Five Best Scuba Diving Destinations for Budget Travel

Looking to get bang for your buck on your next getaway? You can’t go wrong with any place on this list — just ask the nearly 5,000 readers who voted in our 2021 Reader’s Choice Awards! They selected these five places as the best value destinations, and they are listed in order of the number of votes received.

1. Florida

Florida’s southeast coast plays host to an annual aggregation of goliath grouper that is not to be miss

Suzan Meldonian

It’s hard to pinpoint the top reason South Florida is one of the best values for divers. It could be because dive centers, such as Sea Experience in Fort Lauderdale, are just a 10-minute cab ride from the international airport—and then, once on site, no rental car is needed. Having a hotel, dive center and marina in one centralized location means guests have instant access to the dive boat. With dozens of nearby restaurants, one can walk to happy hour and a seafood dinner.

The convenience alone is hard to beat. Then add in the fact that U.S.-based divers can usually score good deals on domestic flights to the Sunshine State. Dive centers in Fort Lauderdale have access to about 50 sites, 14 of which are wrecks. Most of the ships fall within 40 to 60 feet of depth, but there are a few that challenge more experienced divers.

The site Tenneco Towers, an oil rig turned artificial reef, sits in about 110 feet of water and attracts bigger fish such as bar jacks, Atlantic spadefish, great barracuda and bull sharks. Whether the operator dives something deep or shallow, the second dive is typically done as a drift to maximize ground covered. Divers have the luxury of not needing to track their whereabouts. Instead, they can rely on a boat pick-up come dive’s end. “We are like a reef taxi service,” says Bill Cole, owner of Sea Experience.

Readers Picks

Operators
Sea Experience, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2. Mexico

A diver is transfixed by a sea turtle in Cozumel, Mexico.

A diver is transfixed by a sea turtle in Cozumel, Mexico, easily accessible to travelers in North America

Brandon Cole

For about half of divers in North America, Cozumel can be reached via direct flight. Direct flights save money and time, so more vacation hours can be enjoyed at the destination— not the airport.

“In terms of getting to diving quickly, easily and affordably, Cozumel doesn’t really have a peer,” says Michael Penwarden, owner of Dive Paradise, a scuba center with three locations on the island.

Not only is the destination easy to get to, but once on island, travelers find that competition among local operators equates to more value for divers.

Take Dive Paradise. This scuba outfitter has the largest fleet of boats on Cozumel. “We can customize our boat groups to different types of divers, different abilities and interests—more so than any other operator,” Penwarden says.

With three locations, Dive Paradise also stands out for what it can offer in tandem with its accommodations partners.

The main location is the 180-room Cozumel Hotel & Resort, which boasts the largest pool on island. “Guests tell us that they can look out their hotel-room window and see the dive boat,” says Penwarden, which helps cut down on stress and waiting time, allowing for more relaxation.

Readers Picks

Resorts
Allegro Cozumel of Barcelo Hotel Group, Mexico
Casa Del Mar, Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel Hotel & Resort by Wyndham, Mexico
Melia, Cozumel, Mexico
Occidental Cozumel of Barcelo Hotel Group, Cozumel, Mexico
Palace Resort, Cozumel, Mexico
Presidente Intercontinental, Cozumel, Mexico
Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

Operators
Aldora Divers, Cozumel, Mexico
Cave Training Mexico, Riviera Maya
Cozumel Marine World, Mexico
Dive with Martin, Cozumel, Mexico Pro Dive International—Mexico, Riviera Maya
Scuba Club Cozumel Dive Center, Mexico
Scuba Du, Cozumel, Mexico

3. Bay Islands

When seeking an all-inclusive resort with 24/7 shore-diving access, one doesn’t have to look any further than the island of Roatan, Honduras.

CocoView Resort is a favorite among dive groups who prioritize how much time they can log underwater at a single rate. Dive packages include two boat trips daily, each with two tanks, in addition to unlimited dives on the house reef.

The reef just in front of the resort is unique in that it’s really three sites in one. The site drops away to a wall dive on each side; right in front of the resort sits the 154-foot Prince Albert tanker, where squid are a common sight. Leading to the wreck is a stretch of shallow sea grass beds where peacock flounder, flying gurnards, sea slugs and other smaller finds abound.

Beyond the diving, it’s hard not to be drawn to the overwater bungalows— typically not the stuff of this price point. Even if they’re not staying directly overtop the calm waters of this cove, guests enjoy oceanfront views from the porches and hammocks of most rooms.

Readers Picks

Resorts
Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatan, Honduras
CocoView Resort, Roatan, Honduras
Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort, Roatan, Honduras
Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort, Roatan, Honduras

Operators
Anthony’s Key Resort Dive Shop, Roatan, Honduras
Barefoot Divers, Roatan, Honduras
CocoView Resort, Roatan, Honduras
Dockside Dive Center, Roatan, Honduras
Subway Watersports, Roatan, Honduras
Utila Dive Lodge Dive Center, Honduras

Liveaboards
Roatan Aggressor, Honduras

4. Indonesia

For some divers, value simply means how much bottom time can be had for the buck. For others, value comes in the trip itself, collecting one-of-a-kind experiences in remote places—such as the area of Raja Ampat, off the island of West Papua in Indonesia.

Fish swarm a vertical reef in Komodo, Indonesia.

The biodiversity of Indonesia’s unspoiled coral reefs is practically unparalleled.

Beth Watson

“There is no mass toursm on Raja,” says Sarah Fitchet with Meridian Adventure Dive Resort. “The travelers who come here are very niche. They understand that this area is very underdeveloped so there is still a lot of preserved unique culture and environment.”

Meridian caters to a discerning clientele. Its fleet of high-speed boats means that along with each day’s guests, the operator can hand-select which sites to explore, as opposed to running on a weekly schedule.

“We don’t do ‘milk run’ dive sites or itineraries,” says Fitchet.

Likewise, the resort allows guests to check in any day of the week, and choose how many dives they want during their stay, so the whole package is customizable— allowing guests to take more time to explore the town, visit villages and taste the locally prepared foods, such as cassava and sago.

Altogether, it’s an experience that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet.

Readers Picks

Resorts
Wakatobi Dive Resort, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Operators
Wakatobi Dive Resort Dive Center, Indonesia

Liveaboards
The Arenui, Indonesia
All Star Aurora, Indonesia
Dewi Nusantara, Indonesia
Pelagian Yacht, Sulawesi, Indonesia

5. Philippines

For many divers, the value of Puerto Galera, Philippines, is the overwhelming abundance and variety of macro life that can be seen while diving with land-based operators. The area is home to 3,000 marine species—more than enough to keep an underwater photographer with a shot list busy for at least a week.

One operator in the heart of it all is Marco Vincent Dive Resort, offering seven room categories to keep prices within reach of all travelers. The team behind this property recognizes the specific needs of underwater photographers, offering a camera room with 12 work stations, compressed-air hoses, chargers and more.

Many divers also pair their resort stay with a trip on M/V Tubbataha, which journeys to its namesake Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea.

These atolls house acres of pristine corals, as well as 600 species of tropical fish and 14 species of shark— plenty of action to fill all the memory cards a shooter brings along.

Readers Picks

Resorts
Atlantis Dive Resorts, Puerto Galera and Dumaguete, Philippines

Liveaboards
Philippine Siren, Philippines