Best dives for a beginner anywhere in the world?

[superrupe]

Good evening all,

I will have the opportunity to fly anywhere I want for two weeks in March/April. My wife and I thinking we should go somewhere we potentially will never have the option to go ever again. I was wondering if anyone could suggest the best dive sites around the world for beginners. We have dove Coz and some freshwater, but that's it. We would really like to start diving wrecks and are open to a liveaboard, AI or anything else. Thanks for your help and I apologize if this is in the wrong forum.

[Kryssa]

What is your budget? With 2 weeks, money becomes the limiting factor :P

[knowone]

http://www.youtube.com/cp/vjVQa1PpcFOUXMxYPidbE2cspC-j-PJfCiBMOrK4ZC8=%22%20type=%22application/x-shockwave-flash%22%20width=%22746%22%20height=%22413%22

Stuff diving.

Go waterskiing behind an icebreaker

or spend a year honing, and go here

YouTube - ‪TRUK LAGOON "NIPPO MARU" WRECK‬‏ (http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4f6 bCMnpE3o&ei=hs_lTZ6HFIGIvgOU9LT3Cg&usg=AFQjCNGQcl1myQy75Hfd7hxjGKYWZODopw)

and here's a collection of mad people

YouTube - ‪Scapa Flow Rebreather Diving‬‏ (http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEoP xBNwli64&ei=bNDlTa-VGIHEvgOUz-z-Cg&usg=AFQjCNFVJM8q-UfE65btP5yJ5vuikX70Sg)

how cool and relatively current is this

YouTube - ‪Mikhail Lermontov‬‏ (http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBsQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dftd mWOgUJww&ei=BNHlTY_zAobKvQOc-fmDCw&usg=AFQjCNHpKrooW6LyjHpz4-Y53JciSyqhYw)

think I may spend a month over there

YouTube - ‪The sinking of cruiseship Mikhail Lermontov‬‏ (http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCEQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoGS DxqAhW2A&ei=BNHlTY_zAobKvQOc-fmDCw&usg=AFQjCNGZaba1ankLm0dbz3EyccGShslyOg)

maybe two.

[TSandM]

Well, we had a wonderful trip to the British Virgin Islands on a crewed charter sailboat -- all the diving we did was quite suitable for beginners, except maybe the Rhone, but that was because we were there in heavy current. Two folks on our boat had done their OW checkout dives a couple of days earlier on the same site, though. The Cuan Law is a liveaboard in the BVI.

We also had an incredible time, diving wrecks and reefs, off a liveaboard in the Red Sea, the MV Tala. Almost all of the diving we did was multilevel enough to have great opportunities for beginners or less confident divers, although I understand we were fortunate in not running into a lot of current.

My first big dive trip was to Byron Bay, Australia, and it was wonderful. It still stands out, after all the trips I've done, in terms of the quantity and diversity of marine life that we saw. Australia's a really fun place to travel in, too!

[altaskier]

It depends on what you're in to. If what you want are lush coral reefs, then you need to think about the coral triangle in the Pacific. Truk is a real hotspot for wrecks though many are quite deep. Palau has a great mix that includes some wrecks; some dives have a bit of current though the dive guides tend to be quite good about picking sites matched to skills. They have several liveaboards (Ocean Hunter - great!, Aggressor, Dancer, Expedition Fleet). If you want easier diving and to go land-based, look at Wakatobi Dive Resort (pricey), Anilao in the Philippines (less fancy and cheaper but great diving), or any of a long list of great places.

[tenley]

I would dive somewhere amazing... but safe. I'd recommend Australia. They have really good safety standards AND beautiful diving. I have dived the Great Barrier Reef near Caines (lovely!) and have done a liveaboard in the Whitsunday Islands (southern part of GBR). Both were great. I got certified in Australia while I was studying abroad so I was a complete beginner and the diving was easy.

Southeast Asia has some spectacular dives, but some of it's more remote (good for a three week vaca) and also safety standards can be hit or miss. I have been to dive shops in Malaysia that only rinsed rental gear once per week. Or other places that forgot to fill tanks between dives or didn't do head counts (Indonesia). Also, there's always the (small) fear of pirates in SEA... I was told by a liveaboard that they bribe both the pirates AND Indonesia military to ensure nothing bad happens during a voyage. Yikes!

OZ is the way to go, IMHO.

[serious_fun]

superrupe - that is a really good question, but perhaps I'm reading it as "where is the most exotic dive for beginners" ??

I suggest Thailand, given the well established tourist infrastructure and classic dives....but the answer could be your local dive spot. Maybe that really is the BEST dive for a beginner.

have fun - safe diving -

[The Mask]

I think the Red Sea area and parts of Thailand will be a great place for beginners.