Written by the Planet Dive team — we’ve been arranging diving holidays since 2001, and every resort and liveaboard on this page has been dived by one of us personally. Last updated: 31 July 2026.
The best scuba diving holidays balance four things: the quality of what’s underwater, the season you can actually travel, the journey time you’ll tolerate, and whether the destination suits your experience level. This guide compares the twelve destinations we rate most highly for 2026 — honestly, including who each one isn’t for.
The 12 best scuba diving holidays compared
| Destination | Best for | Best season | Water temp | UK flight time | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsa Alam, Egypt | Reefs & dugongs on a budget | Year round | 22–29°C | ~6 hrs | All levels |
| Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | Wrecks & walls (Ras Mohammed, SS Thistlegorm) | Mar–Nov | 21–28°C | ~5.5 hrs | All levels |
| Maldives | Mantas, whale sharks, luxury resorts | Nov–May | 27–30°C | ~10 hrs | Improver+ |
| Raja Ampat, Indonesia | The richest reefs on Earth | Oct–Apr | 27–30°C | ~20 hrs | Experienced |
| Komodo, Indonesia | Big currents, big animals | Apr–Nov | 24–28°C | ~18 hrs | Experienced |
| Bonaire | Unlimited shore diving | Year round | 26–29°C | ~10 hrs | All levels |
| Little Cayman | Wall diving (Bloody Bay) | Year round | 26–29°C | ~12 hrs | All levels |
| Cozumel, Mexico | Effortless drift diving | Year round | 25–29°C | ~11 hrs | All levels |
| Galapagos | Hammerheads, sea lions, once-in-a-lifetime | Jun–Nov (sharks) | 18–25°C | ~18 hrs | Experienced |
| Mafia Island, Tanzania | Whale sharks without the crowds | Oct–Mar | 26–29°C | ~13 hrs | All levels |
| Aqaba, Jordan | Wrecks, short flight, winter sun | Year round | 21–27°C | ~5.5 hrs | All levels |
| The Azores, Portugal | Big blue-water animals in Europe | Jun–Oct | 17–24°C | ~4 hrs | Improver+ |
The Red Sea: the best value scuba diving holidays from the UK
For UK divers, Egypt remains unbeatable on the effort-to-reward ratio: a five-to-six-hour flight, no jet lag, warm water for most of the year and reefs that stand comparison with anywhere in the tropics. Marsa Alam is the quieter, southern choice — seagrass bays with resident dugongs and turtles, and day access to Elphinstone’s oceanic whitetips in autumn. Sharm el Sheikh gives you the classics: the walls of Ras Mohammed National Park and the SS Thistlegorm, a Second World War cargo wreck sunk in 1941 and still carrying its trucks and motorbikes — routinely voted among the best wreck dives in the world.
The Indian Ocean: whale sharks, mantas and luxury
The Maldives is where diving meets a five-star holiday: channel dives with grey reef sharks in the morning, an overwater villa in the afternoon. South Ari Atoll is one of the few places on Earth where whale sharks are seen year-round, and Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll hosts one of the world’s largest known manta feeding aggregations between May and November. For the same animals with a fraction of the visitors, Mafia Island in Tanzania pairs whale-shark season (October to March) with genuinely uncrowded reefs inside a marine park established in 1995.
Indonesia: the biodiversity heavyweights
Raja Ampat sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle, and the numbers are hard to believe: surveys led by Conservation International have recorded more than 550 species of hard coral — around three-quarters of all species known globally — and over 1,600 reef fish species in these waters. It is, by most scientific measures, the richest marine environment on the planet. Komodo is the adrenaline alternative: current-swept channels patrolled by sharks and mantas, best dived from a liveaboard between April and November. Both reward experience — these are not first-open-water-holiday destinations, and honest operators will tell you so.
The Caribbean: easy, warm and reliable
Bonaire has protected its entire coastline as a marine park since 1979 — one of the oldest in the world — and it shows. It’s the global capital of shore diving: hire a truck, pick any of 60+ marked sites, and dive on your own schedule. Little Cayman’s Bloody Bay Wall drops from six metres to over a thousand, as dramatic a drop-off as the Caribbean owns. Cozumel is drift diving at its most effortless — the current does the work while eagle rays and turtles pass by.
The bucket-list trips
The Galapagos is the trip experienced divers save up for: schooling hammerheads at Gordon Rocks, sea lions that treat divers as entertainment, and between June and November the cold Humboldt currents that bring whale sharks to Darwin and Wolf. Closer to home, the Azores prove Europe has blue-water diving of its own — mobula rays and pelagics around volcanic seamounts, four hours from the UK. And Aqaba is the left-field pick: Jordan’s 27km of Red Sea coast hides an artificial reef programme that includes a scuttled cargo ship (the Cedar Pride, sunk in 1985), a Lockheed TriStar aircraft and even a line of military tanks — plus Petra on your surface interval.
Resort or liveaboard?
A simple rule from 25 years of arranging both: choose a resort if you’re travelling with a partner or family, want flexibility, or are still building confidence — you control your schedule. Choose a liveaboard if diving is the whole point: you’ll typically log 3–4 dives a day and reach sites day boats can’t, which is why we recommend them for Raja Ampat, Komodo and the Galapagos. Many of our clients combine the two.
Whatever your level, the same principle applies: the right scuba diving holiday depends on matching the destination to your experience, your season and your travel appetite — which is exactly what our team does, because we’ve dived every one of these. Browse all our scuba diving holidays, see our luxury diving collection, or if you’re starting out, our learn-to-dive holidays. Quotes are free, and there’s no booking fee.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best place for a first scuba diving holiday?
The Egyptian Red Sea. Marsa Alam and Sharm el Sheikh combine calm, warm, exceptionally clear water with short flights from the UK and excellent teaching centres — you can complete a PADI Open Water course and still have reef diving to spare in a single week. Bonaire and Cozumel are the Caribbean equivalents if a longer flight doesn’t put you off.
When is the best time to dive the Red Sea?
It’s a year-round destination. March to May and September to November are the sweet spots — water in the mid-20s and the summer crowds absent. Winter diving is excellent too (21–23°C water; bring a 5mm wetsuit), and it doubles as reliable winter sun.
Is a liveaboard better than a resort for diving?
Neither is better — they suit different trips. Liveaboards deliver more dives (typically 3–4 a day) and reach remote sites, which matters in Raja Ampat, Komodo and the Galapagos. Resorts win for flexibility, non-diving partners and families. On price they often come out similar once you count dives per day.
Where can I dive with whale sharks?
South Ari Atoll in the Maldives has year-round sightings; Mafia Island in Tanzania peaks October to March; and the Galapagos sees them June to November. No credible operator guarantees sightings — treat any that do with suspicion.
How far in advance should I book a diving holiday?
For peak season (Christmas, Easter, and Maldives November–April) book four to six months ahead — the best dive resorts are small and sell out. Liveaboards in Raja Ampat and the Galapagos frequently sell out six to twelve months ahead. Red Sea resort trips can often be arranged within weeks.
Twelve good options. Which one is yours?
That is the honest problem with a list like this — it tells you what exists, not what suits you. Tell us roughly when you can travel, how many dives you have logged and what you want to see, and one of our divers will come back with two or three that genuinely fit, and say why the others don’t.
Free, with no obligation and no booking fee. We’re a UK tour operator, trading since 2001 — every resort and liveaboard we sell has been dived by one of our own team. Mon–Sat, 09:30–18:00 UK · 5★ on Google from 190+ reviews · ATOL protected (T7314) and Travel Trust Association members.
