EVERYONE SEEMS TO AGREE THAT IN THE RED SEA the market is on the move. "Dive sites in the north of Egypt are no longer as enjoyable as they used to be and there is a trend towards going south," says David Jones of Scuba Discovery. "Having said that, we don't actually sell holidays to that part of the world at the moment." Now there's honesty for you.

There have been problems with the Egyptian authorities restricting trips to the southern part of the Red Sea. Tony Backhurst says the situation has improved: "Now the regulations have eased somewhat, more divers will be able to enjoy the spectacular diving at the remote legendary sites of the marine park islands."

The southern Egyptian Red Sea is also becoming more affordable through dayboat diving. "Marsa Alam offers good value for money," advises Maggie Telford of Regal Holidays. "There is good diving, comfortable hotels and easy access. The dive sites are pristine, with fewer divers and an increased chance of seeing large pelagics."

Over the years, what we get for our money in the Red Sea has also improved. "I paid about �650 for a small liveaboard in the Red Sea some seven years ago," says David Jones. "I've been going every year since and I'm still paying the same, but the boats have got bigger and better."

If the best parts of the Red Sea are still as good as anywhere in the world, why look any further? David Jones again has the answer: "People are looking for adventure, for something different that they can talk about in the pub, locations that their friends haven't been to, wrecks they haven't seen and sights they've only seen pictures of are, in my view, the growing trend.

"As trips to the Red Sea become more commonplace, more distant locations will come to the fore. The Far East, Americas and Caribbean will become the new Red Sea over the next few years. A thousand pounds for a holiday to the Far East is within reach of many more divers than it was a few years ago. The Australasian area, PNG, New Zealand, Micronesia and Hawaii will still be out of range for the majority for a while."

So once everyone has travelled south in the Red Sea, where next? Scubaway International's Lucy Harding considers Oman a good alternative. "It offers a wide range of pristine dive sites, with the added bonus of a country and culture that shows no sign of being adversely affected by too many western influences," she says. "Overland tours are also a big attraction, with trekking through the mountains, camel and jeep safaris, wadi-bashing and turtle- and whale-watching all possible."

One of the nice things about emerging destinations is the lack of other divers. "There are only three diving centres around the capital, Muscat, so it's very unusual to see another dive boat on the same site as yours," says Lucy.
Moving eastwards to the Indian Ocean, I have been hearing positive comments about the Maldives from a number of friends, that the marine life is looking good and recovering from El Nino, an impression confirmed by Robert Emerre of Hayes and Jarvis.

"Next year will see the re-emergence of the Maldives as a major dive destination," he says. "The damage to the reefs caused by the El Nino bleaching is on the mend.

The reefs, especially the hard corals, have been regenerating and the marine life is still fantastic. Reports back from clients, staff-members and in the press recently have been very positive." Robert advises that the best diving is from a well-run liveaboard with group sizes kept to 12 divers or less.

He isn't the only one enthusiastic about the Maldives. "The reefs are now covered with soft corals and the fish life is more than any diver has seen before. Any type of fishes, any size of fishes, any colour of fishes!" says Susanne Valverde of Euro-divers.

Further east, Maggie Telford recommends Manado at the northern tip of Sulawesi in Indonesia as a good bet for 2001. "It offers good-value-for-money accommodation and excellent diving from April to October. Macro-diving is one of the draws - there are over 3000 kinds of fish and hundreds of coral species to see."

Lucy Harding gives a more personal view: "After spending a few months living in Egypt and diving fantastic sites every day, I didn't think anywhere could beat the Red Sea, but the dive sites around Manado took my breath away for the beauty of the corals and the mass of marine life, big and small. Flights take 13 hours to Singapore, then a few more hours on to Manado, but the long journey really is worth it."

"Good value and lots of hammerheads and other big stuff between March and June," is how Kate Parks of Explorers sums up Layang Layang in Malaysia, another place on my personal wish-list.

In the other direction from Britain, towards the Caribbean, a number of locations come well recommended from the tour operators. Maggie Telford recommends Grenada as "great diving for all levels of experience, and the Bianca C, one of the best wrecks in the Caribbean. Ashore there are fascinating guided treks into the rainforest, to waterfalls and a volcanic lake."

I haven't been to Grenada but I have been to Bonaire and enjoyed the simplicity of unlimited shore diving. It is also a favourite of Mano Griffiths of The Barefoot Traveller, "mainly because of the extremely high marine-environment protection measures. The fish life is amazing. It felt as if I was swimming in an aquarium most times.

"Diving from shore was so easy and still offers a plethora of marine life. With more than 80 marked dive sites dotted around the island, you never have to dive the same place twice."

Lucy Harding recommends taking the principle of diving freedom further than just the diving: "A number of professional dive resorts have a base here, but renting a villa or apartment for a week and following your own itinerary gives you a real sense of freedom."

For non-divers and between dives "there is a great choice of restaurants and bars and the friendliness of the locals must be specially noted," says Mano. "The island itself offers an array of activities to suit non-diving companions too. It is below the hurricane belt and does not have a rainy season, so it's a perfect all-year-round destination."

The only problem seems to be getting there. Lucy cautions: "Flights can be a bit pricey, as the scheduled carrier KLM has cornered the market for direct routes into Bonaire and Cura�ao." But Mano advises that: "KLM has started a second service, making it much easier to get to."

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, both Lucy Harding and Mano Griffiths rate Tobago highly as a cheaper destination. "Tobago is a personal favourite of mine," says Lucy, "You can get there on a charter, which reduces the cost of flying to the Caribbean. Diving on the northern coast is great, with some hairy currents and the chance of seeing mantas. Resorts are small and basic, with no high-rise or mass tourism yet."

As for when to go, Mano cautions that "the Orinoco flow can reduce visibility quite dramatically between the months of July and September".

Unlike Bonaire, the island is mountainous, with tropical forests. "A hire car gives you the chance to explore the island's many other attractions, such as rainforests, waterfalls and bird sanctuaries," says Lucy.

"Divers have all done the Red Sea - it's the Caribbean now," says David Thomas of Sportif International, "and the bookings are coming in for the south, for Grenada and Carriacou and Tobago." David sees Dominica as an up-and-coming prospect, now that some attention is being paid to providing tourist infrastructure. Sportif is also running that rare thing, a liveaboard that explores the Grenadines and islands such as St Vincent, Bequia and Mustique - not cheap "but totally unexplored".

David also sees significant growth in "combi-holidays".

"It started with Red Sea windsurfers in Safaga and Hurghada taking up diving on light wind days, and now we're seeing a reverse crossover too." This trend is reflected in our reports on Grenada and Corsica.

For those who can afford to get to some of the more exclusive destinations, Jim Breakell of Scuba Safaris recommends Bikini atoll as the up-and-coming destination.

"Bikini offers the only diveable WW2 aircraft carrier, Japanese and American battleships, destroyers and submarines." He also remarks on the historic value of the location: "Nuclear bomb tests, the displaced Bikini people, and the Japanese battleship Nagato was Admiral Yamamoto's flagship for the raids on Pearl Harbour."

When I went to Bikini and a few other locations in the Marshall Islands it was the most expensive trip I had ever spent money on, but offered unique diving. As with most places, putting a group together is the way to go. "On group bookings there is a substantial discount, and the price then becomes quite attractive," says Jim.

Finally, we asked South-east Asia specialist Symbiosis Expedition Planning what was happening in its neck of the woods. "Indonesia is the place to go as it comes out of its political dark clouds," says Mike Ball. "Bali and Manado have always been relatively popular and their profile will rise, but divers will look further afield, to places like Biak, Alor, Flores and Nusa Tenggara."

What about worries about kidnappings in the South China Sea? "Most divers I've spoken to are delighted because they think lightning doesn't strike twice and there'll be more space for them! And of the people who are worried about Sipadan or the Philippines, many will head for Indonesia instead."

His personal choice of destinations is one which Mike admits is difficult to sell because it takes long hours to reach and longer hours of work for most of us to afford.

"If I was to point to the best place for diving on a map of our region it would have to be Papua New Guinea," he says. "I don't expect a huge upturn in bookings, but having said that we have had a few more requests." He puts this down to confidence in the economy - we're including it in our Holiday Special as our adventurous choice this year.

CORSICA

EGYPT

GRENADA

LANZAROTE

MALDIVES

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SCOTLAND

SEYCHELLES

THAILAND

WALES