WRECKS

HMS Endymion The remains of an eighteenth-century British warship, with 18 cannons and nine large anchors, can be reached from Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands, in the Caribbean. Also from this location are the remains of an American Civil War ship, a great dive for spotting large fish.

HMS Pandora An extremely well preserved wreck off Australia's east coast near the Great Barrier Reef. There's a museum on land at Townsville featuring several artefacts.

RMS Rhone A 310ft schooner which sank in 1867 off Salt Island, British Virgin Islands. A good wreck for novices and experienced divers, as some of the wreck is in shallow water, as well as providing opportunities for exploration of the interior. Abundant marine life.

SS Thistlegorm A World War II British supply ship, almost totally intact, and widely known to be one of the best wreck dives in the world. The ship was hit by a German bomber in the Gulf of Suez in 1941, causing mines and bombs in the ship's hold to explode and blast two railway carriages into the air, each landing upright on the seabed. Motorbikes, trucks and cars are among the wreckage. Reach it from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The Devil's Backbone Series of four wrecks, at Eleuthera, Bahamas, ranging from a passenger liner to an American Civil War-era train on a sunken barge.

SHARKS

French Polynesia is famous for being a reliable place to see many types of shark. See silvertip reef sharks, hammerheads, blacktip, whitetip and greytip reef sharks at Tiputa Pass Shark Cave, Rangiroa, Tahiti.

Schools of up to 60 hammerheads as well as regular sightings of tiger sharks draw divers to Dreamhouse, Vanua Levu, Fiji.

Nurse sharks reaching a length of up to 15 feet can often be seen at West Tobago Bay, British Virgin Islands.

The Offshore Marine Park in the Red Sea is a great place to see a large variety of sharks, including leopard sharks, whale sharks, whitetip reef sharks and hammerheads.

RAYS

Friendly stingrays are seen interacting with divers and snorkellers at Gibbs Cay, Turks and Caicos. The best place to see spotted eagle rays is Spurs, Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Approachable manta rays can be found at Motumani Point, French Polynesia.

TURTLES

Giant sea turtles are commonly found in mating pairs during the southern summer near Port Douglas, Australia.

An abundance of resident turtles can be found at the wreck of the freighter Hesperus in Bimin, Bahamas.

Sleeping turtles can be found in the evenings at Mercurio's Rock, Tobago Cays, British Virgin Islands.

DOLPHINS

Rare albino dolphins can be seen at Macqueripe Bay, Trinidad.

Dolphin Experience is a funded programme with dolphins trained to interact with humans but allowed to escape captivity, based at Sanctuary Bay, Bahamas.

Spinner dolphins frequent the reef at Wadi Gamal, Red Sea, Egypt.

Dolphins can be seen playing in The Gully, West Caicos, Turks and Caicos.

Bottlenose dolphins are common at Hauraki Reef, New Zealand.

WHALES

Pilot whales are seen throughout the year at Chub Clay Wall, Berry Islands, Bahamas.

Orca (killer whale) sightings are common at Kaikoura Canyon, New Zealand. Sperm whales live here all year round.

Sperm whales and whale sharks are seen at Mantis Reef, Australia, all year round.

Minke whales take over the reef in mid-winter at Norman Reef, Cairns, Australia.

RARE FISH

Seahorses can be found on the wreck of the Canefield tug boat, in Dominica. Flame angelfish inhabit the Zoo, on Bougainville Reef, Port Douglas, Australia. Sailfin blenny are always seen at Doughnut Reef, Vieques, Puerto Rico. Toadfish: listen for continuous croaking at Black Jack Hole, Tobago.

UNUSUAL TOPOGRAPHY

Three caves near Norman Island, British Virgin Islands, have impressive marine life, and one is the site of the discovery of pirate treasure in 1907.

Jacques Cousteau's favourite British Virgin Islands diving sites for arches and deep canyons can be found at Bronco Billy's Dog Islands.

Heron Island, on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, boasts 'bommies' (pinnacles), a spectacular sight and home to nesting turtles. OTM

FOR NOVICE DIVERS

Angostura Wreck at Battima Quasa, Trinidad, is good for beginners and also a haven for juvenile fish. Named after a cargo of Angostura bitters, the traditional liqueur and stomach cure, made only in Trinidad. The recipe is only known by seven people - all descendants of the inventor, Dr Siegert, a German surgeon who travelled to South America to join Simon Bolivar's Venezuelan liberation army.

The Nursery, Great Thatch Island, Tobago Cays, Bahamas, is a good night dive for novices with coral polyps, squid, octopus, lobsters, crab and shrimp.

Rikoriko Cave, Poor Knights Islands, off Whangarei, New Zealand, offers an interesting night dive in a massive cave, large enough for six boats to moor in. Recommended by Jacques Cousteau as one of the world's top 10 diving sites.

DIVING WITH KIDS

Padi offers several programs for children from the age of five.

SASY (supplied air snorkelling for youth) is for children aged five and upwards. It involves a flotation device and mini-cylinder to provide the scuba experience in the pool.

The Bubble Maker is pool diving for children from eight to 11. This includes a theory session followed by diving in a pool.

Padi Seal incorporates diving with flashlights, underwater photography and the basics of safe diving. These are known as 'aquamissions' and focus on underwater activities.

Junior Open Water Diver is for children from the age of 10 interested in learning to dive, leading to junior certification. Kids aged 10-12 must dive with a parent, and the maximum depths as specified by Padi are 12 metres for 10-11 year olds and 18 metres for 12-15 year olds. At age 15, the certification can be upgraded to that of adult Open Water Diver by applying for a new certification card.

Regaldive offers Padi Junior diving courses at Red Sea Scuba Schools in Sharm, Nuweiba, Soma Bay and Marsa Alam. If you are planning to use these facilities, make sure you book in advance.

NIGHT DIVES

An extremely memorable night dive is over Angel Reef, Tobago, where you can see sleeping parrotfish and red night shrimp.

See sleeping parrotfish, prickly sea urchins, basket stars and Spanish dancers at Sataya, Red Sea, Egypt.

DIVES FOR THE THRILL SEEKER

Blue Hole, The Bells, Dahab, Egypt, is a technically demanding dive in an abyss with a vertical drop-off. Be warned that divers have lost their lives here.

Warrior Reef, Torres Strait, Australia, offers whale sharks, large tiger sharks, saltwater crocodiles and seasnakes.

St Giles Islands, off Tobago, have great adventure diving.

Tour operators

African Safari Club
020 8466 0014 www.africansafariclub.com
Padi courses are offered in Kenya from October to mid-April. It also offers diving holidays in the Indian Ocean aboard a luxury cruiser.

Asiaworld
0870 079 9788, www.asiaworld.co.uk
Specialises in the Far East and South East Asia, with diving available from Macau, Japan and Bali to Borneo, Brunei and the Philippines, as well as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Discover Egypt
020 7407 2111 www.discoveregypt.co.uk
Affiliated with the Red Sea Diving College - great for budget accommodation - and has a Padi-certified diving college attached.

EHS Travel
0870 744 0007 www.ehstravel.co.uk
Specialises in villa accommodation and can arrange diving lessons for beginners as well as trips for more experienced divers, in various locations, mostly throughout the Med.

Hayes & Jarvis
0870 903 7737 www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk
A worldwide operation, it offers liveaboards and hotel diving holidays for novices to the most experienced divers. Catering to needs of non-divers as well, Hayes & Jarvis has chosen destinations in more than 40 countries.

Journey Latin America
020 8747 8315 www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk
For experienced divers with over 50 logged dives and their own equipment, a liveaboard diving week in the Galapagos Islands. Hammerhead sharks, sea lions and eagle rays.

Kuoni
0870 0745 8664 www.kuoni.co.uk/dive
For all levels of diving experience. Kuoni specialises in long-haul destinations, including the Maldives, Thailand, the Caymans and Borneo.

Regaldive
0870 220 1777 www.regaldive.co.uk
Just about everything you could ask for in a dive tour operator. More than 19 dive resorts and nine 'liveaboard' boats, from the Red Sea to the Caribbean.

Certification
There are a number of diving organisations that offer certification. If you have certification, it is important to find out in advance if your qualification is recognised where you are planning to dive. This will avoid frustration and disappointment at your destination. Below is a list and description of the key diving qualifications available.

Padi (Professional Association of Diving Instructors, www.padi.com) offers the open water diver course. This is the most widely recognised diving certification in the world. It enables the certificate holder to dive with a buddy, independent of a professional.

BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club, www.bsac.com) is a well established company with branches all over the UK. It offers certified diving tuition.

SSI (Scuba Schools International, www.ssiusa.com) offers a comprehensive training system all the way from beginners to advanced teaching level. There is no head office in the UK, but it features in the US and Switzerland.

APDI (Alliance of Professional Dive Instructors, www.dive-professionals.com) is an internet-based information service for would-be divers and instructors.