Cold Water
King crabs and walls with anemone colonies in Pechenga Bay
2–11°C · 36–52°Fvis 20 m · 66 ftintermediate
Country
Diving in Russia
7 dive destinations in Russia, up to 7,490 km apart. Water temperature across them runs -1 to 29 °C. All 7 are in season in Jun and Sep. 22 named dive sites have their own pages.
Lake Baikal — Listvyanka & Olkhon · photo Sergey Pesterev
- Destinations
- 7
- Dive sites
- 22
- Water
- -1 to 29°C
- Most in season
- Jun and Sep
RegionCold Water
Where are the dive destinations in Russia?
Lake Baikal · Sakhalin & Moneron Island
- 1Kola Peninsula & the Barents SeaJun–Aug
- 2White SeaFeb–Apr
- 3Sinyavino Lake & YantarnyMay–Sep
- 4Sochi & LazarevskoyeMar
- 5Lake BaikalFeb–Mar
- 6Sakhalin & Moneron IslandJul–Aug
- 7Vladivostok & Peter the Great BayAug–Sep
Numbers match the table below. Land outline: Natural Earth (public domain).
How do they compare?
| # | Destination | Best months | Water | Visibility | Depth | Level | Access | Sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kola Peninsula & the Barents Sea | Jun–Aug | 2–11°C | 5–20 m | 5–25 m | Intermediate | Day boat | 1 |
| 2 | White Sea — Chupa Bay & Nilmoguba | Feb–Apr | -1 to 14°C | — | 1–20 m | Intermediatesites from intermediate to advanced | Day boat | 10 |
| 3 | Sinyavino Lake & Yantarny | May–Sep | 2–19°C | — | 11–21 m | Beginnersites from beginner to intermediate | Shore | 3 |
| 4 | Sochi & Lazarevskoye | Mar | 7–29°C | 8–10 m | 3–19 m | Beginnersites from beginner to advanced | Shore, Day boat | 5 |
| 5 | Lake Baikal — Listvyanka & Olkhon | Feb–Mar | 1–16°C | 5–30 m | 3–30 m | Intermediate | Shore, Day boat | 1 |
| 6 | Sakhalin & Moneron Island | Jul–Aug | 2–22°C | — | 6–28 m | Intermediate | Shore, Day boat | — |
| 7 | Vladivostok & Peter the Great Bay | Aug–Sep | 0–20°C | 3–20 m | 2–30 m | Intermediatesites from beginner to intermediate | Day boat | 2 |
When is the best time to dive Russia?
The most destinations are rated good or prime at the same time in Jun and Sep: 7 of 7. Each row is one destination's own season rating.
| Destination | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kola Peninsula & the Barents Sea | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
| 2White Sea | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
| 3Sinyavino Lake & Yantarny | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
| 4Sochi & Lazarevskoye | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Good |
| 5Lake Baikal | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| 6Sakhalin & Moneron Island | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
| 7Vladivostok & Peter the Great Bay | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
| Good or prime | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Which destinations combine into one trip?
No destinations in Russia sit within 200 km of each other and share a month rated good or prime, so each one is best planned as a trip of its own.
All 7 destinations in Russia
Cold Water
Marine ice diving over anemone walls beneath tide-broken hummocks
-1–14°C · 30–57°Fintermediate
Cold Water
A giant amber-quarry excavator bucket at 21 m in a flooded pit lake
2–19°C · 36–66°Fbeginner
Cold Water
Sochi & Lazarevskoye
Russia
The tug Pervansh, a wreck at 19 m off Sochi
7–29°C · 45–84°Fvis 10 m · 33 ftbeginner
Year-round freshwater diving on Baikal, with ice dives under the Olkhon floes
1–16°C · 34–61°Fvis 30 m · 100 ftintermediate
Cold Water
Steller sea lions and giant octopus in Russia's first marine park
2–22°C · 36–72°Fintermediate
Cold Water
Wrecks, sheer island pinnacles and towering kelp in a Far East cold-water bay
0–20°C · 32–68°Fvis 20 m · 66 ftintermediate