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Beginner-friendly dive destinations

Calm, shallow, forgiving conditions -- the destinations below are the ones this guide rates safe and comfortable for a first certification or a diver with only a handful of logged dives.

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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, …

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…

Cebu, Philippines

Moalboal

Beginner-friendlyBudget3 dive shops

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

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…