Hawaii-based luxury liveaboard Kona Aggressor II, with space for 12 divers, has one particularly fascinating night dive on its 6-day cruise around the Big Island. Manta Ray Village, just south of Kailua-Kona, is home to several Alfreda's Manta Rays. By shining powerful 500-watt lights into the water, the crew of the boat attract a deluge of plankton, which in turn attracts the filter-feeding mantas.
Divers have the chance to swim with these enormous creatures, whose wingspans can reach dimensions of almost 5m across. As all the action takes place at depths of no more than 10m, time restrictions pose no problem. And when you finish diving, you can relax in a hot tub, or have a drink around the wetbar.
Kona Aggressor II cruises weekly out of Kailua-Kona. It costs $1695 per person
.Plans are afoot to make the Central American country of Panama into a top-flight diving destination. The diving there is in its infancy at the present time, with much virgin territory still to be explored. But the country has coastlines on both the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans and undoubtedly has much potential.
On the Caribbean side there are the Sanblas Islands, inhabited by the Kuna indian tribe. There are several boats which take divers out to the islands.
A 15-minute flight from Panama City on the Pacific side is Contadarn Island, which has a diving operation. Although the water might not be as clear as on the Caribbean coast of Panama, divers often report seeing hammerhead sharks.
This March, a new diving centre is to open on the east coast of Mauritius. The 337-room Le Coco Beach hotel will also offer extensive other water sports, tennis, fitness centre, horse riding and a pitch and putt golf course.
If you're planning diving in the Bahamas this year, you might think about doing a course in reef biology at the same time. Biological Diving is offering courses based at two locations in the Family Islands - Romora Bay and Stella Maris.
The aim behind the courses is to explain the biology behind the most common reef animals and how they interrelate. It is not a coral and fish identification course. At the basic level, theory is kept to a minimum. Tutors - professional divers with extensive biological backgrounds - focus on explaining what can actually be seen on the reef.
The courses are hotel-based and are normally run over six days. Each day includes up to 3 dives or snorkelling trips and a 1-hour tutorial. Courses are tailored to suit participants' interests and experience and groups will be made up of people with the same general experience and interests. Groups are usually made up of between 8 and 12 people.
British visitors to Belize no longer need to spend a night en route in Miami. A new same-day link between British Airways and TACA International Airlines means people visiting Belize from Britain will be able to reach the country in one day.
Peter Hughes Diving is offering special deals on liveaboard trips in the Turks and Caicos islands aboard the MV Sea Dancer. Prices start at $999.
Diving in the Arabian Gulf is featuring strongly in many travel companies' brochures. For the first time, a number of British tour operators are including Abu Dhabi in their brochures. Winter holiday breaks are available from Unijet, Seligo, Elite Vacations, Travelsphere and Kuoni. The country boasts desert tracts, mountains, miles of pristine beaches - and clear waters.