I've enjoyed diving with Temple Adventures and their very friendly and personable staff on multiple occasions and can recommend their operation to both entry level or student divers and those with more advanced skills. The area where they dive is still being explored and it is possible to dive on reefs that literally no one has seen before and certainly you will be one of very few to see this place so come before the rush! My favorite is Aravind's Wall, in about 30 meters of water and dropping to a sandy bottom at about 40 meters in an area with sometimes very strong currents and variable visibility due to a heavy plankton load (rich water) at times. This is for experienced divers and it is possible to dive on many sections of the wall which is about two kilometers long and is home to a large variety of invertebrates and some times very dense fish aggregations. The wall has many crevasses and cuts and some small cavern areas and just about always offers some surprises and excitement. Shallower dives area also possible and can be equally memorable due to the presence of large and friendly grouper populations and equally unexpected encounters with rare marine life like the time we saw over a dozen frogfish on one small dive site! The diving is always in small groups and the staff consist of persons as addicted to the experience of diving as anywhere so it is always fun. They have the latest new Scubapro gear and are quite safety conscious but not overbearing in their attention to this important detail. Topside is a walkable medium sized former French colonial Indian City which is fairly prosperous and safe and has a large expatriot population and also many Indians from other regions due to the presence of the world famous Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville. Pondicherry has a pleasant Mediterranean climate due to its location on the Indian Ocean and a large variety of guesthouses, heritage and star hotels and if you seek a party atmosphere there are some sophisticated clubs that the staff will be happy to show you. Friendly English and French language capable people abound, there is a convenient shopping and native market district and plenty of both Indian and continental restaurants. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah. I'll be back!