The real cost of diving, in the open

Fiji's soft-coral capital in the South Pacific — technicolour soft-coral walls and the famous baited bull-shark dive in Beqa Lagoon, run as boat day-trips from Pacific Harbour.

The shore-diving capital of the Caribbean — a fringing reef you can walk into from dozens of marked roadside sites, calm clear water year-round, and a marine park protected since 1979.

A drift-diving icon off Mexico's Caribbean coast — warm, clear water and the protected Cozumel Reefs National Park, where gentle currents carry you along vivid walls and coral gardens.

Laid-back Sinai town famous for shore diving - the Blue Hole, Canyon and easy walk-in reefs mean no boat needed for most dives. Backpacker-friendly prices.

Cold, nutrient-rich currents make the Galapagos a big-animal mecca — hammerheads, sea lions, marine iguanas and whale sharks (Jun-Nov) — dived as day trips from Santa Cruz or by liveaboard to Wolf & Darwin.

Malta's quieter sister island and the Mediterranean's shore-diving capital — the Blue Hole, Inland Sea and dramatic walls and caverns, mostly walk-in, in clear, warm summer water.

The world's largest reef system off Cairns — day boats and liveaboards reach outer-reef sites teeming with turtles, reef sharks and giant clams; in winter dwarf minke whales pass through.

The world's busiest certification island: dozens of schools, shallow protected bays and some of the cheapest Open Water courses anywhere. Whale sharks pass in season.

Volcanic diving off Spain's Canary Islands with mild Atlantic water year-round — black-sand slopes, angel sharks in winter, the Museo Atlantico underwater sculptures and easy shore access from Playa Blanca.

Calm, reef-fringed bay south of Hurghada - warm water year-round, gentle house reefs ideal for first dives and courses, and easy boat access to the Red Sea's coral gardens.

Atolls of impossibly clear water in the heart of the Indian Ocean — manta rays, whale sharks and reef sharks on channel and house-reef dives, almost all run from resort dive centres.

A backpacker favourite on Cebu's west coast famous for the year-round sardine run metres off Panagsama Beach, easy shore diving, turtles and Pescador Island — all at classic Philippine budget prices.

Year-round diving off Oahu in clear Pacific water — turtle-filled reefs, the wreck of the YO-257 off Waikiki and summer access to the famous North Shore, all an easy hop from Honolulu.

A Bay Islands favourite on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef — steep walls and easy reefs minutes from West End, famously affordable diving and one of the cheapest places in the world to go pro.

Bali's easy-going shore-diving village on the volcanic north-east coast — home to the famous USAT Liberty wreck just steps off the beach, plus rich muck and reef dives at budget prices.