Where and when to dive, and which boat to book.
Straight answers from a PADI Staff Instructor with more than 10,000 hours underwater.
In season now · NovemberRaja AmpatPeak Nov–MarReef and oceanic mantas at cleaning stations and superb macro life.Pianemo karst islands, Raja Ampat · Photo: sutirta budiman / Unsplash
Good in November
Where the diving is at its best in November.
Southern Red Sea
Peak Oct–DecAdvancedOffshore reefs for oceanic whitetips and hammerheads, plus dugongs and turtles at Marsa Alam.
Northern Red Sea
Peak Mar–May, Sep–NovSome experienceWreck diving (Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas) and wall diving at Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran.
Raja Ampat
Peak Nov–MarSome experienceReef and oceanic mantas at cleaning stations and superb macro life.
Banda Sea and the Forgotten Islands
Peak Sep–NovAdvancedRemote volcanic islands where schools of scalloped hammerheads move into recreational depth.
Central Maldives
Peak Jan–Mar, Jun–OctSome experienceChannel and thila diving with grey reef sharks, manta cleaning stations and year-round whale sharks at South Ari.
The questions divers ask most
One page each, with the answer at the top.
Best time to dive the Maldives
Choose your month by what you want to see: mantas, whale sharks, tiger sharks or the clearest reefs.
Best time to dive the Red Sea
Choose your month by what you want to see: wrecks, oceanic whitetips, hammerheads or the warmest water.
Best Red Sea liveaboards 2026
Eight boats ranked, and how to choose between the north and south circuits.
Best Maldives liveaboards 2026
Twelve boats ranked, and how to choose between the central atolls, Hanifaru Bay and the deep south.
How to choose a liveaboard
Start with what you want to dive and what you can spend, then compare boats, reviews and terms.
Choose your water
Six places we know well, with their best months and the level they ask for.
Travel2Learn Academy
Short lessons that make you a calmer, better diver. Each one builds on the one before.
Scuba diving equipment for beginners
What to buy, what to rent and in what order, so you don't buy the wrong gear twice.
Balanced scuba regulator: how to buy and care for one
Seven short chapters: how a regulator works, balanced or not, DIN or yoke, which brands, servicing and care.
How to defog a scuba mask
Four short chapters on why masks fog, how to prepare a new one, and the rinse most divers get wrong.
Pre-dive safety check (BWRAF)
BWRAF in five steps: check your BCD, weights, releases, air and buddy at setup and again just before you enter the water.
Mastering scuba diving buoyancy
Six short chapters: hover still, use less air and stop floating up.
Built on more than 10,000 hours underwater by Manie Eksteen, PADI Staff Instructor.
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