AMANWANA, Indonesia

“Of all the places I’ve been, this is the one that I most want to go back to. Moyo Island is remote, so this feels like the very best sort of pampered pathfinding, and its reefs are beautifully intact — they haven’t been mashed like so many in Southeast Asia. I had one of the most breathtaking dives of my life here, with a local guy called Kaz. A good guide can transform a dive and Kaz doesn’t miss a trick. He showed me pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish and frog fish set against wonderful corals. What’s even more remarkable is that he couldn’t swim five years ago — the resort trained him.

“The island itself is mainly jungle, with a scattering of villages. Local planning laws forbade the building of solid structures, so the designer created tents. This is nothing like boy-scout camping: the tents are absolutely beautiful, perched on the edge of the beach, with monkeys bouncing off the canvas roofs. All you can do is trek through the tropical forest to the open-air lounge, look out to the ocean or have a massage on the beach.”

Getting there: Abercrombie & Kent (0845 070 0615, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk) has a week from £2,869pp, room-only, flying with Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to Bali (via Singapore), including transfers; regional connections from £100.

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AGGRESSOR 11, Turks and Caicos

“It sounds corny, but this really is a life-changing experience, so — even though it’s snorkelling rather than diving (you can’t dive with humpback whales, as they see bubbles as a threat) — it has to make my list. The humpbacks come to breed at a huge submerged horseshoe reef called Silver Banks: so from January to March it becomes a giant nursery, and you get into Zodiacs and go hunting for a sleeping mother.

She’ll be down at about 60ft and only needs to come up for air every 20 minutes or so, but her calf needs to come up every two or three minutes. You get out, all hold hands and wait. Absolutely nothing happens. Then a shape begins to materialise at 40ft, and 10 tons of baby suddenly surfaces just a few feet away, so close you can look into its eye. Your heart is going like a triphammer, it’s the most spine-tingling thing imaginable. I don’t think there’s another situation where a wild animal will allow you to get so close to its young.

“The boat is the most comfortable liveaboard I’ve ever been on. It’s beautifully kitted out, with glistening decks, a Jacuzzi and an outdoor bar — you just chill while the whales breach all around.”

Getting there: Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel.co.uk) has a week, full-board, with unlimited diving, and two nights, B&B, at Amanyara on Providenciales, from £3,430pp, flying with American Airlines from Heathrow (via Miami).

LIZARD ISLAND LODGE, Australia

“Much of the Great Barrier Reef has been bleached by global warming. Fortunately, the diving around Lizard is still fabulous, but take a 30-minute boat ride and it’s like you were at a corner shop and are now in a supermarket. There are endless fields of coral in unbelievably vibrant turquoises, greens and yellows, and because they’re only inches from the surface, you see them with natural sunlight. I must have seen fish, but all I can remember is the startling sight of these carpets of extraordinary corals.

“And I love the lodge because it’s not manicured, it’s very natural and ‘no worries’ unpretentious, and it lavishes you with the best kind of luxury — fantastic food, amazing views and efficient staff. You choose Aussie outback or beach-view rooms; you take a dinghy to one of the dozens of virginal beaches, with the most sumptuous picnic — masses of huge, delicious jumbo prawns; then you might snorkel for a bit and a green turtle might pop its head up right beside you.”

Getting there: Carrier (0161 491 7630, www.carrier.co.uk) has a week from £3,883pp, full-board, including BA flights from Heathrow to Sydney and internal flights to Lizard Island (via Cairns). Regional departure options on request.

FOUR SEASONS SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt

“The diving in Egypt would be as good as anywhere in the world if it weren’t for the crowds. So you have to know how to avoid them — which means the Four Seasons. It has a faster boat than the other dive operations and that gets you out to the sites before the pack. So just as you’re getting out of the water, you see the armada of other boats arriving. You’ll see masses of turtles, eels, lion and crocodile fish and corals.

“The hotel’s clever design means you’re never aware that it has so many rooms — more than 200. There’s a series of beautiful squares with trickling waterfalls and landscaped gardens that create an intimate atmosphere. Rooms are cool havens with great views. It’s such a painless holiday. To get this quality of diving after just a five-hour flight and a two-hour time difference is wonderful, and the weather is always great.”

Getting there: Seasons in Style (01244 202000, www.seasonsinstyle.co.uk) has a week from £810pp, B&B, flying with BA from Gatwick, including private transfers. Regional connections start at £70pp.

Dive in Style by Tim Simond will be published by Thames & Hudson at £24.95 on April 3. To buy it for the reduced price of £22.45, with free p&p in the UK, call The Sunday Times Books First on 0870 165 8585

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