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Where to learn to dive in November

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

Best places to learn in November

  1. 1Kona (Big Island)United StatesGood all year8 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–28 °C5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterBest season in November87/ 100
  2. 2Koh Samui & Koh PhanganThailandBest Mar–Apr, Jun–Aug10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–30 °C4 easy shore divesOff-season in November85/ 100
  3. 3Phuket & Koh LantaThailandBest Nov–Apr9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesBest season in November85/ 100
  4. 4BonaireBest Dec–Jun13 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C9 easy shore divesGood season in November84/ 100
  5. 5DahabEgyptBest Sep–Dec, Mar–Jun9 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °C8 easy shore divesBest season in November80/ 100
  6. 6Cayman IslandsBest Dec–Apr10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November79/ 100
  7. 7WakatobiIndonesiaBest Mar–Dec17 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CBest season in November78/ 100
  8. 8BahamasBest Jun–Mar10 Open Water sitesWater 22–28 °CMostly calm waterBest season in November77/ 100
  9. 9AnilaoPhilippinesBest Nov–Dec, Apr–May13 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CBest season in November75/ 100
  10. 10Riviera Maya & CenotesMexicoBest Nov–Apr11 Open Water sitesWater 23–29 °CMostly calm waterBest season in November75/ 100
  11. 11Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)AustraliaBest May–Aug9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November74/ 100
  12. 12CuraçaoBest Jan–Sep6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C4 easy shore divesGood season in November73/ 100
  13. 13MalapascuaPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November72/ 100
  14. 14Marsa Alam & the BrothersEgyptBest Jun–Oct8 Open Water sitesWater 23–30 °C5 easy shore divesGood season in November72/ 100
  15. 15Koh TaoThailandBest Mar–May, Sep–Oct10 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °COff-season in November71/ 100
  16. 16Phú QuốcVietnamBest Nov–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 28–31 °CMostly calm waterBest season in November68/ 100
  17. 17Puerto GaleraPhilippinesBest Dec–May9 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in November67/ 100
  18. 18MauiUnited StatesBest Mar–Oct6 Open Water sitesWater 23–27 °C4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterGood season in November67/ 100
  19. 19HurghadaEgyptBest Apr–May, Oct–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 21–28 °CBest season in November66/ 100
  20. 20UtilaHondurasBest Mar–May6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November66/ 100
  21. 21Bali & Nusa PenidaIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct10 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesStrong current at 54% of sitesGood season in November65/ 100
  22. 22Gili IslandsIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–30 °CGood season in November65/ 100
  23. 23Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °C2 easy shore divesMostly calm waterGood season in November65/ 100
  24. 24Florida KeysUnited StatesBest May–Aug8 Open Water sitesWater 22–29 °CGood season in November64/ 100
  25. 25Bohol & PanglaoPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °C3 easy shore divesGood season in November64/ 100
  26. 26Farne Islands & St AbbsUnited KingdomBest Aug–Oct7 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesGood season in November63/ 100
  27. 27Sharm El Sheikh & Ras MohammedEgyptBest Sep–Nov8 Open Water sitesWater 20–28 °CBest season in November62/ 100
  28. 28Trincomalee & East Sri LankaSri LankaBest Mar–Sep7 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterOff-season in November62/ 100
  29. 29Cancún & Isla MujeresMexicoBest Nov–Feb, Jun–Sep5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 24–30 °CMostly calm waterBest season in November62/ 100
  30. 30Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna)Sri LankaBest Nov–Mar5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CBest season in November61/ 100
  31. 31Okinawa & YonaguniJapanBest Apr–May6 Open Water sitesWater 21–30 °C2 easy shore divesStrong current at 38% of sitesGood season in November60/ 100
  32. 32Fernando de NoronhaBrazilBest Mar–Jul, Oct5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–27 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November58/ 100
  33. 33MoalboalPhilippinesBest Jan–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–30 °CGood season in November58/ 100
  34. 34Similan Islands & Khao LakThailandBest Feb–Apr6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CGood season in November57/ 100
  35. 35Sodwana BaySouth AfricaBest Apr–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November55/ 100
  36. 36CozumelMexicoBest May–Aug6 Open Water sitesWarm water, 25–28 °CStrong current at 50% of sitesGood season in November54/ 100
  37. 37Dorset (Portland & Swanage)United KingdomBest May–Oct6 Open Water sites3 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in November53/ 100
  38. 38Mactan (Cebu)PhilippinesBest Feb–May5 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26.5–29.5 °CStrong current at 47% of sitesGood season in November52/ 100
  39. 39Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami)United StatesBest May–Sep5 Open Water sitesWater 20–29 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November51/ 100
  40. 40Pembrokeshire & SkomerUnited KingdomBest Jun–Sep5 Open Water sites5 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in November50/ 100
  41. 41Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil)IndiaBest Dec–Mar4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 26–29 °CStrong current at 36% of sitesGood season in November50/ 100
  42. 42CoronPhilippinesBest Dec–Apr4 Open Water sitesWarm water, 27–30 °CMostly calm waterGood season in November50/ 100
  43. 43CreteGreeceBest Jul–Sep7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in November48/ 100
  44. 44Tobermory (Fathom Five)CanadaBest Jul–Aug7 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in November48/ 100
  45. 45Malta, Gozo & CominoMaltaBest Apr–Oct6 Open Water sites4 easy shore divesMostly calm waterOff-season in November44/ 100
  46. 46MallorcaSpainGood May–Oct6 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in November43/ 100
  47. 47Nha TrangVietnamBest Apr–Aug4 Open Water sitesWater 22–30 °CMostly calm waterOff-season in November43/ 100
  48. 48KomodoIndonesiaBest Apr–Oct5 Open Water sitesWater 20–30 °CStrong current at 65% of sitesGood season in November42/ 100
  49. 49AzoresPortugalBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesStrong current at 45% of sitesGood season in November32/ 100
  50. 50Narvik & LofotenNorwayBest Jul–Aug4 Open Water sitesMostly calm waterOff-season in November32/ 100
  51. 51Plymouth & South CornwallUnited KingdomBest Jul–Oct4 Open Water sitesOff-season in November31/ 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 November for every level.

Find a beginner-friendly trip in November
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