Where to Dive in December

Oh the weather outside is frightful... Get away from the depths of a British winter in Mexico, with its wonderful combination of chic boutique hotels, some of the most historically significant ancient sites in Latin America, an excellent climate and some fabulous diving in December.

Diving in December

Closer to home, while it won't be boiling anymore, the Middle East is still the closest world-class diving with guaranteed sunshine from the UK. Further afield, the sun and excellent visibility has returned to the Maldives, and with some of the world's most luxurious private islands and incredible diving (think: sharks, manta rays, eagle rays and so much more), it really doesn't get much better than that for a winter diving break. Same goes for the Philippines, the Caribbean and Micronesia. While we're on the topic of the Caribbean, while the Bahamas has excellent shark diving year-round, head to Bimini in December to dive with great hammerhead sharks as they cruise across the shallow sandy seabed - an incredibly rare, amazing experience, we think you'll agree.

December is also prime time to visit Belize for an action packed adventure, with the Great Blue Hole and world's second largest barrier reef while on land, ancient Mayan ruins, jungles, caves and even jaguars await.

Top 5 Places to Go Diving in December

Some of the world's best diving destinations are at their best during the winter holidays, providing a welcome reprise from dreary December (for us Brits, anyway). Discover the top five destinations to go diving in December.

1. Maldives - While you can dive in the Maldives year-round, warm weather and calm seas dominate the archipelago between December and March, making it a marvellous time to dive the incredible pinnacles and channels that characterise the atolls
2. Mexico - December is one of the best months to dive in Mexico, with warm waters and sunny skies providing the ideal diving conditions on both coasts, be it the best manta ray interactions in Socorro, cenote diving in the Yucatan peninsula or diving with sea lions in the Sea of Cortez
3. Micronesia - Step back in time wreck diving in Micronesia in December (aka home to the world's best World War Two wreck diving), when the sea is at its calmest, providing the perfect conditions for liveaboard diving
4. Caribbean - The classic 'winter sun' getaway, the Caribbean boasts beautiful weather, calm waters and superb diving, whether shark diving in the Bahamas, snorkelling the underwater sculptures of Grenada, shore diving from Bonaire (you get the gist)
5. Indonesia - December is the best month to go diving in Raja Ampat. Whether liveaboard diving in Raja Ampat or basing surface intervals on dry land on one of the remote resorts scattering the archipelago, diving in the epicentre of the Coral Triangle is a once-in-a-lifetime experience