes a real difference when you’re down there, feeling truly guided rather than just led.