Every destination in the guide

Destinations

East Bali, Indonesia

Amed & Padangbai

Beginner-friendlyBudget4 dive shops

Amed is a strip of black-sand fishing villages that never went the way of Kuta or Seminyak, quiet, low-rise, a…

Bonaire / Caribbean Netherlands

Bonaire National Marine Park

Beginner-friendlyMid-range5 dive shops

Bonaire is for people who are here to dive, and nothing else particularly matters. The island is small, flat, …

Mexico / Caribbean

Cozumel Reef National Park

IntermediateMid-range5 dive shops

A genuine diver's island with just enough tourist infrastructure to be comfortable, and not so much that it fe…

Egypt / Red Sea (South Sinai)

Dahab

Beginner-friendlyBudget4 dive shops

Dahab grew out of a Bedouin fishing village rather than a resort development, and it still feels that way: low…

Indonesia / West Lombok

Gili Islands

Beginner-friendlyBudget7 dive shops

Three islands, three personalities: Gili Trawangan is lively and social, with beach bars and a thriving dive s…

Thailand / Gulf of Thailand

Koh Tao

Beginner-friendlyBudget4 dive shops

Koh Tao is where young travellers go to get certified, stay longer than planned, and make friends they'll have…

Indonesia / East Nusa Tenggara

Komodo

Advanced onlyMid-range7 dive shops

An expedition-feel destination built around Labuan Bajo, a fast-growing but still small port town. Most divers…

Maldives / Indian Ocean

Maldives

Intermediate5 dive shops

The ultimate expression of "nothing else to do but dive and relax." Resort islands are small, flat, and entire…

Malta

Malta & Gozo

IntermediateMid-range4 dive shops

Malta and Gozo punch well above their size for wreck and cavern diving, with an unusually dense concentration …

Cebu, Philippines

Moalboal

Beginner-friendlyBudget3 dive shops

Moalboal centres on Panagsama Beach, a compact strip of dive shops, guesthouses and beachfront bars facing dir…

Indonesia / Bali

Nusa Penida & Lembongan

IntermediateBudget6 dive shops

A genuine escape from Bali's crowds without the remoteness of eastern Indonesia. Lembongan has a laid-back, sl…

Micronesia / Western Pacific

Palau

IntermediateUpscale4 dive shops

One of the most pristine and protected marine environments on Earth, set in a landscape of mushroom-shaped lim…

Indonesia / West Papua

Raja Ampat

Intermediate7 dive shops

One of the last genuinely remote dive destinations accessible without a liveaboard. Raja Ampat is about stilln…

Egypt / Red Sea

Red Sea (Egypt)

Beginner-friendlyBudget10 dive shops

Four bases, four personalities. Sharm el-Sheikh is a purpose-built resort town, nightlife, all-inclusive hotel…

Bay Islands, Honduras

Roatán

Beginner-friendlyMid-range4 dive shops

Roatan is the resort-and-liveaboard end of the Bay Islands spectrum: bigger dive operations, all-inclusive pac…

Bay Islands, Honduras

Utila

Beginner-friendlyBudget3 dive shops

Utila is the budget end of the Bay Islands: a single small town strung along one main street, dozens of compet…

Tanzania

Zanzibar

Beginner-friendlyMid-range3 dive shops

Zanzibar splits between a handful of beach bases -- Nungwi and Kendwa in the north, Jambiani and Paje in the s…