Diving with hammerhead sharks in Lombok: Belongas Bay and The Magnet

The Magnet, Belongas Bay

A submerged pinnacle rising out of open water at the mouth of Belongas Bay, on Lombok’s southern coast, roughly two hours by road and boat from Gili Air. In season, scalloped hammerhead sharks come in off the blue in numbers rarely seen this close to a resort island, often alongside walls of trevally, tuna and surgeonfish working the same current.

The site sits in open water with a current strong enough to justify the name — divers hook or hold onto the rock at depth and let the sharks pass beneath and around them, rather than swimming out to chase a sighting. It has a reputation as one of the most exciting dives in Indonesia, and on a good day it earns it.

Who this dive is for

Experienced divers only. This is not a first open-water dive or a casual add-on to a reef trip — expect swell, surge, cold water at depth and serious current, on a site a long way from anywhere. Operators want Advanced certification and around fifty logged dives before they will take you, and they will call the trip off outright if the sea is wrong, no exceptions for a booking already paid for.

Best conditions

Hammerhead season runs roughly July through November, broadly the same drier-month window covered in our best time to visit guide — though sightings are never guaranteed on any single trip, anywhere in the world this dive is offered.

The calmer alternatives in the same bay

If the swell rules out The Magnet on the day, operators typically fall back to the Cathedral or Gili Sarang, two calmer sites in the same bay that still deliver good fish life without the exposed current. It is worth knowing these exist before you commit a full day south — a wasted trip is rare, but a substituted one is not.

What a day actually looks like

From Gili Air this is a genuinely long day: a private car and boat combination each way, two or three dives once you arrive, and a return that can stretch into the evening depending on traffic and sea state on the way back. A night in the south before or after the dive is often the better plan rather than trying to do it all in a single stretched-out day, and we can arrange that alongside the trip itself.

Arranging it from the hotel

We book this through a specialist dive operator rather than running it ourselves — see the full trip details, including what is included (return transport, two or three guided dives, full equipment, lunch and drinks), or ask at reception. Give a day or two of notice; it depends on both weather and boat availability, and rates are confirmed once we have your dates and logbook details.

Written by the team at The KOHO Air Hotel, a boutique wellness retreat five minutes’ walk from Gili Air harbour. We answer these questions by message most days — just ask.

Common questions