I have not dived in more than a year. Can I still go on a fun dive?
Yes, of course, if you are a certified diver, you can join our guided fun dives. However, if you have not dived in a while, a refresher course might be a good idea.
If you have been away from diving a long time long, your skills will have gotten rusty. According to some dive organizations any diver who has not dived in six months needs to take a ReActivate (PADI) or Scuba Skills Update (SSI) course.
We at Divine Divers believe that those statements are a little too broad. Take two potential divers. First, there is a master diver with twenty years of experience who has not been able to dive for a year because of business and family commitments. He is less likely to need a reactivation when compared to an Open Water Diver with no dives after training who has not been diving in five months. Obviously, the need for training depends on many factors, not just time. Some dive centres act as if the guidelines are law and will not allow divers who have not dived in six months to join them until they take the course.
This is not the case at Divine Divers Gili Meno. We will first look at your dive experience, your comfort level and the time out of water. Only after we will recommend you to enrol into a refresher course or not. As a general guideline, we recommend refresher training after about 12 months of not diving.
However, we believe that very experienced divers who have not been diving in a while are usually their own best judge if they need a formal course to regain their diving fitness.
Do I need a fit to dive certificate from a doctor to dive with Divine Divers?
A fit-to-dive certificate is a medical statement from a doctor in which the health professional states that nothing speaks against diving activities. As a general guideline, a dive medical is only necessary for people who are doing courses and who have to answer “Yes” on the medical questionnaire. While some countries require recreational fun divers to also fill in a medical questionnaire (with the potential of having to answer “yes”), this is not the case in Indonesia.
The general rule in diving is: only dive when you feel well!
What if I have health issues?
There are some serious conditions such as epilepsy, active asthma, emphysema, heart disease or haemophilia that could prohibit any diving activity. In case you suffer of any oft he above mentioned conditions, it is unlikely that you are certified.
If you are suffering of a bad cold it might also be better to stay away from diving to avoid pressure related injuries.
Why should I dive the Gili Islands?
Postcard-like white sandy beaches, azure and year-round warm waters (28 to 29 degrees), the reef on your doorstep and a great lifestyle. There are also no motorized vehicles, traffic jam or pollution. The Gilis are a one and half hour boat ride from Bali and super easy to reach. Does this sound like paradise to you? To us the Islands are an image of paradise. But that’s not it – the Gilis are known as the turtle capital in the world. Rightfully so, because both green and hawksbill turtles are abundant. Reef sharks are also frequently spotted and there is a broad range of marine life to be met on all dives. The dive sites are rarely more than a 15-minute boat ride away and diving is great all year round.
The dry season is running from May to October and the rainy season from November to April. Rainy season sounds more extreme than it actually is because it hardly ever rains an entire day – expect showers at different severity but therefore less people.
Why should I choose Divine Divers?
We love what we do and we do it well! We have been in the game for over 10 years as Divine Divers on Gili Meno but our love for diving didn’t start here. Divine Divers has a relaxed yet professional atmosphere and is located in a superb spot on the island: sunset beach. You can end your diving day with your feet in the sand, a cold drink in your hand and watch the sun set over Bali’s mighty volcano.
Apart from that our groups are small and our divemasters and instructors hand chosen for their personality and excellent guiding and teaching records. Our guides take a maximum of four guests of the same experience level into their groups. You will have a lot of choices per day to join a dive because our boats go out three times a day: at 08:30, 11:00 and 14:00.
Furthermore, safety is our primary concern; our equipment is in excellent order and of course regularly maintained. We are committed to offering first-class service and high quality guiding and dive courses.