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Where to learn to dive in January

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

Best places to learn in January

  1. 1BonaireBest Dec–Jun13 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C9 easy shore divesBest season in January88/ 100
  2. 2Kona (Big Island)United StatesGood all year8 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–28 °C5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterBest season in January87/ 100
  3. 3Koh Samui & Koh PhanganThailandBest Mar–Apr, Jun–Aug10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–30 °C4 easy shore divesOff-season in January85/ 100
  4. 4Phuket & Koh LantaThailandBest Nov–Apr9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesBest season in January85/ 100
  5. 5Cayman IslandsBest Dec–Apr10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–29 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January83/ 100
  6. 6BahamasBest Jun–Mar10 Open Water sitesWater 22–28 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January77/ 100
  7. 7Koh TaoThailandBest Mar–May, Sep–Oct10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in January77/ 100
  8. 8CuraçaoBest Jan–Sep6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C4 easy shore divesBest season in January77/ 100
  9. 9DahabEgyptBest Sep–Dec, Mar–Jun9 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °C8 easy shore divesGood season in January76/ 100
  10. 10MalapascuaPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January76/ 100
  11. 11Riviera Maya & CenotesMexicoBest Nov–Apr11 Open Water sitesWater 23–29 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January75/ 100
  12. 12Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)AustraliaBest May–Aug9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in January74/ 100
  13. 13WakatobiIndonesiaBest Mar–Dec17 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CGood season in January73/ 100
  14. 14Puerto GaleraPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CBest season in January72/ 100
  15. 15Marsa Alam & the BrothersEgyptBest Jun–Oct8 Open Water sitesWater 23–30 °C5 easy shore divesGood season in January72/ 100
  16. 16AnilaoPhilippinesBest Nov–Dec, Apr–May13 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CGood season in January71/ 100
  17. 17Bohol & PanglaoPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C3 easy shore divesBest season in January69/ 100
  18. 18Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C2 easy shore divesMostly calm waterBest season in January69/ 100
  19. 19Phú QuốcVietnamBest Nov–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–31 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January68/ 100
  20. 20MauiUnited StatesBest Mar–Oct6 Open Water sitesWater 23–27 °C4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterGood season in January67/ 100
  21. 21UtilaHondurasBest Mar–May6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in January66/ 100
  22. 22Bali & Nusa PenidaIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct10 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesStrong current at 54% of sitesGood season in January65/ 100
  23. 23Gili IslandsIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in January65/ 100
  24. 24Florida KeysUnited StatesBest May–Aug8 Open Water sitesWater 22–29 °CGood season in January64/ 100
  25. 25MoalboalPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CBest season in January63/ 100
  26. 26HurghadaEgyptBest Apr–May, Oct–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 21–28 °CGood season in January62/ 100
  27. 27Trincomalee & East Sri LankaSri LankaBest Mar–Sep7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterOff-season in January62/ 100
  28. 28Cancún & Isla MujeresMexicoBest Nov–Feb, Jun–Sep5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January62/ 100
  29. 29Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna)Sri LankaBest Nov–Mar5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CBest season in January61/ 100
  30. 30Okinawa & YonaguniJapanBest Apr–May6 Open Water sitesWater 21–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesGood season in January60/ 100
  31. 31Fernando de NoronhaBrazilBest Mar–Jul, Oct5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–27 °CMostly calm waterGood season in January58/ 100
  32. 32Sharm El Sheikh & Ras MohammedEgyptBest Sep–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 20–28 °CGood season in January57/ 100
  33. 33Similan Islands & Khao LakThailandBest Feb–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CGood season in January57/ 100
  34. 34Farne Islands & St AbbsUnited KingdomBest Aug–Oct7 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesOff-season in January56/ 100
  35. 35Sodwana BaySouth AfricaBest Apr–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in January55/ 100
  36. 36CozumelMexicoBest May–Aug6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–28 °CStrong current at 50% of sitesGood season in January54/ 100
  37. 37Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil)IndiaBest Dec–Mar4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CStrong current at 36% of sitesBest season in January54/ 100
  38. 38CoronPhilippinesBest Dec–Apr4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in January54/ 100
  39. 39Dorset (Portland & Swanage)United KingdomBest May–Oct6 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in January53/ 100
  40. 40Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami)United StatesBest May–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in January51/ 100
  41. 41Pembrokeshire & SkomerUnited KingdomBest Jun–Sep5 Open Water sites5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in January50/ 100
  42. 42CreteGreeceBest Jul–Sep7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in January48/ 100
  43. 43Tobermory (Fathom Five)CanadaBest Jul–Aug7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in January48/ 100
  44. 44Mactan (Cebu)PhilippinesBest Feb–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26.5–29.5 °CStrong current at 47% of sitesOff-season in January45/ 100
  45. 45Malta, Gozo & CominoMaltaBest Apr–Oct6 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in January44/ 100
  46. 46MallorcaSpainGood May–Oct6 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in January43/ 100
  47. 47Nha TrangVietnamBest Apr–Aug4 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CMostly calm waterOff-season in January43/ 100
  48. 48KomodoIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct5 Open Water sitesWater 20–30 °CStrong current at 65% of sitesGood season in January42/ 100
  49. 49Narvik & LofotenNorwayBest Jul–Aug4 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in January32/ 100
  50. 50Plymouth & South CornwallUnited KingdomBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesOff-season in January31/ 100
  51. 51AzoresPortugalBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesStrong current at 45% of sitesOff-season in January26/ 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 January for every level.

Find a beginner-friendly trip in January
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