Every destination in the guide

Destinations

East Bali, Indonesia

Amed & Padangbai

Beginner-friendlyBudget3 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-range6 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-friendlyBudget6 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

IntermediateMid-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

Intermediate11 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…

Society Islands, French Polynesia

Moorea

Beginner-friendlyUpscale2 dive shops

Moorea is the easy-going island next to Tahiti: jagged green peaks, two deep bays, a turquoise lagoon and a sl…

Indonesia / Bali

Nusa Penida & Lembongan

IntermediateBudget5 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-friendlyBudget16 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…

Society Islands, French Polynesia

Tahiti

IntermediateUpscale2 dive shops

Tahiti is where every trip to French Polynesia starts, and most visitors only pass through on the way to Moore…

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…