Beyond the Maldives
Maldives is one of the busiest dive hubs in the world. These destinations dive in a similar way, with the same good months, marine life and kind of diving, and see far fewer divers.
If you're new to diving
Destinations with at least 4 documented Open Water sites.
- Trincomalee & East Sri LankaSri LankaBest Mar–Sep7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterGood in the same months (Feb–Oct)Also rays, turtles, sharksSame kind of diving: wrecks, reefs68match
- Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil)IndiaBest Dec–Mar4 Open Water sitesStrong current at 36% of sitesGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, rays, manta raysSame kind of diving: reefs60match
- Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna)Sri LankaBest Nov–Mar5 Open Water sitesGood in the same months (Nov–Apr)Also big schools, rays, turtlesSame kind of diving: wrecks, reefs58match
For certified divers
Some of these need Advanced certification or more: check each site's level.
Aliwal Shoal & Protea BanksSouth AfricaBest May–NovGood in the same months (All year)Also turtles, sharksSame kind of diving: drift dives, wrecks, reefs74match
TofoMozambiqueBest Apr–NovGood in the same months (All year)Also turtlesSame kind of diving: drift dives, reefs, walls69match- PondicherryIndiaBest Feb–Apr, Oct–NovGood in the same months (Sep–Apr)Also big schools, rays, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs65match
- Netrani Island (Murudeshwar)IndiaBest Dec–FebGood in the same months (Oct–Apr)Also big schools, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs61match
How we match: share of the good months in common (up to 25 points), same region (25), marine life seen regularly (20), kinds of diving (15), how many sites suit Open Water divers (10) and water temperature (5). We only suggest destinations in the same region of the world that share at least one kind of diving, and that are not among the busiest dive hubs we identified from dive volumes, dive-centre counts and marine-park visitor numbers.
Photo credits
- Umkomaas river mouth and coast from the air, launch point for Aliwal Shoal, Noelmcdonogh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Tofo beach, Mozambique, Erik Cleves Kristensen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
