Bahamas

Close-to-shore drop-offs and currents that wash the water gin-clear make these islands a diver's dream.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more perfect liveaboard diving destination than the Bahamas. First, consider the proximity. At the closest point, the Bahamas lie just 50 miles from the U.S. mainland and getting there by plane or boat is both easy and affordable. Then there’s the diversity. The Bahamas comprises more than 3,000 islands, cays and islets spread across more than 100,000 square miles of tropical ocean, and dive adventures range from the wrecks and deep walls off Bimini and the heart-pumping shark dives at New Providence and Grand Bahama to the inland and oceanic sinkholes known as “blue holes” on Andros and the lush reefs of the Cay Sal Bank or the Cat Islands. Throw in visibility that tops 150 feet and consistently calm conditions.

If you can’t find your bliss diving in the Bahamas, it probably doesn’t exist. If you want to see the best of the Bahamas, give yourself a treat and spend a week on a liveaboard dive boat. The superb diving, ultra-convenience, indulgent cuisine and great times with new friends will create lasting memories. Diving liveaboards visiting the southern Bahamas usually depart from George Town on Greater Exuma, and vessels visiting the out islands depart from Freeport, Grand Bahama and Nassau.

When to Go: The seas are the calmest and the water temperatures are the warmest from August through early October.

Dive Conditions: Unless there’s a storm, water conditions stay fairly calm year-round. Water temperatures top out in the high 80s during the summer and drop to the mid- to high-70s in winter. Visibility is astounding, extending as far as 150 feet.