As temperatures drop in many places, November is the perfect excuse to plan a dive getaway. This month brings excellent visibility, active marine life and fewer travelers at many top dive spots. Ready to plan your escape? Here are five of the best destinations for scuba diving in November.
Looking for other months? See our full 2026 Scuba Travel Calendar.
Washington State: Cold-Water Giants of the Puget Sound
Dive Highlights: Cold Water, Photo Opps, Big Animals
Brandon ColeA giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) swims over the sandy bottom, with tentacles streaming behind.
November might seem an odd time to zip into a drysuit and stride into Pacific Northwest waters, but for divers chasing the ocean's smartest invertebrate, this is pilgrimage season. Giant Pacific octopuses become easier to spot as kelp thins and they roam more visibly across rocky reefs and silt-covered slopes.
GPOs here stretch 15 feet across and display real intelligence, changing color, texture and shape as they size you up. Wolf eels add to the draw, with bonded pairs occupying rocky dens year-round, their crinkled, craggy faces belying a gentle nature. Plumose anemones glow orange and white in the green, and lingcod as long as a diver are regularly spotted near wrecks and walls.
Visibility improves as summer plankton blooms fade and the cold keeps crowds away, leaving even iconic sites like Edmonds Underwater Park free of traffic. —Candice Landau
Operators: Underwater Sports; Seattle Dive Tours
Related Reading: Adventure Diving in Washington's San Juan Islands
Red Sea: Shark Safari in Egypt
Dive Highlights: Advanced Diving, Big Animals, Boat Dives and Liveaboard Options
Brandon ColeAn oceanic whitetip shark cruises with pilotfish near a stormy surface in the Red Sea.
Elphinstone Reef is one of those rare dive sites that consistently delivers. This offshore ship-shaped reef, about 18 miles from Marsa Alam, Egypt, in the Red Sea, drops off to over 300 feet. But it’s the shallower plateaus that offer the most action.
From late September to December, oceanic whitetip sharks congregate in the pushing currents. Travel in November, and you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of the action. For divers who dream of the big stuff, this destination stands out for its variety of marine megafauna.
Other sharks, including scalloped hammerhead, whitetip reef, gray and even threshers are often sighted in these warm waters. So, keep one eye on the reef and the other on the open blue—you might just catch a bucket-list species (or several!) among the abundant soft corals and copious endemic fish. —Ariella Simke
Operators: Red Sea Diving Safari
Related Reading: Five Best Places to go Scuba Diving in Egypt
St. Lucia: Dives with a Mountain View
Dive Highlights: Macro Life, Boat Dives, Photo Opps
Brandon ColeIn St. Lucia, the surface is as picturesque as the reefs. The island's iconic twin peaks, the Pitons, thrust up at the ocean’s edge, and many of the best scuba diving sites are located in the shadow of the Pitons.
Few destinations match the drama of surfacing with St. Lucia’s Piton peaks towering overhead. The Soufrière Marine Management Area protects the reefs along the island’s southwestern coast. Expect to see thriving brain corals, sea fans and barrel sponges, blanketing the slopes. Make sure you’re not just looking for turtles drifting by, but also the smaller critters like seahorses and frogfish.
Superman's Flight is the signature dive: Drop in, spread your arms and enjoy the drift. Other nearby sites include seagrass beds and shallow rocky swim-through reefs, as well as a couple of larger wrecks covered with fish. Visit in November to miss hurricane season and the winter rush. —Candice Landau
Operators: Anse Chastanet/Scuba St. Lucia; Sandals Resorts
Related Reading: Exploring All-Inclusive Life on St. Lucia
Raja Ampat, Indonesia: A Feast for the Eyes
Dive Highlights: Macro Life, Boat Diving, Liveaboard Options, Shore Diving
Brandon ColeSoft corals decorate a lush, current-swept coral reef in Indonesia.
Some divers might wonder if a place like Raja Ampat could possibly live up to the hype, so steeped in lore is this coral-rich corner of Indonesia’s West Papua province. But your first time drifting across pastures of massive sea fans, gorgonians, anemones and bright-pink Dendronephthya that seem to stretch to forever at famed dives sites like Four Kings and Nudi Rock dispels any doubt that the long journey to arrive has been worth it.
Here at the heart of the Coral Triangle, off islands like Wayag, Misool and Batanta, the water column feels nearly clogged with schooling fusiliers, chromis, red tooth triggerfish and clouds of silvery baitfish criss-crossing as if on an underwater interstate. Even a snorkeling session from a village beach in the Dampier Strait might bring you face to face with enormous black manta rays filter-feeding in the nutrient-rich currents. —Terry Ward
Operators: Papua Diving Resorts; Papua Explorers Dive Resort
Related Reading: Ultimate Diving Guide to Raja Ampat’s Magical Misool Resort
Magdalena Bay: Mexico’s Sardine Run
Dive Highlights: Boat Dives and Liveaboard Options, Photo Opps, Big Animals, Aggregation
Leonardo Gonzalez/ShutterstockStriped marlin and sea lions hunt on a bait ball in Magdalena Bay
Each year from late October to early December, Magdalena Bay hosts one of the ocean’s most dramatic events: Mexico’s sardine run and the peak of the striped marlin migration. This region is one of three key areas of the Baja Peninsula where sardines spawn, lay eggs, hatch and mature, drawing in an extraordinary concentration of marine life.
The water comes alive as massive, shimmering shoals of sardines move in synchrony, desperately attempting to evade the predators that attack from all sides. Humpback and Bryde’s whales, mako and blue sharks, sea lions, dolphins, and tuna dart through the tightly packed bait balls for a sardine snack, while thousands of seabirds dive from above to get their fill. But what sets Mag Bay apart from other feeding frenzies is the thousands of striped marlin that migrate through the area this time of year.
It’s difficult to pinpoint timing and location of the feeding events, so book a week or so on the water for your best chance to get close to the action. Note that excursions are snorkel-based. If you visit in late November, you may also encounter large fevers of mobula rays migrating along the Baja Peninsula. —Melissa Smith
Operators: Nautilus Adventures
Related Reading: Trending Dive Spots: Magdalena Bay, Mexico
Where to Dive Next Month
Washington, the Red Sea, St. Lucia, Raja Ampat and Mexico are five of the best scuba diving destinations in November.
If you’re aiming to travel during a different month, click below to see more recommendations from Scuba Diving editors.
