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Diving Kiting Surfing

Best diving in December

In December, conditions peak in Hurghada, Port Stephens, Coron. We rated 10 dive regions in season this month on 5 years of wind, rain and temperature data — ranked below with their best dive sites, plus where to skip.

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Where to dive in December

  1. 1

    Hurghada

    🇪🇬 Egypt
    Good season ☀ 24°C ☂ 0.1 mm/day ≋ 13.8 kn

    Best months: Jul, Nov · 88 dive sites

    Diving in Egypt guide →
  2. 2

    Port Stephens

    🇦🇺 Australia
    Peak season ☀ 26°C ☂ 1.9 mm/day ≋ 11.1 kn

    Best months: Dec · 8 dive sites

    Diving in Australia guide →
  3. 3

    Sharm el-Sheikh & Ras Mohammed

    🇪🇬 Egypt
    Good season ☀ 24°C ☂ 0.1 mm/day ≋ 11.6 kn

    Best months: Oct · 39 dive sites

    Diving in Egypt guide →
  4. 4

    Coron

    🇵🇭 Philippines
    Good season ☀ 30°C ☂ 2.9 mm/day ≋ 9 kn

    Best months: Apr · 17 dive sites

    Diving in Philippines guide →
  5. 5

    Apo Reef

    🇵🇭 Philippines
    Good season ☀ 29°C ☂ 1.5 mm/day ≋ 13.2 kn

    Best months: Apr, May · 21 dive sites

    Diving in Philippines guide →
  6. 6

    Raja Ampat

    🇮🇩 Indonesia
    Good season ☀ 30°C ☂ 8.2 mm/day ≋ 8.3 kn

    Best months: Oct, Nov · 84 dive sites

    Diving in Indonesia guide →
  7. 7

    Zanzibar

    🇹🇿 Tanzania
    Peak season ☀ 29°C ☂ 4.3 mm/day ≋ 9.6 kn

    Best months: Dec · 6 dive sites

    Diving in Tanzania guide →
  8. 8

    Cozumel

    🇲🇽 Mexico
    Good season ☀ 27°C ☂ 3.3 mm/day ≋ 10.4 kn

    Best months: Sep · 26 dive sites

    Diving in Mexico guide →
  9. 9

    Guadeloupe

    🇫🇷 France
    Good season ☀ 28°C ☂ 2.7 mm/day ≋ 11.2 kn

    Best months: Sep · 9 dive sites

    Diving in France guide →
  10. 10

    Sydney

    🇦🇺 Australia
    Good season ☀ 26°C ☂ 2.5 mm/day ≋ 11.1 kn

    Best months: Apr · 7 dive sites

    Diving in Australia guide →

Skip in December

  • Bunaken & Lembeh (Indonesia) — rainy season
  • Malta & Gozo (Malta) — cold season
  • San Andrés (Colombia) — strong winds
  • Lombok & the Gili Islands (Indonesia) — rainy season
  • Portofino & Liguria (Italy) — cold season

Top dive sites in season

Dolphin House Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

Dolphin House

Dolphin House is a year-round dive site in Egypt known for frequent dolphin encounters and vibrant reef life.

Intermediate 25m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Sha'ab El Erg Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

Sha'ab El Erg

Sha'ab El Erg is a year-round Red Sea dive site in Egypt with healthy coral and strong species diversity.

Beginner 25m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Makadi Garden Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

Makadi Garden

Makadi Garden offers year-round diving with healthy coral and abundant marine life in Egypt's Red Sea.

Beginner 30m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Looking Glass Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

Looking Glass

Looking Glass is a year-round dive site in Port Stephens, NSW, within a marine protected area with healthy coral and 12 documented species.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
Swansea Bridge Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

Swansea Bridge

Swansea Bridge is a year-round dive site near Sydney offering consistent access to local marine life without seasonal restrictions.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
North Rock Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

North Rock

North Rock is a year-round dive site in Port Stephens, NSW, protected within a marine park and home to diverse marine species.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
Ras Mohammed — Shark & Yolanda Reef Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

Ras Mohammed — Shark & Yolanda Reef

Egypt's most famous dive — twin reefs at the tip of Sinai with strong currents, schooling barracuda, and the cargo of the Yolanda wreck.

Advanced 12–40m 30m Mar·Apr·May+
SS Thistlegorm Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

SS Thistlegorm

WWII British cargo ship sunk by German bombers in 1941, holds full of motorcycles, trucks, rifles. World's best wreck dive.

Advanced 15–32m 20m Mar·Apr·May+
Ras Bob Reef Egypt Diving
🇪🇬 Egypt

Ras Bob Reef

Ras Bob Reef offers year-round diving in Egypt's Red Sea with healthy coral and diverse marine life. A accessible reef destination for divers of all levels.

Intermediate 25m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Coron — IRAKO Wreck Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Coron — IRAKO Wreck

Advanced wreck dive on the IRAKO in Coron, Philippines. A deep Japanese cargo ship from WWII in 28–42m of water.

Advanced 28–42m
Nanshin Maru wreck (Black island beach) Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Nanshin Maru wreck (Black island beach)

Explore the Nanshin Maru wreck off Black Island Beach in the Philippines, a compelling dive destination with year-round accessibility and documented marine life.

Intermediate Jan·Feb·Mar+
Barracuda Lake Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Barracuda Lake

Barracuda Lake in the Philippines is a year-round dive destination known for its unique freshwater-saltwater mix and abundant barracuda schools.

Intermediate Jan·Feb·Mar+
Anilao — Secret Bay Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Anilao — Secret Bay

Anilao's Secret Bay is an intermediate dive site in the Philippines with depths of 8–25m and year-round access. Sheltered waters and diverse marine life make it a reliable choice for divers exploring Batangas.

Intermediate 8–25m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Apo Reef — Shark Ridge Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Apo Reef — Shark Ridge

Shark Ridge at Apo Reef is an advanced deep-wall dive in the Philippines' premier marine park, known for pelagic encounters and pristine coral.

Advanced 12–35m
Barracuda Point Philippines Diving
🇵🇭 Philippines

Barracuda Point

Barracuda Point is a year-round dive site within Apo Reef Natural Park, Philippines, known for encounters with schooling barracuda and healthy coral.

Intermediate Jan·Feb·Mar+
Raja Ampat — Manta Sandy Indonesia Diving
🇮🇩 Indonesia

Raja Ampat — Manta Sandy

Two cleaning stations in Dampier Strait where reef mantas queue up to be cleaned by wrasses. Coral Triangle classic.

Intermediate 8–22m 20m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Raja Ampat — Blue Magic Indonesia Diving
🇮🇩 Indonesia

Raja Ampat — Blue Magic

Advanced drift dive through Raja Ampat's strongest currents, delivering high-speed encounters with pelagics and schooling reef fish year-round.

Advanced 12–40m
Raja Ampat — Cape Kri Indonesia Diving
🇮🇩 Indonesia

Raja Ampat — Cape Kri

Cape Kri in Raja Ampat delivers steep walls and strong currents packed with sharks, rays, and schooling fish. Advanced divers only.

Advanced 8–40m
Zanzibar — Leven Bank Tanzania Diving
🇹🇿 Tanzania

Zanzibar — Leven Bank

Leven Bank near Zanzibar is an advanced deep-water dive site with dramatic walls and strong currents, best suited for experienced divers.

Advanced 18–40m
Zanzibar — Mnemba Atoll Tanzania Diving
🇹🇿 Tanzania

Zanzibar — Mnemba Atoll

Mnemba Atoll near Zanzibar offers beginner-friendly diving in shallow, sheltered waters perfect for new divers and snorkelers year-round.

Beginner 5–25m
Little Wall Tanzania Diving
🇹🇿 Tanzania

Little Wall

Little Wall is a Tanzania dive site with year-round access and active species observations. Coral bleaching status requires monitoring.

Beginner
Playa del Carmen — Bull Shark Season Mexico Diving
🇲🇽 Mexico

Playa del Carmen — Bull Shark Season

Pregnant female bull sharks gather off Playa from November to March. 25m sand bottom dive, 8-15 sharks at close range.

Advanced 22–28m 18m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Cozumel — Palancar Caves Mexico Diving
🇲🇽 Mexico

Cozumel — Palancar Caves

Palancar Caves near Cozumel offers intermediate divers a chance to explore dramatic underwater formations and tunnels in Mexico's Caribbean.

Intermediate 15–35m
Palancar Reef Mexico Diving
🇲🇽 Mexico

Palancar Reef

Palancar Reef is a world-class dive site off Cozumel, Mexico, featuring healthy coral formations and abundant marine life year-round.

Intermediate 20m Jan·Feb·Mar+
Le Jardin de Corail France Diving
🇫🇷 France

Le Jardin de Corail

Le Jardin de Corail is a protected coral garden in Guadeloupe's national park, offering year-round diving with healthy reefs and diverse marine life.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
Pointe Carangue France Diving
🇫🇷 France

Pointe Carangue

Pointe Carangue is a year-round dive site within Guadeloupe's protected Réserve Cousteau, featuring healthy coral and abundant marine life.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
Bouée Anticyclonique France Diving
🇫🇷 France

Bouée Anticyclonique

Bouée Anticyclonique is a protected dive site in Guadeloupe's national park, known for year-round access and healthy coral ecosystems.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
SS Duckenfield Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

SS Duckenfield

SS Duckenfield is a shipwreck dive site in Australia's Muogamarra Nature Reserve, protected and accessible year-round with thriving marine life.

Intermediate Jan·Feb·Mar+
Gordons Bay Underwater Trip Start Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

Gordons Bay Underwater Trip Start

Gordons Bay Underwater Trip Start is a year-round dive site near Sydney offering easy access to the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve's marine life.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+
Clifton Gardens Australia Diving
🇦🇺 Australia

Clifton Gardens

Clifton Gardens is a year-round dive destination in New South Wales, Australia, with diverse marine life and accessible conditions.

Beginner Jan·Feb·Mar+

Dive guides by destination

Common questions

Where is the best diving in December?
The strongest picks for December: Hurghada (Egypt, ~24°C), Port Stephens (Australia, ~26°C), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt, ~24°C), Coron (Philippines, ~30°C), Apo Reef (Philippines, ~29°C). Ranked on 5 years of climate data (wind, rain, air temperature) per dive region.
Where should you avoid diving in December?
Out of season in December: Bunaken (rainy season), Malta (cold season), San Andrés (strong winds), Lombok & Gili (rainy season), Portofino & Liguria (cold season).
How warm is it for diving in December?
Across the recommended regions, air temperatures run about 24–30°C in December.
How are these destinations rated?
Each region is scored against its own year and against fixed diver thresholds for rain, wind and warmth — data, not a travel brochure.
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