Adventures in Diving - Our Top 5 Diving Destinations to Visit in 2021!

Activity holidays are high on the list, with diving right up there for many. Creating tailor-made scuba diving holidays is what we do best, so let’s take a look at our top 5 diving destinations for 2021 and help get you back in the water. Pack your gear, it’s time to go diving again!

Maldives

There’s nowhere quite like the Maldives with its ring-shaped atolls, idyllic island retreats and azure waters. Whether resort or liveaboard based, there’s a plethora of exceptional diving opportunities, adventure and a holiday experience to dive for. 

The Emperor Atoll is a comfortable traditional Maldivian style liveaboard with a maximum of 12 guests accommodated in six cabins. A popular choice for the personal touch and also affordability, the boat departs weekly, offering divers the Best of the Maldives. Experience some of the most famous sites of the Malé and Ari atolls, where pinnacles rise from the deep, sharks patrol the walls and pelagic species such as mantas and whale sharks are frequently observed.   

For those who like the finer things in life, look no further than the Spirit of Maldives liveaboards which offers a unique and personal experience. Enjoy a week of fantastic diving, relaxing massage treatments, and à la carte dining options. This purpose-built liveaboard is modern, spacious, and luxurious. Diving operates from sister dhoni with an accompanying rib, and the itinerary is built around experiencing the best sites in the Maldives.

It's safe to say that Vilamendhoo Island Resort is one of the most popular diving resorts in the southern Ari Atoll. Famed for the prolific marine life and pelagic encounters, divers and snorkellers return again and again, some just to explore the impressive house reef. Diving highlights include Vilamendhoo Caves and Khudarah Thila as well as some fantastic channel dives and day trips to look for manta ray and whale shark encounters. Our blog features an article from the Euro-Divers team about life on the island during 2020.

The southern end of the Ari Atoll is also an ideal location for anyone from solo travellers to small groups. Boutique Beach is a small eco-friendly resort who support the local community. Created by divers, for divers, the resort is ideally located for all the top diving spots and renowned for providing guests with unforgettable whale shark encounters. Check out our BIG in the Maldives diving adventure.

Galapagos Islands

There’s no place like the Galapagos Islands and we’re confident it’s on every diver’s bucket list! The most iconic dive sites can only be reached by liveaboard and are best suited to experienced divers. A trip of a lifetime, the destination promises excitement, adventurous dives and unique wildlife experiences.

Aqua Galapagos is a mid-range liveaboard that accommodates 16 guests and departs on a Sunday for a seven night diving adventure. Highlights include three days discovering the underwater delights at Wolf & Darwin plus the chance of mola mola encounters and being in the water with marine iguanas, Galapagos sea lion and penguins. To make the most of your holiday, why not stay on board for a few extra nights and discover the topside flora and fauna on a short naturalist itinerary around the main islands. A truly unique adventure awaits at an affordable price.  

View our Galapagos Liveaboard group trip from £4,995pp 

Grenada

Friendly faces, a vibrant ambience and island charm await in Grenada, the spice island of the Caribbean. Renowned primarily for its wrecks, there are plenty of other underwater attractions for divers and snorkellers of all abilities. Arrive and dive when you stay at True Blue Bay Boutique Resort, a family run resort leading the way in adapting to the new protocols.

Explore the reefs of the Marine Park, where residents include frogfish, turtles, rays and dazzling colours of fish life. Discover coral encrusted wrecks of all shapes and sizes, all with their own story of how they met their watery grave. Visit the Underwater Sculpture Park, a site dedicated to rebuilding the reef naturally. The 75 pieces of art are built from materials that allow coral polyps to grow.  

A twin centre stay on neighbouring island Carriacou is a popular choice. The ‘land of reefs’ features sites for divers of all abilities, and the pace of life is nice and slow. Marine life ranges from tiny critters to lobster, rays and nurse shark encounters. 

Cocos Island

Another bucket list destination for the experienced diver. Cocos Island is a tiny outcrop in the Pacific Ocean, attracting large ocean creatures and in particular, is recognised as one of the best diving locations for shark encounters – bull, silky, silvertip and white-tip. The main draw to this remote location is the walls of scalloped hammerheads, a mesmerising sight and definitely worth travelling for. 

This world-class diving location is only reached only by liveaboard and for the best experience we strongly recommend that divers be advanced qualified with deep and night diving qualifications to enjoy the benefits of diving this remote location.  

Oman

Bursting with different and undiscovered dive sites, Oman is perhaps best explored by liveaboard but there are a number of resort options offering a memorable diving holiday experience for all. 

Join the MY Oman Explorer as she visits the top diving spots and untouched reefs, exploring different areas as she moves throughout the year. During the winter months (Nov-Feb) the week-long itinerary begins from Salalah in the south and diving highlights around the remote Hallaniyat islands include humpback whale, manta ray and dolphin encounters. From April to October shes sets sail from Muscat and highlights include the popular Al Munassir wreck, exploration of Fahal and Bandar Kahyran plus the Daymaniyat islands, where you can expect to see plenty of fish, turtles, leopard sharks, and there’s a great chance of a whale shark encounter. Adventure seekers will want to consider one of the transfer trips as the boat moves location between seasons, a chance to explore rarely visited areas off the coast of Oman. 

Just a short drive south of Muscat, the opulent Shangri-La Barr Al Jissa Resort & Spa is a beachfront property with access to some fantastic local diving. Family friendly, the resort features a host of facilities and a secluded beach area where green turtles nest, which is managed by the Turtle Care Project. The dive centre operates daily boat diving, snorkelling and dolphin watching trips. Discover over 25 dive sites from here including Fahal Island and the Al Munassir wreck and expect to see honeycomb morays, eagle rays, nurse sharks and turtles a plenty. 

To learn more about any of these diving holidays, contact our Dive team.