Dive Holiday Calendar
This calendar has been put together by our team of experienced dive specialists. Use it as a guide to help you select the optimum time to visit some of the world’s most impressive destinations and enjoy the amazing marine life at its best.
January
- Tahiti is well known for its shark viewing. Large numbers of hammerhead sharks can be seen from Rangiroa between the months of January to March, and Fakarava is home to a huge array of shark species, making this a truly exceptional dive area.
View our suggested itinerary to see hammerhead sharks in Rangiroa and Fakarava.
- Venture to the Aliwal Shoal in South Africa and onward to Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique and share the water with a wide array of sharks! You can expect to see duskies, reef, bulls and even tiger sharks.
Join our Shark Diving Adventure in South Africa, and perhaps combine this with our Diving in Mozambique itinerary.
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Unofficially considered to be the Galapagos of Mexico, the remote archipelago commonly referred to as the Socorro Islands is home to the world’s largest manta rays. January and February are the best months to visit if you’d like the chance to share the water with enigmatic humpback whales and their calves. Throughout the season (November to May) there is a good chance of dolphin encounters, white tip reef sharks, schools of hammerheads and even bigger species such as tiger sharks.
Join our Socorro Liveaboard trip which provides the perfect opportunity to discover this amazing dive location.
February
- There is a chance to see whale sharks in the Andaman Sea, Thailand from February to April.
Join our West Coast Liveaboard for the opportunity to see these wonderful creatures.
- In the Turks and Caicos the humpback whales' mating and calving rituals begin at the start of February, when hundreds of whales migrate from from the colder waters of the North Atlantic and head for the Mouchoir Bank and Silver Bank adjacent to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Around 2,500 whales arrive over several weeks for a stay of up to two months.
Spend a week or more diving and whale watching from a resort or liveaboard as they swim along the Columbus Passage between the islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay.
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Neighbouring the Turks and Caicos, the Silver Bank Sanctuary in the Dominican Republic is an ideal destination to observe the huge gathering of humpback whales that visit these waters beween January and March.
We offer the chance to snorkel with humpback whales on a liveaboard adventure. - Pilot whales arrive in Kadavu, Fiji and stay until May. Part of one of the world's largest barrier reefs - the Great Astrolabe Reef - Kadavu can be combined with shark encounters in Beqa Lagoon.
See pilot whales and dive with sharks on our twin-centre Fiji diving adventure.
- Between December and March there is a strong chance of encounters with whale sharks off the coast of Tanzania in the little known Mafia Island.
Based at a friendly resort, our Dive Mafia Island itinerary is a great choice for this time of year.
- February and March are the best times to find a whole variety of sharks - hammerhead, bull, lemon and nurse - in the seas around the Bahamas.
Join our resort-based trip from Bimini to dive with hammerhead sharks, or enjoy close up encounters with Caribbean reef sharks on our shark diving adventure in Nassau.
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February is a great time to visit the unequivocal wreck diving capital of the world - Truk Lagoon. Bear witness to an entire Japanese fleet, sunken and frozen in time since 1944. Many of the wrecks are in relatively shallow waters, covered in colourful corals and schooling fish.
Discover spectacular wreck diving on our Truk Wrecks Liveaboard dive trip. -
Between the months of February and April a number of liveaboard operators visit the southern atolls of the Maldives for one reason: sharks! The strong currents make for excellent drift dives and encounters with an increased number of larger shark species including grey reef, silver tip and even tiger sharks!
Join our Southern Maldives Liveaboard trip for plenty of shark action!
March
- The world’s largest fish, the whale shark, arrives at Ningaloo Reef following the coral spawning on the Western Australian coast, and stays around these waters until June.
Our resort-based diving trip from Ningaloo Reef offers a unique opportunity to swim with whale sharks.
- Throughout the year, coinciding with lunar cycles, enormous congregations of fish form an unfathomable biomass! In the waters around Palau, thousands of bumphead parrotfish, up to 10,000 twin spot snapper and - astonishingly - up to 50,000 blue lined sea bream, gather to spawn. Witnessing fish in such large numbers is an impressive sight in itself; the sharks that often follow add to the dramatic event and will get your pulses raising!
Join our Palau Liveaboard adventure for exceptional wreck, shark and reef diving.
- Visit the Visayas region of the Philippines and you’ll have the opportunity to dive with majestic mantas at Ticao Island, graceful thresher sharks from the tiny island of Malapascua, and swim with whale sharks at Donsol.
Join our Big Fish tour to dive with mantas, threshers and whale sharks for the ultimate dive experience.
- Seasonal highlights on the remote atoll of Layang Layang in Malaysia include increased sightings of scalloped hammerhead sharks.
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Experienced divers and photographers staying at the Layang Layang Island Resort have the opportunity of encounters with a multitude of pelagic species including the intriguing scalloped hammerhead shark (March to May).
April
- During the months of April to June, southern Belize offers the opportunity to dive and snorkel with the gentle and curious whale shark. The best time to see these creatures is from three days before the full moon to three days after the last quarter moon. This is when the Cubera snappers spawn attracting the whale sharks. April to June is also the spawning season for many other species of fish and the mating season for turtles.
- Although spotted year round, April and May are the best times to see manta rays off the small island of Nusa Lembongan, near Bali, Indonesia.
Dive with manta rays on our tailor made Discover Bali itinerary.
- From January until September leatherback turtles arrive on Tobago beaches to lay their eggs. Activity peaks between March and June.
Visit South Tobago for the best chances to observe nesting turtles on our resort-based diving trip.
- The beginning of the diving season in the remote Indonesian archipelago of Alor brings with it the best time for critter sightings. Pilot whales and dolphins can be seen in the bay, hammerheads cruise through ‘current alley’ and a wide array of beautifully coloured rhinopias often steal the show at the muck diving sites. Free-diving local fishermen can sometimes be seen on the reef impressing with their breath holding skills.
Experience exceptional muck diving amongst colourful reefs and pelagics on our Diving Adventure in Alor.
- There is more to the Galapagos Islands than the peak whale shark months of July & August; in fact travelling earlier in the year has its advantages. It’s likely that you’ll see a wider variety of sharks including hammerheads, often in huge schools. The conditions are also warmer and calmer.
Join a Galapagos Liveaboard for exciting encounters with hammerhead sharks.
May
- Whale sharks are often spotted in the Galapagos Islands from May through to August.
Join our Galapagos Liveaboard to see these spectacular islands where the animals and birds have not yet learned to be afraid of man.
- Head to the east side of the Maldivian atolls from May until November for the best sightings of manta rays.
We offer a tailor made itinerary on Baa Atoll where there are excellent opportunities to dive or snorkel with manta rays during the summer season.
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This is a fantastic time to visit Fiji for some unforgettable big fish encounters - from diving with mantas to coming face to face (literally!) with the world's largest bull sharks!
Our twin-centre trip idea takes you to Matava for the chance to dive with mantas and then make your way to Beqa Lagoon for bull sharks.
June
- June through August a good time to see oceanic hammerheads in Fiji especially around Kadavu.
- The annual 'Sardine Run' is an amazing natural spectacle and one not to be missed! Each year around June, huge schools of sardines migrate through the waters of the Indian Ocean near KwaZulu Natal, attracting large numbers of marine predators and sea birds. Spend a week diving at Aliwal Shoal before heading inland to search for those large land predators.
- Off the northern Queensland coast of Australia, minke whales can be seen from June to August, with the best underwater encounters in June and July. Occasional humpback whale sightings occur from July to September.
- Humpback whales are seen in June in the Galapagos, and from June through November around Ningaloo Reef, Australia.
- Nurse sharks breeding in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
- June through November is the best time to see manta rays in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji.
- Humpback whales arrive in northern Mozambique.
- Head to Mexico for a whale shark encounter at Holbox Island.
July
- Humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds in Antarctica along the New Zealand coast, to the Pacific Islands. In the waters around the islands of Tonga they stay from July to September to court, mate and calve. Take a liveaboard in Tonga, a resort package in Tahiti or island hop in Fiji.
Experience thrilling shark dives and colourful coral reefs in Fiji, before a week of encounters with humpbacks in Tonga on our Fiji & Tonga Dive Experience.
- July to August sees the ragged-tooth sharks (raggies) breeding at Aliwal Shoal, South Africa.
Join other like-mined divers on our South Africa & Mozambique Dive Safari for incredible shark encounters.
- In the Lembeh Strait, when temperatures fall to their lowest of 25-26°C in July and August, the greatest number of critters can be found. See mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, harlequin shrimps and many more unique and fascinating animals.
We recommend a 2-week resort-based trip, combining Lembeh and Bunaken for the ultimate critter fix!.
- Head to Rangiroa in Tahiti, for good sightings of manta rays.
Our tailor made trip idea to Rangiroa and Fakarava combines exciting opportunites to dive with mantas and sharks.
- Mexico offers exciting whale shark encounters at Holbox Island.
Our Cenotes & Holbox trip offers opportunities snorkel with whale sharks at Holbox, combined with incredible reef and cave diving at the Cenotes in Yucatan.
August
- Whale sharks arrive in the Seychelles. Join environmentalists on the whale shark tagging programme with the MCSS.
- Sipadan is famous for its large population of green turtles, which are there year-round, but the highest concentration is during the August mating season. Combine a week’s diving on this idyllic island with a visit to an orangutan sanctuary and a stay in a river long house.
- Humpback whales heading south to the Antarctic can be found off the Australian coast from now until the end of October.
- Eastern Canada’s coast is home to northern right, minke, humpback, and fin whales between now and the end of September.
- From August to September the Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a high concentration of blue whales.
- Humpback whales can be seen off the coast of Tanzania and Zanzibar.
- Pilot whales are seen off the Northern Vanua Levu coast in Fiji.
- August to October sees mainly female humpback whales and their young around the island of Rurutu, Tahiti.
- August through November are the best months to come face to face with the great white sharks off Guadalupe Island in Mexican waters.
September
- September sees the coral spawning in Bonaire and a unique opportunity to observe this spectacular phenomenon whilst doing some serious shore diving.
We recommend a week at one of Bonaire’s dive resorts to experience some of the Caribbean’s best dive sites.
- The unusual mola-mola (sun fish) can be found in the waters around Lembongan, near Bali in Indonesia from June through to October.
Catch sight of the elusive mola-mola (sun fish) on our tailor made dive trip to Bali and Nusa Lembongan.
- For the adventurous diver, October is possibly the best month to visit Kavieng, a remote region of Papua New Guinea. Famed for pelagic encounters, you can expect to see sharks, tuna, mackerel, huge schools of jacks and barracuda. There’s also plenty of lush coral reef to explore and critters to find.
Our tailor made itinerary to PNG offers intrepid divers the opportunity to discover a truly diverse playground.
October
- Great white sharks can be seen at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.
Cage dive with great whites from a liveaboard to experience great white shark heaven!
- If you’re a keen critter hunter, then you must surely have a unique and fascinating little guy on your list. Travel to Ambon in Indonesia and you might just be lucky enough to see the captivating psychedelic frogfish!
Combine critters and mantas on our resort -based dive adventure to Ambon & Raja Ampat.
November
- From November until March there are good sightings of hammerhead and Zambezi sharks in Southern Mozambique.
Combine a stay at Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique with a few days at Aliwal Shoal in South Africa, for a host of memorable shark encounters.
- Olive ridley and leatherback turtles may be seen between November and April in Costa Rica’s Tamarindo Bay.
Combine big fish diving with some topside wildlife encounters on our Costa Rica Dive Experience.
- Bull sharks can be seen in Costa Rica, and the Cocos Islands from November right through until April.
Join a liveaboard in the remote Cocos Island for exceptional shark encounters.
- The red crab migration begins on Christmas Island, bringing with it the best chance of whale shark encounters.
Discover spectacular wall diving and whale sharks on our resort-based Christmas Island diving itinerary.
- Few would argue that Raja Ampat in the heart of the Coral Triangle represents some of the world’s very best reef diving. This archipelago has recorded the greatest biodiversity of any marine park on the planet, and it’s here that you can encounter the unusual shark species such as the wobbegong and the epaulette shark, famed for its ability to walk short distances on land.
View our suggested itinerary - Dive Raja Ampat - for world-class diving.
December
- Large numbers of Pacific green turtles gather off the shores of the Galapagos Islands to mate, socialise and then lay their eggs.
Combine incredible diving opportunities with topside wildlife encounters on our land-based Galapagos Islands Dive Adventure.
- Manta rays are found on the west side of the Maldive atolls from December to April.
Spend a week diving at Vilamendhoo Island Resort, in the South Ari Atoll, for prolific marine life and large pelagics.
- In Cozumel, Mexico, large numbers of eagle rays are found from December through until March.
Tailor-make your perfect dive trip to Cozumel, with 30+ dive sites offering year-round diving.
- The hammerhead shark is as elusive as it is elegant; the largest of their kind, the great hammerhead is rarely seen by divers. Those who venture to Bimini in the Bahamas between December and March can bear witness to these impressive giants as they cruise along the sand for an extreme close up. Hold your nerve and you’ll get a photo worthy of any shark lover's wall!
Experience world-class great hammerhead encounters in the Bahamas - up close and personal!
