Bucketlist Dive: Bali & the Gilis
You start in Amed, Bali's quiet volcanic east coast, where the shore slopes off gently and the water sits flat. Four unhurried mornings with a PADI instructor at Jemeluk Bay take you from your first nervous breath to real open-water dives. No rush, no crowds, just you and the next dive. Then the boat through Padang Bai to Gili Trawangan. Car-free, sunset side, the reef you trained for now wide open beneath you. Graduation dive day for the certified, a snorkel safari over turtles and underwater statues for anyone happier near the surface. Nobody sits it out on the sand. The control is still yours: structured where it counts, open where it doesn't. You see who's coming before you pay. Max 12, all first-timers, the whole point is you're nervous together.
Some people spend years meaning to learn. You'll do it in a week. 12 people x 6 days x 1 saltwater adventure, from your first breath underwater on Bali's calm Amed coast to a graduation dive on the Gili reefs. For the long-meaning-to and the never-had-the-excuse: complete beginners welcome, no experience needed. You leave a certified diver, with a tribe that went under for the first time beside you. 8 to 12 invites, one closed group, strangers who become the people you call when you're booking the next one. Course, dives, stays, every ferry already sorted.
Wellness
Moderate
Trip highlights
Your first open-water dive at Jemeluk Bay
Day 2
Certification day, you leave Amed a diver
Day 4
Sunset on car-free Gili Trawangan
Day 5
Turtles and reef on the Gili graduation day
Day 6
One dive crew that didn't exist a week ago
Day 6
Request your Invite, Takes 5
7 Days from
₹1,25,000
per person - taxes extra
Request an Invite30% holdPay 30% to hold your invite. Reassess at the balance date.
Curated room1,500 apply a month; we curate a few. Max 12. See every traveller's profile before you pay.
People you'll meet
What's included
All 8 experiences in itinerary
4 nights at Solaluna Beach Homestay + 2 nights at PinkCoco Gili Trawangan
Private road transfer Denpasar to Amed (about 2.5 hours), Amed to Gili via Padang Bai fast boat (about 1.5 to 2.5 hour crossing, about 4 hours door to door)
8 meals · 6 breakfasts, 2 hosted dinners
Your visa, handled
ExCo's concierge runs the Indonesia visa application for you.
Your Gameplan
The night before you change
- You land in Denpasar and we drive you east, about two and a half hours, to Amed: black-sand bays, jukung boats pulled up on the beach, Mt Agung filling the sky behind.
- Settle in, shake off the flight, and meet the eleven other people about to spend the week underwater with you.
- Tonight is the table, not a tick-list. A welcome dinner, a few nerves admitted out loud, and the slow realisation that this is actually happening.
The first breath that counts
- Your diving starts in the classroom and the shallows: how the gear works, how to breathe, how to stay calm when your instinct says you shouldn't be underwater.
- Your first real ocean session is in Jemeluk Bay, where the shore slopes off gently and the water sits flat. The only task is the next breath.
- Back on land by afternoon, the evening is yours to rest, eat, and let the nerves settle before tomorrow.
Where the fear lets go
- Training dives through the day, building the two things every diver needs: buoyancy and trust in yourself.
- By the third dive the panic is gone and the reef stops being scenery and starts being somewhere you belong.
- The evening is yours on the Amed coast, with Mount Agung going pink over the water if the sky is clear.
The day you become a diver
- Your final Open Water dives. Finish these and you walk out a certified diver, cleared to dive anywhere in the world.
- There is a quiet moment when it lands that you actually did the thing you came here to do.
- The night is a certification dinner with the group. Yesterday you were nervous in the shallows, tonight you are a diver.
Trade the volcano for the reef
- A morning movement day. We cross to the Gilis by fast boat through Padang Bai, Bali behind you and the islands ahead.
- Reach Gili Trawangan by afternoon, grab cycles, and settle into the quiet sunset side. No cars, no engines.
- The evening is Sunset Beach, the day winding down with the people you have spent the week underwater with.
Everything you trained for
- Graduation day in the water. Certified divers take one or two easy reef fun dives over the Gili coral (optional add-on).
- Everyone else joins the snorkel safari: turtles, the famous underwater statues, and a reef boat day where nobody sits it out.
- The whole point of today is the proof. Yesterday you became a diver, today you reached the Gilis.
One last morning, new self
- A free morning to swim, cycle, or do nothing at all before the trip ends.
- The ferry back to Bali and the transfer to Denpasar for your flight home.
- Departures are evening only. If you dove on Day 6 you need the surface interval before flying, so the day stays slow on purpose.
Our Favourite Stays
We work with these or similar hotels to ensure a stylish and comfortable stay every time.
Solaluna Beach Homestay
Beachfront homestay on Amed's quiet volcanic east coast, steps from Jemeluk Bay where the learn-to-dive mornings happen. Pool, on-site dive access, and the flat, sheltered water that makes Amed the calmest place in Southeast Asia to take your first breath underwater.
PinkCoco Gili Trawangan
Adults-only boutique stay on the quiet sunset side of car-free Gili Trawangan. Beachfront, a short cycle from the reef you trained for, and the right place to end the trip once you are a certified diver.
Bucketlist
Curated adventures across the world for people who want to vibe, connect, and cross off epic dreams
“I have never seen someone do their job with so much passion. The trip leader's energy and care were the biggest factor.”
Aadish Aggarwal
December 2024 - Bucketlist Dive: Bali & the Gilis
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