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Where to learn to dive in February

51 destinations with plenty of calm, shallow sites that are open in February, ranked for a first dive or an Open Water course. Seasons come from published sources.

Best places to learn in February

  1. 1Koh Samui & Koh PhanganThailandBest Mar–Apr, Jun–Aug10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–30 °C4 easy shore divesGood season in February91/ 100
  2. 2BonaireBest Dec–Jun13 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C9 easy shore divesBest season in February88/ 100
  3. 3Kona (Big Island)United StatesGood all year8 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–28 °C5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterBest season in February87/ 100
  4. 4Phuket & Koh LantaThailandBest Nov–Apr9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesBest season in February85/ 100
  5. 5Cayman IslandsBest Dec–Apr10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–29 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February83/ 100
  6. 6BahamasBest Jun–Mar10 Open Water sitesWater 22–28 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February77/ 100
  7. 7Koh TaoThailandBest Mar–May, Sep–Oct10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in February77/ 100
  8. 8CuraçaoBest Jan–Sep6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C4 easy shore divesBest season in February77/ 100
  9. 9DahabEgyptBest Sep–Dec, Mar–Jun9 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °C8 easy shore divesGood season in February76/ 100
  10. 10MalapascuaPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February76/ 100
  11. 11Riviera Maya & CenotesMexicoBest Nov–Apr11 Open Water sitesWater 23–29 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February75/ 100
  12. 12Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)AustraliaBest May–Aug9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February74/ 100
  13. 13WakatobiIndonesiaBest Mar–Dec17 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CGood season in February73/ 100
  14. 14Puerto GaleraPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CBest season in February72/ 100
  15. 15Marsa Alam & the BrothersEgyptBest Jun–Oct8 Open Water sitesWater 23–30 °C5 easy shore divesGood season in February72/ 100
  16. 16AnilaoPhilippinesBest Nov–Dec, Apr–May13 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CGood season in February71/ 100
  17. 17Bohol & PanglaoPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C3 easy shore divesBest season in February69/ 100
  18. 18Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C2 easy shore divesMostly calm waterBest season in February69/ 100
  19. 19Trincomalee & East Sri LankaSri LankaBest Mar–Sep7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February68/ 100
  20. 20Phú QuốcVietnamBest Nov–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–31 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February68/ 100
  21. 21MauiUnited StatesBest Mar–Oct6 Open Water sitesWater 23–27 °C4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterGood season in February67/ 100
  22. 22UtilaHondurasBest Mar–May6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February66/ 100
  23. 23Bali & Nusa PenidaIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct10 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesStrong current at 54% of sitesGood season in February65/ 100
  24. 24Gili IslandsIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in February65/ 100
  25. 25Florida KeysUnited StatesBest May–Aug8 Open Water sitesWater 22–29 °CGood season in February64/ 100
  26. 26MoalboalPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CBest season in February63/ 100
  27. 27HurghadaEgyptBest Apr–May, Oct–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 21–28 °CGood season in February62/ 100
  28. 28Similan Islands & Khao LakThailandBest Feb–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CBest season in February62/ 100
  29. 29Cancún & Isla MujeresMexicoBest Nov–Feb, Jun–Sep5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February62/ 100
  30. 30Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna)Sri LankaBest Nov–Mar5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CBest season in February61/ 100
  31. 31Okinawa & YonaguniJapanBest Apr–May6 Open Water sitesWater 21–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesGood season in February60/ 100
  32. 32Fernando de NoronhaBrazilBest Mar–Jul, Oct5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–27 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February58/ 100
  33. 33Sharm El Sheikh & Ras MohammedEgyptBest Sep–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 20–28 °CGood season in February57/ 100
  34. 34Farne Islands & St AbbsUnited KingdomBest Aug–Oct7 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesOff-season in February56/ 100
  35. 35Mactan (Cebu)PhilippinesBest Feb–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26.5–29.5 °CStrong current at 47% of sitesBest season in February56/ 100
  36. 36Sodwana BaySouth AfricaBest Apr–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February55/ 100
  37. 37CozumelMexicoBest May–Aug6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–28 °CStrong current at 50% of sitesGood season in February54/ 100
  38. 38Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil)IndiaBest Dec–Mar4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CStrong current at 36% of sitesBest season in February54/ 100
  39. 39CoronPhilippinesBest Dec–Apr4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in February54/ 100
  40. 40Dorset (Portland & Swanage)United KingdomBest May–Oct6 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in February53/ 100
  41. 41Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami)United StatesBest May–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February51/ 100
  42. 42Pembrokeshire & SkomerUnited KingdomBest Jun–Sep5 Open Water sites5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in February50/ 100
  43. 43Nha TrangVietnamBest Apr–Aug4 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in February49/ 100
  44. 44CreteGreeceBest Jul–Sep7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in February48/ 100
  45. 45Tobermory (Fathom Five)CanadaBest Jul–Aug7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in February48/ 100
  46. 46Malta, Gozo & CominoMaltaBest Apr–Oct6 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in February44/ 100
  47. 47MallorcaSpainGood May–Oct6 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in February43/ 100
  48. 48KomodoIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct5 Open Water sitesWater 20–30 °CStrong current at 65% of sitesGood season in February42/ 100
  49. 49Narvik & LofotenNorwayBest Jul–Aug4 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in February32/ 100
  50. 50Plymouth & South CornwallUnited KingdomBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesOff-season in February31/ 100
  51. 51AzoresPortugalBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesStrong current at 45% of sitesOff-season in February26/ 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.

Already certified? See where to dive in February for every level.

Find a beginner-friendly trip in February
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