Where would you go for good scuba diving for 4-6 weeks starting in Mid January? I've done Cuba, Mexico, Thailand and Curacao in recent years, with the latter being the best diving of my life. I am trying to stay away from hotels and would rather do Air BnB.
I am single, 40s, have about 60 dives experience including night and cleanup dives. Curacao is still in the cards for me, but the travel time from Vancouver is horrendous, often being up to 2 days long.
I am aiming at 25 dives. A friend suggested the Philippines, while another has suggested Honduras or Costa Rica. Would prefer somewhere where I don't have to drive a car, close to the beach/dive shop.
I've done those trips for under 5k before and hoping to be around that price still.
Help anyone?

Honduras is cheap and has amazing diving but personally I wouldn’t go alone. The Spanish Virgin Islands, particularly Culebra is amazing and safe and protected. I hear the Maldives is also very good and there are deals to be had right now through HK but it’s far.

Egypt?

Raja Ampat, Indonesia
And
Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Clinton second this! Best diving I’ve ever done was in Komodo, Indonesia!!

Philippines (Cebu)

Bali!!

Puerto Galera (Sabang Beach) Philippines. Fantastic diving & cheap ($30 per tank).

We loved Belize for diving!

Belize for sure.

The coast of Western Australia.
Decent public transport, not the cheapest destination but amazing dives and a whole coast to conquer!
Especially Rottnest Island.
Hated Bali, the water was so filthy and polluted.

EJ agreed! I only went diving once and then opted to stay on the beach.. yuck

Roatan!

Honduras, small island off the coast lots of b&b and big scuba community.

Palawan, Philippines and sipidan on Borneo are both out of this world.

Honduras Isla Utila... great reef diving cheap like borscht

Cebu and surrounding islands PHILIPPINES

Roatan, Honduras is amazing.
Cozumel is great
Bonaire you can do almost all as shore dives so very cheap. You can also just do Vrbo.

Liveaboard in indonesia

Utila and Roatan , Honduras.
I've been there a dozen times. Crystal clear warm water, very close to the reef and whale sharks !
Didn't feel safe on the mainland (la cieba) mostly because my Spanish is minimal, but never had any problems on the bay islands.
You wont need a car on utila, but might consider renting one, or a scooter in Roatan to explore the island.
Utila is more if a back packer island with tons of cheap dive resorts to stay at. Roatan is more expensive due to the cruise ship industry.
There is a newer ferry that can take you between the 2 islands.

Mark we did not enjoy Roatan due to the one beach that all the cruise ship passengers frequent. Also, there are so many Lion Fish that they have destroyed all the small fish. We have been diving for over 35 years and our number one destination is Fiji,specifically Taveuni..Nakia resort was wonderful

Phillipines or Indonesia would be great

Nassau, diving with sharks

i see theres a lot of ideas. depends on your budget and what u want to see. shoot me a line if you want some advice. been all the places here discussed and hundreds of others nobody has a clue about

Did this dive off Roatan last January.
It was amazing !!
https://youtu.be/VOECJfJsuRk

Greenwood Beach Resort, Cat Island, Bahamas.

Pauline & Antoine, the dive masters, are amazing!

Indonesia has literally the world’s best diving and is beautiful and cheap.

Provo, Turks & Caicos. We dove on a 6000 ft wall in Provo.It was amazing.At 130 ft we watched 9' Sharks, 7' Rays swim past us. Everything is supplied including computers.
Egypt is among the best in the world too.

Utila Honduras or philippines!

Roatan, Honduras very popular for diving

Fiji is fantastic

Marianna's Trench Saipan

Have you considered Belize? I'm sure you're looking for warm water diving, but if you ever have the chance, go up to Port Hardy on the North Island. It is UNREAL! Pro Divers from around the world know it.

Best dives of my life were in indonesia coral triangle- live aboard from labuan bajo

Roatan, Honduras or Belize. Great reef system that runs down that coastline.

I did cook islands in 2018 and provi Turks and Caicos 2019. I'm from Vancouver

Would recommend Honduras. But for something different check out Egypt, dahab was great for diving, and you could also go to sharm el sheikh too.

Komodo National Park in Indonesia.

Utila is good, but be very careful of your stuff. Ever since they made the ferry from La Ceiba free for the locals, kids are sent to Utila from the mainland every day to burgle houses and hotels. Everyone I know had stuff stolen from them; I decided to keep literally everything of any value with me at all times. I won't be going back as a result, and I'm a dive instructor as well.
The best diving I've seen is at Komodo, Indonesia. You fly to Denpasar (Bali), then catch a flight to Labuan Bajo (LBJ, Komodo International Airport) on a local carrier. I tend to fly Nam Air from DPS to LBJ, because they fly 737s; the rest are all ATR-72s, prop planes, with almost no carry-on space at all. Since I take my own gear I need to carry on cameras and dive computer and such.
Book your diving with Scuba Junkie Komodo (www.komodobeachresort.com), it is the only dive resort that is actually within the Komodo National Park borders; otherwise you are doing day trips or a liveaboard from Labuan Bajo to Komodo to dive, and that means three hours on the boat each way. This resort is closer, so only 90 minutes or so to the dive sites; they have big boats, so you do a giant stride off rather than roll off the sides. They have really good gear, and have only been open a couple of years so the gear is nearly new and very well-kept, so you don't have to bring your own. All their dive guides are certified Divemasters or Instructors. They include full lodging; they have grass huts using communal showers, or full bungalows with AC and their own showers. Breakfast and lunch on the boat with dinner back at the resort; generally leave about 7am, back by 4:30.
Diving is spectacular; manta heaven. Tons of sharks, turtles, rays, even dugongs sometimes. The macro is awesome, pygmy seahorses, flambuoyant cuttlefish, loads of tiny shrimps and crabs, Mandarinfish, of course nudis. I've been to this particular resort four times now, more than 100 dives just at Komodo. Shockingly cheap prices, too; the 7 day-6 night stay (odd way to call it but that's all Asia) is about $1000 CAD, including your stay, all your meals, and 15 dives, plus including a sunset "bat tour" to nearby island to watch the bats fly out by the thousands. The last morning you go to Rinca Island to see the Komodo dragons, I think the park fee is $15 for that.
If you're down that way, I have tons of recs for diving in Indonesia, as well as nearby Malaysia (Sipadan, one of the best dive sites in the world), and you've already been to Thailand but the diving there is very average, really, unless you are diving the Similans off the west coast by Khao Lak, only from a liveaboard. Both Sipadan and Komodo are listed among the top ten dive locations in all the world, and I concur with that assessment having been to most of the top ten.

Bernie —plus cathay pacific has flights from YVR-Bali return for $952, taxes in as well

Brent Keeling read this

Bogdan Stadniciuc
You live there.
Is there an truth to this?
I don't believe this at all.
It sounds like Bernie had a bad experience and is spreading lies.

Dominican Republic or Bahamas

Bonaire

Grace Bay in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos is breathtakingly beautiful.

Deb Perkes beaches are but diving was

Gili Air Island indonesia

Belize VRBO300805

Bonaire or Roatan in the Caribbean. Bali is also very good from what I have heard

Edward du Monceaux
Contact my friend above re great accomodation he owns....EXCELLENT EXTENSIVE diving in Roatan.... he has 16 year local knowledge
West Bay... Bananerama Dive Centre.. 2 min walk to dive shop and beach
Stayed there myself last month

Thr the red sea. Off the coast of Egypt. Like ..Hurghada

Belize

Where did you dive in Belize? Heading there in March

Check out Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. Astonishing wreck dives.

Bonaire or Indonesia

Cebu Island, Philippines.

I would second Honduras. Beautiful waters.

Philippines.

Roatan, Honduras. Large, vibrant coloured coral and lots of amazing fish. The Island itself is worth the trip. Stunningly beautiful!

Belize

Aqaba, Jordan

Indonesia has lots of great diving spots, especially east of Bali. You could easily spend several weeks island hopping and diving. Raja Ampat is a Marine park in Indonesia that has some of the best diving in the world I've heard. You can also fly over to Borneo from there and hit up Pulau Sipidan. The Phillipines also has tons of great diving spots. Both areas are very affordable. I believe that this time of year is not the prime season for diving though.

Melissa Raja Ampat is great, as well as Ambon. Both remote, and both pricy. Some liveaboards go from Bali to Komodo to Raja Ampat.

Sipadan near Borneo close to Philippines. Once u get there everything is cheap.

I 3rd Honduras I done Utila which was very busy with divers and it was amazing so I can only imagine doing somewhere less busy. Make sure to do a "sunrise dive" while there

Vanessa also if you dont mind hostels they are ridiculously cheap. I stayed in a private room on a boardwalk for $14/night

Just back from the Philippines. Coron, Palawan and Cebu are amazing.

Hurghada!

Combine Philippines and Palau.

Taganga, Colombia

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Absolutely amazing diving.

Grand cayman east end or little cayman both amazing diving.

Belize and stay on one of the cayes!

I would look into the dive spots in Indonesia. One of the best dive experiences I've had was in Manado, Sulawesi. The dive resort is Murex Manado.

I agree about Komodo for diving. Very pristine reefs, and lots of pelagics. I have dived many spots in Indonesia and recommend most of the dive sites.

Cave diving in Tulum, Mexico is also something special!

Phillipines hands down.

Philippines is more fun

Sabah

Roatan off the coast of Honduras

Cayman Brac was great diving, probably a bit far and expensive, but it was nice. Other Cayman islands supposed to be good too.

Roatan or Utila in Honduras (or a mix of both!)

Belize

Where in Belize?

If you’re interested in wreck dives, consider Vanuatu

Why don't you look into southern Taiwan? You may be surprised.

Hopkins, Belize, or East Timor.

https://www.facebook.com/DiveTimorLorosae/

El Nido, Philippines is up there for me. Lots of Clownfish, my husbands favorite.
Guli Trawangan, Indonesia is also amazing and affordable. Curacao is definitely one of my other favorites.

Roatan. Hands down. You can snorkel off the beach

Belize second largest Barrier reef in the world and has the only and best Blue Hole for diving

Harriet yes...and it's super chill..utilla in Honduras is also pretty great...and here's a suggestion...corn island in nicaragua...snorkeling was incredible..I can only imagine the diving..big corn and little corn..fly into managua and straight over to the little and big corn...little corn is really special

Belize/Honduras/Nica they're so close and easy to travel between. You can do the great blue hole then check out the small dive islands along the coast

Belize

Malaysia

Raja Ampat

Bali, Lembeh Strait, Anilao in the Philippines, Alor, Indonesia, Raja Ampat...the diving is just so much superior to the Caribbean, and from the west coast about the same travel time.

Mabul Island, Malaysia, a class of its own

Fiji is our number one place for diving. Seconded by French Polynesia, specifically Fakarava for shark dives.

Did some dives in the Philippines and it was great especially the whale sharks

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. The coolest experience!

Little corn island, Nicaragua and Roatan, Honduras

Belize, Bahamas, Great Barrier Reef. The cheapest is Corn Island, Nicaragua

B.C. in winter. Amazing! There are man made reefs and marine parks.

Belize

Honduras

Sea Rovers at Manjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia

OMG! This is amazing! I just want to say a great big thank you for Chris Myer to have allowed my post and to all of you for all the suggestions. I have tallied them all up in a word doc and will start doing the research (eg flights and if Mid/End January is a good time to go to some of those places, prices etc). I am very grateful for all the suggestions, tips, places to go with and it is really cool to now know there are so many options, many of which I admit I would have never thought about at all!! Great community..thank you.

Rene let us know what you find out/decide! I'm sure many, including myself, are using this info for future trip planning!!

Bonaire is a good warm water destination.

Philippines is the best diving I've done.

Bali is a close second

Derek Heitrich

The Gili islands near Lombok have superb diving and the island has no cars. Blue Marlin is a good company there

100% agree, amazing spot

How about a live aboard in the Galapagos? Only a week or two, but you could easily get in your 25 dives. Also go to LonelyPlanet/Thorntree and check there.

Fulong Beach just outside of Taipei in Taiwan. Beautiful. My nephew owns Scubar Diving. Web: http://facebook.com/ScubarFulong.

North Bali

Suluwasi Indonesia

Bali Indonesia US Liberty

Belize has amazing diving. Go with Hugh Parkey

Fiji had some of the best diving I’ve ever done.

I don’t dive (prefer snorkeling), but am on Roatan, Honduras right now and that is all anybody does here, so it must be good. West Bay has lots of options, the hotel I’m in is very basic but clean & safe, and has diving on site - Bananarama Beach & Dive Resort. Also lots of condos for rent around here if looking for cheaper option.

Another snorkeler here. For the Philippines check out the Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental). Cabilao Island is just off Bohol (which is an excellent destination in itself). Moalboal, Cebu offers great diving and also canyoneering or just viewing at nearby Kawasan Falls. Club Serena at nearby Baskadu was a great, quiet place to stay right on a white sand beach. Dauin (Pura Vida Resort) near Dumaguete, Negros is a jumping off point for Apo Island. Dauin is a nice small town abd not very touristy. Dumaguete is one of the nicest cities in the Phils (which isn't saying much).

Roatan for sure! Reef is crazy close to the island. No chain hotels at all. Tons of accommodation options.

Malaysia for diving

Kaş, Turkey

Jean-Paul Thuot
Philippines - Bohol, Panglau, easily the most amazing diving I've ever experienced.

panama - bocas del toro!

Rosanna
If you're into shipwrecks and island hopping, Coron in the Philippines is awesome

Rosanna what a great suggestion
World War II wreck dives

Courtesy of your awesome researching!

Roatan, Honduras

I'm also looking for a winter dive escape, probably February or March. I find January is unpredictable for weather. I did Cozumel last winter and combined it with Playa del Carmen, Chetumal, Bacalar and CDMX. airbnb's are great in Coz and the diving is very good.
The previous winter I hopped from Ambergris Caye, Belize to Roatan. Diving was really good at both areas.
This year I'm thinking of South Central America and Colombia.
Philippines is definitely on my radar as well.
Have you considered Bonaire?

The atolls of north east zanzibar

Best I’ve done was in the Galapagos though it is quite pricey. Also LOVED the outer Great Barrier Reef.

Isla Lembongan near Bali.

Palau is absolutely amazing ... big fish (sharks, mantas, etc), caves and Japanese wrecks, not to mention "Jellyfish Lake." The way we did it economically a few years ago was to buy a low-cost fare to Japan and then use aeroplan points to to do it on United via Guam. flighthub also claims to have up 80% off on Palau from YVR for another couple of days right now ...

Grand Cayman with Living The Dream divers.

Bali
also Caye Caulker (Belize), I didn’t have my certification yet then so I only snorkeled but the amount of sea life there is insane!!