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Beyond Phuket & Koh Lanta

Phuket & Koh Lanta 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.

  1. WakatobiIndonesiaBest Mar–Dec17 Open Water sitesGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, sharks, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls77match
  2. Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls77match
  3. AnilaoPhilippinesBest Nov–Dec, Apr–May13 Open Water sitesGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls75match
  4. MalapascuaPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also sharksSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls73match
  5. Phú QuốcVietnamBest Nov–Apr6 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterGood in the same months (Oct–May)Same kind of diving: reefs, muck diving70match
  6. CoronPhilippinesBest Dec–Apr4 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs70match

For certified divers

Some of these need Advanced certification or more: check each site's level.

  1. Raja AmpatIndonesiaBest Oct–AprGood in the same months (Oct–Apr)Also big schools, sharks, manta raysSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls85match
  2. SiquijorPhilippinesBest Feb–MayGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls82match
  3. Sipadan & SempornaMalaysiaBest Apr–OctGood in the same months (Dec–May, Oct)Also big schools, sharks, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls81match
  4. KomodoIndonesiaBest Apr–OctGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, sharks, manta raysSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls80match
  5. Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay)PhilippinesBest Apr–May, OctGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also big schools, turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls80match
  6. RomblonPhilippinesDiveable all yearGood in the same months (Oct–May)Also turtlesSame kind of diving: reefs, muck diving, walls78match

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.

More quieter alternatives to famous dive spots →

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