Lakshadweep

Only a few of the islands run dive operations at all, so where you get a bed largely decides what you dive. Boats are small local craft: out from inside the lagoon, across the reef flat once the tide has put enough water over it, then a few minutes to the outer slope. Two tanks before lunch is the usual shape of a day, with the afternoon left to the beach. Water sits at 27-30 degrees, so a shorty or a skin covers most people, and shallow entries off the sand handle check dives and training.

The atolls repeat one plan and then differ in the detail. Inside is flat sand and scattered coral heads in a couple of metres; the reef flat rises almost to the surface; outside, the slope steps away in terraces and gutters before it steepens. Sheltered-side sites are gentle enough to potter along at a snorkeller's pace, while the passes funnel moving water and give the closest thing here to a drift. Little of interest sits deep, and with dives running roughly 5 to 35 m, profiles stay well inside recreational limits.

The calendar is short and not negotiable. The islands reopen in October, which can still carry leftover swell; November through April is the settled, clear stretch, and by May the south-west wind is rebuilding towards the monsoon shutdown. The trip suits people who want diving that is easy, bright and low-stress, and who are content for that to be the whole holiday - snorkellers and non-diving partners do as well here as certified divers. These are conservative islands with quiet evenings, so anyone after depth, a long site list or nightlife will find it thin.