Do I need to bring my own wetsuit?

No. We provide 3 mm suits in all sizes, and 3 mm is right for every month here — the water sits between 27 and 30 °C year round. Bring your own only if you are particular about fit.

What is the one thing worth carrying?

Your own mask. It is the only piece of equipment whose fit is personal, and a leaking rental mask will cost you more of a dive than anything else on the list.

Can I wear contact lenses or glasses?

Contact lenses are fine — soft lenses, and keep your eyes closed during mask-clearing skills. If you wear glasses, tell us your prescription when you book and we can usually source a corrective mask.

Is regular sunscreen a problem?

Yes. Oxybenzone and octinoxate bleach coral, and you will be over reef every day. Reef-safe versions are hard to buy on the islands, so bring enough for the whole trip.

How much cash should I bring?

Enough for the island entrance and Gili Eco Trust fee — around IDR 150,000 per person — plus meals. ATMs exist on Gili Trawangan but run out, and there are none on Meno.

Silo · Trip planning

Packing Guide What to bring, what to rent, what to leave

We supply the heavy gear. What is worth carrying from home is the equipment that has to fit you, the documents that get you in the water, and the small things nobody sells on the island.

Ask what to bring The checklist

Diver with a full equipment set and twin-strobe camera rig

27–30 °C
Water, year round: 3 mm
Wetsuit, any month: Provided
BCD, regulator, tanks: Bring
Your own mask: Reef-safe
Sunscreen only: Type C/F
230 V sockets

The checklist

Worth Bringing From Home

Everything else you can rent from us or buy on the island.

Divers in wetsuits on the tender at the surface

Your own mask

The one piece of kit that has to fit your face. A leaking rental mask ruins a dive faster than anything else. Bring it pre-fitted and defogged.

Dive computer

We rent Suunto computers by the day — ask us for the current price — but if you own one you know its interface. Mandatory for the Advanced deep dive.

Logbook and card

Your certification card and logbook if you already dive. Digital e-cards in the PADI app are accepted.

Reef-safe sunscreen

Oxybenzone and octinoxate bleach coral. Reef-safe versions are hard to find on the islands — bring enough for the trip.

Personal first aid

Antiseptic, plasters, painkillers, anti-diarrhoea and motion sickness tablets. Pharmacies on the islands are limited.

Camera and cards

A GoPro or compact in a housing, plus spare batteries and cards. Charging on the islands is reliable but slow.

We provide BCD, regulator set, wetsuit, fins, tanks and weights with every course, all Scubapro and Aqualung, serviced every six months. You do not need to carry any of it.

Above water

Three Bags Inside One

The islands are hot, salty and car-free. Pack for the boat, the village and the evening.

Speedboat crossing pale turquoise shallows

On the boat

Every dive day

Rash guard, microfibre towel, a dry bag for your phone, and a windproof layer for the ride back — you will be wet and moving.

Quick-drying, no cotton

Island jetty reaching into turquoise water from the air

On the island

Village and beach

Light, loose, quick-drying clothing. Shoulders and knees covered away from the beach — these are Muslim communities and it matters. No cars, so sandals and one pair of trainers.

Modest away from the sand

Table set on the beach at sunset with a boat on the horizon

After dark

Evenings

A light long-sleeve for mosquitoes, repellent, and a torch — several paths have no lighting at all.

Repellent and a torch

Paperwork

What Gets You In The Water

PADI Medical Statement

Completed before you arrive. A yes to any listed condition means written clearance from a physician — get it at home, not here.

Certification card

Physical or the digital e-card in the PADI app. Required for fun dives and for Advanced.

Travel insurance

Check it covers recreational diving to your certified depth. Many standard policies exclude scuba entirely.

Passport and cash

The island entrance fee and Gili Eco Trust contribution, about IDR 150,000, is cash on arrival. ATMs on the islands are unreliable.

Two student divers practising skills on the reef

Send us the Medical Statement as soon as you book. If it needs a physician's signature, sorting that out at home takes a day; sorting it out from an island with no hospital takes your course.

How Many Days Do You Need?

What you pack depends partly on how long you stay. Three days is the certification itself. Five adds fun dives and a rest day. Seven takes you to the southern sites most visitors never reach.

3-day itinerary

Snorkellers floating in clear shallow water near the islands

Packing

Common Questions

: No. We provide 3 mm suits in all sizes, and 3 mm is right for every month here — the water sits between 27 and 30 °C year round. Bring your own only if you are particular about fit.
: Your own mask. It is the only piece of equipment whose fit is personal, and a leaking rental mask will cost you more of a dive than anything else on the list.
: Contact lenses are fine — soft lenses, and keep your eyes closed during mask-clearing skills. If you wear glasses, tell us your prescription when you book and we can usually source a corrective mask.
: Yes. Oxybenzone and octinoxate bleach coral, and you will be over reef every day. Reef-safe versions are hard to buy on the islands, so bring enough for the whole trip.
: Enough for the island entrance and Gili Eco Trust fee — around IDR 150,000 per person — plus meals. ATMs exist on Gili Trawangan but run out, and there are none on Meno.

Still unsure

Ask Before You Pack

Send us your kit list and we will tell you what to leave at home. We reply within four hours during operating hours.

Parasols and deck chairs set out on white sand

Send your list
What you already own and what you were planning to buy.
We trim it
What to bring, what to rent from us, what not to bother with.
Medical form
We send the PADI Medical Statement to complete before you fly.
Travel light
Arrive with a smaller bag than you expected.

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