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Where to learn to dive

The best places for a first dive, an Open Water course or your first trip after certification: destinations with many calm, shallow sites, ranked from our sourced data on 51 destinations.
Photo: Jesse van Vliet on Unsplash

The best places to learn, all year

  1. 1Koh Samui & Koh PhanganThailandBest Mar–Apr, Jun–Aug10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–30 °C4 easy shore dives95/ 100
  2. 2BonaireBest Dec–Jun13 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C9 easy shore dives86/ 100
  3. 3Kona (Big Island)United StatesGood all year8 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–28 °C5 easy shore divesMostly calm water85/ 100
  4. 4Phuket & Koh LantaThailandBest Nov–Apr9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sites83/ 100
  5. 5Cayman IslandsBest Dec–Apr10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–29 °CMostly calm water81/ 100
  6. 6Koh TaoThailandBest Mar–May, Sep–Oct10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C79/ 100
  7. 7DahabEgyptBest Sep–Dec, Mar–Jun9 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °C8 easy shore dives77/ 100
  8. 8Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)AustraliaBest May–Aug9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm water75/ 100
  9. 9WakatobiIndonesiaBest Mar–Dec17 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C74/ 100
  10. 10CuraçaoBest Jan–Sep6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C4 easy shore dives74/ 100
  11. 11BahamasBest Jun–Mar10 Open Water sitesWater 22–28 °CMostly calm water73/ 100
  12. 12MalapascuaPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CMostly calm water73/ 100
  13. 13Marsa Alam & the BrothersEgyptBest Jun–Oct8 Open Water sitesWater 23–30 °C5 easy shore dives73/ 100
  14. 14AnilaoPhilippinesBest Nov–Dec, Apr–May13 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °C72/ 100
  15. 15Riviera Maya & CenotesMexicoBest Nov–Apr11 Open Water sitesWater 23–29 °CMostly calm water71/ 100
  16. 16Trincomalee & East Sri LankaSri LankaBest Mar–Sep7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm water68/ 100
  17. 17Puerto GaleraPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C67/ 100
  18. 18MauiUnited StatesBest Mar–Oct6 Open Water sitesWater 23–27 °C4 easy shore divesMostly calm water67/ 100
  19. 19UtilaHondurasBest Mar–May6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CMostly calm water66/ 100
  20. 20Bali & Nusa PenidaIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct10 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesStrong current at 54% of sites65/ 100
  21. 21Gili IslandsIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C65/ 100
  22. 22Florida KeysUnited StatesBest May–Aug8 Open Water sitesWater 22–29 °C64/ 100
  23. 23Bohol & PanglaoPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C3 easy shore dives64/ 100
  24. 24Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C2 easy shore divesMostly calm water64/ 100
  25. 25Phú QuốcVietnamBest Nov–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–31 °CMostly calm water63/ 100
  26. 26Farne Islands & St AbbsUnited KingdomBest Aug–Oct7 Open Water sites3 easy shore dives62/ 100
  27. 27HurghadaEgyptBest Apr–May, Oct–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 21–28 °C61/ 100
  28. 28Okinawa & YonaguniJapanBest Apr–May6 Open Water sitesWater 21–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sites59/ 100
  29. 29Dorset (Portland & Swanage)United KingdomBest May–Oct6 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesMostly calm water58/ 100
  30. 30MoalboalPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C57/ 100
  31. 31Sharm El Sheikh & Ras MohammedEgyptBest Sep–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 20–28 °C56/ 100
  32. 32Similan Islands & Khao LakThailandBest Feb–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C56/ 100
  33. 33Cancún & Isla MujeresMexicoBest Nov–Feb, Jun–Sep5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm water56/ 100
  34. 34Fernando de NoronhaBrazilBest Mar–Jul, Oct5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–27 °CMostly calm water56/ 100
  35. 35Pembrokeshire & SkomerUnited KingdomBest Jun–Sep5 Open Water sites5 easy shore divesMostly calm water55/ 100
  36. 36Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna)Sri LankaBest Nov–Mar5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °C54/ 100
  37. 37Sodwana BaySouth AfricaBest Apr–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm water53/ 100
  38. 38CreteGreeceBest Jul–Sep7 Open Water sitesMostly calm water52/ 100
  39. 39Tobermory (Fathom Five)CanadaBest Jul–Aug7 Open Water sitesMostly calm water52/ 100
  40. 40CozumelMexicoBest May–Aug6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–28 °CStrong current at 50% of sites52/ 100
  41. 41Mactan (Cebu)PhilippinesBest Feb–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26.5–29.5 °CStrong current at 47% of sites49/ 100
  42. 42Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami)United StatesBest May–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm water49/ 100
  43. 43Malta, Gozo & CominoMaltaBest Apr–Oct6 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesMostly calm water48/ 100
  44. 44Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil)IndiaBest Dec–Mar4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CStrong current at 36% of sites47/ 100
  45. 45CoronPhilippinesBest Dec–Apr4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm water47/ 100
  46. 46MallorcaSpainGood May–Oct6 Open Water sitesMostly calm water46/ 100
  47. 47Nha TrangVietnamBest Apr–Aug4 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CMostly calm water46/ 100
  48. 48KomodoIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct5 Open Water sitesWater 20–30 °CStrong current at 65% of sites38/ 100
  49. 49Narvik & LofotenNorwayBest Jul–Aug4 Open Water sitesMostly calm water34/ 100
  50. 50Plymouth & South CornwallUnited KingdomBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sites33/ 100
  51. 51AzoresPortugalBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesStrong current at 45% of sites27/ 100

How the score works: number of dive sites whose usual dive suits Open Water divers (up to 40 points), share of the destination's sites that are Open Water friendly (20), water temperature (15), easy sites you can dive from the shore (10), calm water (10, minus the share of sites with strong current) and, for a given month, the season (15). Only destinations with at least 4 documented Open Water sites are ranked. Always learn with a certified instructor, who decides the actual dive plan.

What “Open Water friendly” means here

A site is Open Water friendly when its usual dive stays within about 18 m, with little or no current and no overhead. That is the depth limit of the entry-level certifications (PADI Open Water, SSI Open Water, CMAS 1 star). When sources disagree, we keep the more demanding level.

Already certified? Browse all the Open Water dive sites, or let the matcher pick a destination for your level and month.

New words (BCD, safety stop, drift dive…)? The beginner's glossary explains them in plain language.

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