Make your next dive trip one to remember for you and your special someone with the romance of quiet beaches, far-off isles and unforgettable reefs.

1. Cozumel, Mexico

Not every all-inclusive is bustling with pool aerobics and happy-hour trivia. The Occidental Cozumel sits on the south end of the Mexican island, just 30 minutes from the Cozumel International Airport, and yet, it’s seemingly worlds away. The 243 rooms are nestled between mangroves, a white-sand beach and not much else. Quiet as it is, it’s not without action. The resort offers guests an on-site PADI Five Star Dive Center with boat excursions, guided shore dives and instruction. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the Occidental is the Royal Level — a resort within a resort. Guests of the 38 royal level rooms are treated to private areas of the hotel, including La Carreta, a private restaurant. Divers will appreciate that these rooms are the closest to the scuba center and pier. occidentalhotels.com

2. Maldives

With 1,192 coral islands, most inhabited only by birds and crabs, the Maldives makes it easy to play castaway. Get the most of this nation of sandbars and coral reefs by booking passage on the 129-foot Four Seasons Explorer, the high-end liveaboard motoring between two Four Seasons resorts, Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru. The itineraries bring guests to the Malé and Baa atolls, where the only company you’ll keep is with mantas and whale sharks.
fourseasons.com

3. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Technically, all beaches in the U.S. Virgin Islands are public, but the crescent of white sand in front of the Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort and Spa feels ultraprivate. Stand on it facing the Caribbean Sea, and to your left, only the green, undeveloped hills and rock outcroppings of Hams Bluff are visible. To the right, just shy of a mile of coastline separates the resort from the next sign of humanity. But on that beach, the sound of waves finding the shore adds a serene vibe for guests lounging in hammocks between palm trees or enjoying massages at the open-air pavilion. Couples who don’t want to venture far during their stay will be happy to know that Sweet Bottom Dive Center operates on-site, offering gear rentals for shore diving and guided snorkel tours. marriott.com

4. Fiji

There’s no better way for a diving couple to reintroduce thrills than with shark diving. Think about it: Your heart is racing and adrenaline floods your system, and yet, you’re amid sublimely beautiful coral gardens. Better still, a trip to Fiji for a shark-diving experience adds the romance of thatched-roof bures amid tropical greenery, opening to whitesand beaches of the South Pacific. Beqa Lagoon, an intimate, 25-bure resort on a satellite island south of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, is precisely this. Its shark dive, at a site called Cathedral, is famous for regular appearances by tiger, bull, lemon and reef sharks, some spanning 12 feet. Guests sit behind a low stone wall for protection, but the sharks still come within a couple of feet of divers’ masks, guaranteed to send your hearts aflutter. And tropical beauty awaits topside when you’re done.
beqalagoonresort.com

5. Indonesia

The resort at sea that is the 141-foot M/V Arenui has a staff of 22 catering to no more than 16 guests. One of only a handful of dive liveaboard vessels with a spa on board, it offers massages at any hour. For relaxation, the Arenui also offers a sun deck full of oversize chaise longues for watching sunsets or enjoying the view while the ship sails. But nobody travels across the globe just to watch sunsets. This vessel carries guests to the best of Indonesia, including Raja Ampat and Komodo, as well as lesser-known spots, such as the Forgotten Islands. What all itineraries have in common is sheer abundance — of both species numbers and diversity. For couples, this means you’re guaranteed to share a first-time experience.
thearenui.com

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6. New Providence Island, Bahamas

Just at the edge of Nassau’s high- rises sits the Graycliff Hotel, an oasis of charm and service dating to the 1720s. Two blocks south of the waterfront, the 4.5-acre, 18-room property includes tropical gardens, as well as an on site chocolatier and cigar company. The restaurant, with a list of 275,000 wines by the bottle, is reputed to serve such a wealth of international fare flown in daily and caught just offshore that Jay Z and Beyonce have jetted in for dinner. From Graycliff, it’s a 30-minute drive to Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, where couples can choose their own adventure, be it a leisurely reef dive or a more thrilling shark encounter. graycliff.com | stuartcove.com

7. St. Lucia

Perched atop 600 hillside acres of St. Lucia, Jade Mountain Resort delivers one of the most breathtaking experiences in the Caribbean. The rooms, called sanctuaries, have been designed without a fourth wall: Instead, the 24 living spaces — with private infinity pools — open to views of the Pitons and the sea. Of course the resort has room service, and even that is an elevated event. Six-course culinary experiences are served, with each dish paired with a separate wine. Plus, the executive chef will also join you in your room for a cooking demonstration, if that’s what your heart desires. What you will need to leave your room for is bird-watching, guided hiking and, yes, scuba diving. Located on the same beach as the hotel, Scuba St. Lucia takes certified guests to wrecks, drift dives and reefs within the Soufriere Marine Management Area. Here the green sea turtles, southern stingrays and schools of creole wrasse are all protected and in abundance.
jademountain.com | scubastlucia.com

8. Chalkidiki, Greece

The long, white-sand beaches and acres of flat waters are the main draw of Greece’s three-fingered Kassandra Peninsula. For divers, it doesn’t hurt that this stretch of the Aegean Sea is riddled with underwater caves, and reefs thick with conger eels, seahorses and the common octopus. Experience the best of both by basing yourself at Sani Resort, sprawling across 1,000 acres of unspoiled beaches backed by pine forests and olive groves. This compound is composed of five luxury resorts; for romance, the Sani Club is a smart pick for its collection of bungalows, each of which opens to a private garden or pool.
sani-resort.com

9. Wakatobi, Indonesia

Having a tropical island all to yourself is even better when it comes with staff so dedicated that they notice if you’ve missed breakfast, showing up at your doorstep with coffee and waffles. Such is Wakatobi, a private-island resort a quick flight from Bali. Most of the island remains undeveloped, save for the beach where 24 bungalows and four villas overlook the Banda Sea. The promise: Guests here see no other divers for at least 100 miles. Couples truly in search of alone time can hire their own dive boat for the day, calling which sites to visit and how long to stay. And because coral reefs start in depths shallower than 10 feet, there’s no need to burn gas in the deep — whether it’s just the two of you on a reef of your choosing, or the house reef, open to everyone at all hours. Which is perfect, really, as some couples may want to celebrate by clinking glasses of champagne, while others may prefer tiny bubbles 30 feet deep.
wakatobi.com