These are the ten dive holiday destinations British divers search for most. Each guide combines the diving with the practical business of choosing a hotel, board and distance from the dive centre.
Maldives dive holidays
The Maldives often means one island and one hotel, with the dive centre on the island and a reef you can reach from the beach. There are 101 hotels in the list, including 72 with a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, while 39 offer all-inclusive and 53 offer half or full board. Choose the Ari Atoll for whale sharks or the Baa Atoll for manta rays, which gather in Hanifaru Bay during the southwest monsoon. Dry season runs from December to April, and local islands such as Thoddoo and Dharavandhoo offer simpler guesthouses.
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Egypt dive holidays
Egypt is the all-inclusive dive holiday destination, with shore diving, house reefs and boat trips depending on where you stay. The list contains 106 hotels, of which 63 have a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, 78 offer all-inclusive and 38 offer half or full board. In Marsa Alam, many hotels have a reef off the beach and boats head for Elphinstone, while Marsa Abu Dabbab is known for green turtles. Sharm el-Sheikh gives access to the Strait of Tiran and Ras Mohammed, Dahab is built around shore diving and the Blue Hole, and Hurghada and El Gouna run boat trips to offshore reefs.
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Indonesia dive holidays
Bali's north and east coasts suit divers who want small hotels, breakfast and easy access to shore sites. There are 150 hotels listed, with 91 near a dive centre, 2 offering all-inclusive and 12 offering half or full board. At Tulamben, the USAT Liberty lies about thirty metres from the beach, while Amed faces the reefs and Pemuteran gives access to Menjangan island. Further south, Nusa Penida is known for manta rays, with sunfish at Crystal Bay roughly from July to October, and the Gili Islands are known for turtles.
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Thailand dive holidays
Thailand gives you two very different diving coasts, with the Gulf and Andaman Sea working in different seasons. The list has 258 hotels, including 157 with a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, while 5 offer all-inclusive and 36 offer half or full board. In the Gulf, Koh Tao has the country's greatest concentration of dive centres and Sail Rock lies between Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, best from March to September. On the Andaman coast, Khao Lak and Phuket are the ports for trips to the Similan Islands from October to May.
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Malta dive holidays
Malta is a shore diving destination with wrecks close to land and plenty of independent hotel choices. Of 37 hotels in the list, 16 have a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, 2 offer all-inclusive and 12 offer half or full board. The Um El Faroud is a tanker scuttled as an artificial reef, while HMS Maori is a Second World War destroyer dived from the shore at Valletta. On Gozo, the Blue Hole and Inland Sea at Dwejra are familiar names, with diving possible all year and the main season from April to October.
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Canary Islands dive holidays
The Canary Islands offer year round diving, a few hours' flight from the UK, with water from about 18 °C in winter to 24 °C at the end of summer. The hotels list contains 184 properties, of which 110 are in the hotel or within 500 metres of a dive centre, 52 offer all-inclusive and 89 offer half or full board. Lanzarote has the Museo Atlántico, Gran Canaria has the El Cabrón marine reserve and Tenerife is known for turtles and angel sharks. El Hierro is the wildest island, with a marine reserve around La Restinga.
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Philippines dive holidays
The Philippines suits divers who like small dive resorts, often with their own dive centre and a straightforward hotel stay. There are 130 hotels in the list, including 81 near a dive centre, while 2 offer all-inclusive and 3 offer half or full board. At Malapascua, thresher sharks appear at dawn on Monad Shoal, and Moalboal on Cebu has the sardine shoal along the wall. Coron is known for Japanese shipwrecks sunk in 1944, while Anilao and Puerto Galera, a few hours from Manila, are established macro destinations, with the dry season roughly from November to May.
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Mexico dive holidays
Mexico's Riviera Maya is a natural fit for an all-inclusive dive holiday, with Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and the cenotes close to the hotel areas. The list includes 158 hotels, of which 99 have a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, 32 offer all-inclusive and 9 offer half or full board. Cozumel is known for drift dives along the walls, while Playa del Carmen has bull sharks from November to March and the cenotes near Tulum include Dos Ojos. On the Pacific side, La Paz gives access to the sea lions of Los Islotes.
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Portugal dive holidays
Portugal is mainly a summer choice, when the sea is calmest, although the mainland water stays cool and Madeira is warmer. There are 80 hotels in the list, with 27 near a dive centre, 5 offering all-inclusive and 27 offering half or full board. Off Peniche, the Berlengas nature reserve has caves, tunnels, walls and wrecks, while Sesimbra and the Arrábida coast lie south of Lisbon. In Madeira, the Garajau marine reserve is known for big groupers, barracudas and moray eels, and the Algarve has wrecks off Portimão.
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Cyprus dive holidays
Cyprus is best known for the Zenobia, a ferry sunk off Larnaca in 1980 with its cargo of lorries. The hotels list contains 80 properties, including 48 with a dive centre in the hotel or within 500 metres, while 20 offer all-inclusive and 31 offer half or full board. Protaras and Paphos offer caves, arches and turtles, with the water staying mild late in the year. The season runs from April to November, and the Zenobia remains the main reason many divers choose Larnaca.
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