Perfect, we already have the Open Water course. At last! We have already done 10-20 dives in our local diving area and we are looking forward to the first international diving trip. We do not have much experience, always accompanied by our trustworthy guide, we have not dived with currents and we are crazy to know the best diving destinations in the world, dive with sharks, blankets or coral reefs. Where do we start? What would be the ideal destination for my first diving trip?

Below we will see the destinations that for having a simple dive (without great depths or extreme currents) and that are suitable for Open Water Diver divers and beginners.

Red Sea Northern Route

The northern route of the Red Sea is one of the ideal routes to start on international diving trips. Diving on this route is excellent, with an ideal mix of sunken ships, coral reefs and tropical fauna. Being able to delve into a historic wreck like the Thistlegorm or diving in the Ras Mohammed reef with its coral walls loaded with typical Red Sea fauna such as clown, lion or napoleon fish is a delight when we have so little diving experience. It is also a quiet route, with little current, short sailings and warm water at 25ºC … what more could you ask for?

We can find life diving boats on board the North Red Sea route from less than € 700 per person with full board, to return home with 20 more dives being much more solid divers.

Cuba

In the Jardines de La Reina, probably the most famous diving destination in Cuba, we have the opportunity to dive in a shallow reef, sheltered from strong currents and with a very special feature: diving with sharks. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why many ocean lovers decide to take the plunge and obtain the Open Water Diver, and in Cuba you can fulfill that dream of surrounding yourself with reefs in extraordinary health and silky, gray sharks, lemon or reef plus huge groupers, eagle rays or turtles. If we add 40 to 50 meters of visibility, we will have a perfect mix to highlight Cuba as a dream diving destination for beginners and also for advanced divers, of course.

In Cuba there is not a large infrastructure of diving boats life on board, although it is growing, and in Jardines de la Reina there is only one diving center. But there are several boats that go into Jardines and we can find them from € 1,600 per person to € 3,000 with around 22 dives in a 7-night trip.

Maldives

Maldives is one of the destinations that is always on the minds of all divers, before and after obtaining the Open Water Diver, as a dream destination. Blankets, whale sharks and paradisiacal coral sand atolls are three images that come to mind for all divers when we think of Maldives. If we add diving with gray or black tip sharks, night sharks with nurse sharks, turtles or endless coral reefs, the decision to make your first international trip to Maldives is easy.

Maldives has many different diving routes. Most are simple diving, especially the more common central ones, which are carried out on thilas or underwater mounds with a weak current (although there are drift dives and some may have a somewhat stronger current). The most recommended option for diving in the Maldives is through life on board diving boats in front of the resort. It is true that there are some very prominent resorts, with good diving, but if we want to get the most out of the underwater world of the Maldives, diving life on board is the best option.

Bahamas

Bahamas is a very popular diving destination among divers in America for its easy access and the quality of its waters, full of food thanks to the mixture of cold waters of the Atlantic with the warm Caribbean and the depths that it has in some of their areas. Its more than 700 islands and 2,400 coral cays makes it have a lot to offer, from sparkling beaches to shallow reefs, wrecks, drift diving and even Blue Holes. For what concerns us in this article, diving for beginners is also a more than adequate destination, especially if what you like are sharks.

As you can understand after watching the video, shark diving is the main reason why hundreds of divers visit the archipelago every year and where we have areas where interaction with sharks is assured and conditions are simple, with little depth. and without currents. In places as famous as Tiger Beach you will have dives with tiger, bull, hammer, lemon, silky and oceanic whitetip sharks, among others. The best way to dive in the Bahamas is undoubtedly through life on board dive boats where a minimum of dives are not required and just having the Open Water (and wanting to face sharks) will be enough.