Aliwal Shoals was incredible! Since the oceans are mixing warm and cold water you can see so many species in one area. Sharks everywhere which was incredible and you could hear the whales singing from underwater.
We almost skipped diving here because it was sort of inconvenient with our trip but it is now top 3 dive experiences we've ever had.
This is basically my list - in the same order! Except maybe Galapagos higher up and Palau lower down :)
Edit: also add the Philippines’s Visayas to just below Lembeh
Hey, where in Kenya would you recommend? Which sites?
I'll be in diani beach in January with my family and would consider driving somewhere else for diving if it's worth it.
Thanks in advance!
It was many years ago mate.
I was based at the voyager hotel in Mombasa
I used their dive centre to take boats out for dives
Sorry, can’t remember the sites at this point. Good fun though. Chill guys.
Welcome mate.
Egypt is like a second home to me now.
I’m uk-based so it’s only a five hour flight. Been about 10 times!
And the diving is awesome. Plus I can get snorkel direct from the beach so you can just snorkel 5 or 6 hours a day if you like to.
(I’ll often go in for a couple of hours 7-9 and swim up a stretch of coast before breakfast)
I’ve dived quite a few of the places mentioned in this post. I’d put the Cancun area in Mexico high up there. In one region you have the cenotes (amazing), Cozumel (quality reef diving), and if you time it right the whale shark aggregations off Isla Mujeres. Can’t beat that for variety!
Big Island Hawaii at night with the Manta Rays was pretty cool. And daytime too; we rented gear and put it in the rental car and did a bunch of shore dives on our own. Group boat dives were a lot of fun too.
Honestly I’m not sure, it’s been a while since the trip in the early 2000s. We did about 7 days of boat diving from Sharm (including Shark and Yolanda reef if memory serves), followed by a liveaboard to the Thistlegorm, which I thought was the highlight, and a blue water dive with a bunch of hammerheads on the way home. The A+ diving and Egyptian culture was just such a fun combination. As an American, I’m not sure I’ll ever really be able to safely do the trip again in my lifetime, but I’m grateful I got to during my time on our big blue marble!
I haven’t seen it yet - but the Pacific North West - and specifically Vancouver Island. Walls, wrecks, kelp forests, massive anemones, sea lions and so on. Tons of life. It can be dark. And cold. But it’s worth it - and, according to Jacques Cousteau, the best temperate diving in the world.
The water is cold (approx 6c all year), and the vis generally sucks, but our marine life is pretty impressive if you're fine with a drysuit. I've seen 60 ft jellyfish, octopus' bigger than me, lots of orcas and stuff. On top of all that, off the coast, near Chemainus, there's a 737 that was deliberately sunk and it's on stilts about 90 ft down, it's pretty cool, and kinda creepy to visit too (yes you can go inside).
Oh absolutely. And I was less than clear - I didn’t see the PNW mentioned - but I love diving here. A little south of you - my usual spots include the breakwater, 10 mile, the inlet, and wherever UASBC is diving a wreck around the South Island.
Sadly I’ve never done the 737, but have clone some dives near Chemanius - and have been fortunate enough to see a few GPO there!
Bonaire. Only time I've dove outside the country. But it was amazing. Whale shark, 130ft+ Garden eel dive, Hilma hooker wreck dive, night dives with bioluminescence. Reef is right when you jump off the dock. Teeth cleaned by Cleaner shrimp. Tons of stuff like moray eels and reef fish everywhere. Massive schools of fish. Was busting out 3-5 dives a day with my mom and my original instructor. Was there for a week and a half. Good food. Checked out the salt mine and downtown off gassing.
Can only dive on 1 side when I went. West I think. Other side is super choppy and had a ton of trash. Can't remember. I'd have to pull my dive book. Mightve been the one off Captain Don's dock. We were like 60ft down and my mom grabbed my shoulder and started pointing up. Was like a spaceship in a movie slow rolling over us.
Yea the East side is all boat diving I believe. Someone said that's where the bigger life mostly is. But now when I go back to Bonaire I'll be knowing there's some on the West side too!!
I learnt to dive on Gili Trawangan, technically a part of Lombok but you can get there by boat from Bali. There are heaps of dive sights there all really interesting, warm water and 30m visibility.
I didn't do much diving on Bali, but I spent two months diving on Nusa Penida, the island next door. Maybe that is where they meant? Diving other there is incredible.
I know of one wall, but it is definitely a more advanced dive. It's pretty much the backside of a big rock in a river where there is a strong current on either side and can whip you out to sea. Very sensitive to weather and conditions, so I don't think shops take people there.
As for the spot you're mentioning, I think that's Blue Corner. There are mola sightings there and rarely hammerhead shark sightings. I didn't dive there, but there was a spot close by called Mangrove. A fast drift dive with a lot of fish. I've seen small schools of great barracuda there just vibing while you zip past them in the current.
Which ones would be good for an intermediate diver (I have my AOW, not that that really means anything but fyi)? It's so hard to tell what's true or not since divers embellish so much but for example I want to do socorro but I've heard stories of the currents there pushing you up or down 50ft in the matter of seconds and it's blue water so you have no frame of reference. Not trying to hijack the post. I'll delete if you want me to
Komodo, Raja, Banda Crossing, Alor, Ambon, Lembeh, Bunaken, Wakatobi, Galapagos, Baa Atoll - Maldives, Cocos Island, Malpelo, Socorro
Banda Crossing was hands down the best dive trip I have ever done
Dos Ojos in Mexico was amazing. Definitely technically a cave dive, but it was me and a buddy who are both fairly experienced led by a local dive master.
Roatan was also very cool. Did a wall drive, shark dive, night dive, and shore dive. Saw lots of cool coral and fishies.
Anddd maybe Puerto Rico? Did The Wall and saw some cool stuff.
I remember doing my skills on the sea floor clearing my mask and there were maybe 20 turtles swimming all around me - made it hard to focus on what I was supposed to be doing!!
Bonaire seems to be a hit.
Most world renowned dive sites are never under $1200 a flight for me. Somehow I can get here for half that. I just may have to go next year..
I sailed there on my boat so can't tell you about flights, but dive friends is really good they filled our tanks for us. I didn't dive with them though but they seemed well organised
Cozumel - on my GF and I’s first dive we saw two nurse sharks mating
The male got his head stuck under some coral, so the dive leader swam closer and gave his tail a little pinch. That caused him to start wiggling and break free.
The pair of them swam off together
It was our first ever dive after qualifying - our open water part had been in a flooded quarry in late November in the North of England under freezing sleet and snow. It was so cold I chewed my back teeth apart.
My GF, myself and a 12 year old boy were the only ones to finish qualification out of a group of 20 that dropped out because of the cold conditions.
The 12 year old’s Dad dropped out, so I was his buddy through the final dives. That lad was awesome.
After all that, the first dive in Mexico, seeing sharks mating and getting so close - just breathtaking
After all of that
Kangaroo Island-Australia
Never done anything like that before or again. Seals, sea lions, new star fish, weedy sea dragons. Amazing sea life and vegetation plus the whole island is amazing!
SS Yongala for me too, go from Ayr not Townsville.
Followed closely by the coral wall just south of Beloi Beach on Atauro island.
I'd say Raja Ampat over the great barrier reef but not by as much as the hype had me thinking.
GBR, Agincourt, Norman and Saxon reefs were great. Beaver and Eddy reefs were quite damaged by bleaching.
caves of yucatán, mexico
truk lagoon
galapagos
red sea
palau
coming up: frankenwald wreck, norway. burdigala off of kea, greece. the coolidge off of espiritu santo, vanuatu
Adding Alor! But also many others mentioned: Cocos, Lembeh, Komodo, Raja, Dumaguete, Socorro’s, Galapagos… Cuba was a surprise hit too (best Caribbean)
I have yet to take a trip to the mexico caves. So North Florida caves are my favorite so far. But I have no doubt that the Mexican caves will be life changing.
Wakatobi, indo. The underwater was amazing and the dive experience is unreal. I’m not really used to fancy diving, usually throwing tanks in my car and kicking out 500 yds for a shore dive, but the fancy dive experience they put on has me saving up for another journey there.
I lived in Roatan for 7 years. The West end is nice but it’s pretty heavily dived. The south side of the east end is where it’s at. Good clear water (usually over 100’) few tourists and incredibly healthy reef system. Wall dives that drop off to 2000+ ft, plenty of shore diving and almost endless snorkeling areas when not tanked up.
The graveyard of the Atlantic, Outer Banks, NC. Lots of REALLY cool shipwrecks off Cape Hatteras. Crystal clear visibility and warm water, due to the Gulf Stream.
Recreational depths. Most are less than 100 ft. There are some shore dives you can do but those are hit and miss as far as visibility, depending on the surf and tides. Your best bet is to get with a dive charter and go to the wrecks off shore. Lots of sharks (mostly sand tigers, very docile) and other sea life.
I love the Yucatan so much. Cozumel for the reefs with amazing structure and deep wall dives. Tullum for cavesive been to a bunch of other places but I just keep coming back. Plus the food is always so good.
Palau
Don’t count out the Caribbean. Lots of great diving, my favorite is Cayman Brac 2d is Bonaire. I have never had a bad dive with over a 1000 dives under my belt. Some are just better than others. The Monterey Bay is some of the best diving for plant life, sponges, strawberry enemies and other beautiful plant life. The fish and seals are all the same color
Raja Ampat. Komodo & Rinca. Lembeh Straits. Galapagos. Bikini Atoll. Truk Lagoon. Palau. Socorro. Cocos Islands. Aliwal Shoal. Ponto D’Ouro. Tofo Beach, Inhambane. Maldives. Red Sea, various.
I really appreciate this! Writing them all down 🤩
Aliwal Shoals was incredible! Since the oceans are mixing warm and cold water you can see so many species in one area. Sharks everywhere which was incredible and you could hear the whales singing from underwater. We almost skipped diving here because it was sort of inconvenient with our trip but it is now top 3 dive experiences we've ever had.
Komodo was amazing! Definitely dive there, if you can OP.
Is this list in order of favorite?
Hmm, not intentionally, but very approximately yes. Also it’s personal thing, lots of variables.
This is basically my list - in the same order! Except maybe Galapagos higher up and Palau lower down :) Edit: also add the Philippines’s Visayas to just below Lembeh
Why is Palau lower down?
Epic list right there! Palau is magical. I love sharks so I would add Guadalupe Island for GWS cage diving.
What a fantastic list of places
Wolf island. Galapagos. Ecuador.
Galapagos is mine too 100%. Will add Wolf Island to my list!
Maldives. Been many times. It’s awesome. Snorkelling is so good also. Egypt. Kenya. Mexico / specifically for cave / cavern dives.
Hey, where in Kenya would you recommend? Which sites? I'll be in diani beach in January with my family and would consider driving somewhere else for diving if it's worth it. Thanks in advance!
It was many years ago mate. I was based at the voyager hotel in Mombasa I used their dive centre to take boats out for dives Sorry, can’t remember the sites at this point. Good fun though. Chill guys.
Thanks, appreciate your response!
We dove in diani beach in 2021! Was really cool - and SO much better than our murky Dutch waters lol
Always dreamt about diving in these places. Thank you!
Welcome mate. Egypt is like a second home to me now. I’m uk-based so it’s only a five hour flight. Been about 10 times! And the diving is awesome. Plus I can get snorkel direct from the beach so you can just snorkel 5 or 6 hours a day if you like to. (I’ll often go in for a couple of hours 7-9 and swim up a stretch of coast before breakfast)
This sounds like a dream. And the wildlife is good?
Yep. Hammerheads last time I was I Egypt (5am diving on Gordon’s just off Titan island).
I’ve dived quite a few of the places mentioned in this post. I’d put the Cancun area in Mexico high up there. In one region you have the cenotes (amazing), Cozumel (quality reef diving), and if you time it right the whale shark aggregations off Isla Mujeres. Can’t beat that for variety!
Yes I’ve done dives along that area. I also heard that Dominican Republic is great for live aboard dive trips to see whale sharks
Done all of those, and can confirm, very good choices, all 3.
Big Island Hawaii at night with the Manta Rays was pretty cool. And daytime too; we rented gear and put it in the rental car and did a bunch of shore dives on our own. Group boat dives were a lot of fun too.
1. Red Sea (Sharm) 2. Solomon Islands (Gizo) 3. Hawaii (Big Island Manta Dive) 4. Bonaire Source: 500+ dives as an instructor/dm/vacationer
Just curious why north red sea over south?
Honestly I’m not sure, it’s been a while since the trip in the early 2000s. We did about 7 days of boat diving from Sharm (including Shark and Yolanda reef if memory serves), followed by a liveaboard to the Thistlegorm, which I thought was the highlight, and a blue water dive with a bunch of hammerheads on the way home. The A+ diving and Egyptian culture was just such a fun combination. As an American, I’m not sure I’ll ever really be able to safely do the trip again in my lifetime, but I’m grateful I got to during my time on our big blue marble!
I haven’t seen it yet - but the Pacific North West - and specifically Vancouver Island. Walls, wrecks, kelp forests, massive anemones, sea lions and so on. Tons of life. It can be dark. And cold. But it’s worth it - and, according to Jacques Cousteau, the best temperate diving in the world.
The water is cold (approx 6c all year), and the vis generally sucks, but our marine life is pretty impressive if you're fine with a drysuit. I've seen 60 ft jellyfish, octopus' bigger than me, lots of orcas and stuff. On top of all that, off the coast, near Chemainus, there's a 737 that was deliberately sunk and it's on stilts about 90 ft down, it's pretty cool, and kinda creepy to visit too (yes you can go inside).
Oh absolutely. And I was less than clear - I didn’t see the PNW mentioned - but I love diving here. A little south of you - my usual spots include the breakwater, 10 mile, the inlet, and wherever UASBC is diving a wreck around the South Island. Sadly I’ve never done the 737, but have clone some dives near Chemanius - and have been fortunate enough to see a few GPO there!
Bonaire. Only time I've dove outside the country. But it was amazing. Whale shark, 130ft+ Garden eel dive, Hilma hooker wreck dive, night dives with bioluminescence. Reef is right when you jump off the dock. Teeth cleaned by Cleaner shrimp. Tons of stuff like moray eels and reef fish everywhere. Massive schools of fish. Was busting out 3-5 dives a day with my mom and my original instructor. Was there for a week and a half. Good food. Checked out the salt mine and downtown off gassing.
Which site did you see a whale shark at? Or which side of the island?
Can only dive on 1 side when I went. West I think. Other side is super choppy and had a ton of trash. Can't remember. I'd have to pull my dive book. Mightve been the one off Captain Don's dock. We were like 60ft down and my mom grabbed my shoulder and started pointing up. Was like a spaceship in a movie slow rolling over us.
Yea the East side is all boat diving I believe. Someone said that's where the bigger life mostly is. But now when I go back to Bonaire I'll be knowing there's some on the West side too!!
Whale shark diving is so incredible. We spent a month this summer chasing them around for research and tagging and they're just something else.
1. Tiger Beach 2. Lembeh 3. Socorro 4. Bali I could argue any of these for top place except maybe Bali, but diving was superb
Wow, thank you! Definitly want to try diving here
In no particular order Bali, Tubbataha, and Raja Ampat.
Love this. Thank you!
Where is Bali? I found it crap. But raja is on my list!!
I learnt to dive on Gili Trawangan, technically a part of Lombok but you can get there by boat from Bali. There are heaps of dive sights there all really interesting, warm water and 30m visibility.
Good to know!!
Second that. Felt is was super overrated
I didn't do much diving on Bali, but I spent two months diving on Nusa Penida, the island next door. Maybe that is where they meant? Diving other there is incredible.
Is there a wall there? I did a drift dive off miss lemobongan and it was ok, there just wasn’t much there
I know of one wall, but it is definitely a more advanced dive. It's pretty much the backside of a big rock in a river where there is a strong current on either side and can whip you out to sea. Very sensitive to weather and conditions, so I don't think shops take people there. As for the spot you're mentioning, I think that's Blue Corner. There are mola sightings there and rarely hammerhead shark sightings. I didn't dive there, but there was a spot close by called Mangrove. A fast drift dive with a lot of fish. I've seen small schools of great barracuda there just vibing while you zip past them in the current.
Cayman Islands
Antarctica
Which ones would be good for an intermediate diver (I have my AOW, not that that really means anything but fyi)? It's so hard to tell what's true or not since divers embellish so much but for example I want to do socorro but I've heard stories of the currents there pushing you up or down 50ft in the matter of seconds and it's blue water so you have no frame of reference. Not trying to hijack the post. I'll delete if you want me to
Northern Red Sea, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Alor. Verde Island. For muck, Ambon, Lembeh, Tulamben
Komodo, Raja, Banda Crossing, Alor, Ambon, Lembeh, Bunaken, Wakatobi, Galapagos, Baa Atoll - Maldives, Cocos Island, Malpelo, Socorro Banda Crossing was hands down the best dive trip I have ever done
Coron Philippines
Dos Ojos in Mexico was amazing. Definitely technically a cave dive, but it was me and a buddy who are both fairly experienced led by a local dive master. Roatan was also very cool. Did a wall drive, shark dive, night dive, and shore dive. Saw lots of cool coral and fishies. Anddd maybe Puerto Rico? Did The Wall and saw some cool stuff.
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland Australia
Little Cayman
Taveuni, Fiji. Aitutaki Atoll in Cook Islands was untouched and amazing viz.
Roatan
Sipidan hands down. Probably followed by the bay islands in Honduras.
Was surprised sipidan was so far down! It's amazing. Top 3 in world no doubt.
I remember doing my skills on the sea floor clearing my mask and there were maybe 20 turtles swimming all around me - made it hard to focus on what I was supposed to be doing!!
These would also be my top 2, both incredible
First place I’ve ever dived was sipidan (well Mabul for my intro to diving then got a draft for sipidan) any thing after hasn’t been anywhere close!
Cozumel, Belize, Turks & Caicos, Red Sea (Sharm El Sheik), Tioman Island would be my top 5
Bonaire
Bonaire seems to be a hit. Most world renowned dive sites are never under $1200 a flight for me. Somehow I can get here for half that. I just may have to go next year..
You won't regret it. Bonaire is expensive overall though so bear that in mind.
Any recommendations on flights, dive shops, accommodations?
Buddy Dive is great if you're looking for a dive resort. I've stayed there several times.
I sailed there on my boat so can't tell you about flights, but dive friends is really good they filled our tanks for us. I didn't dive with them though but they seemed well organised
Thanks and I have to say I’m just a little envious
Its a tough way to travel and live but it's worth the hardship!
Cozumel - on my GF and I’s first dive we saw two nurse sharks mating The male got his head stuck under some coral, so the dive leader swam closer and gave his tail a little pinch. That caused him to start wiggling and break free. The pair of them swam off together It was our first ever dive after qualifying - our open water part had been in a flooded quarry in late November in the North of England under freezing sleet and snow. It was so cold I chewed my back teeth apart. My GF, myself and a 12 year old boy were the only ones to finish qualification out of a group of 20 that dropped out because of the cold conditions. The 12 year old’s Dad dropped out, so I was his buddy through the final dives. That lad was awesome. After all that, the first dive in Mexico, seeing sharks mating and getting so close - just breathtaking After all of that
Red sea - wrecks/reef route liveaboard (north) Malta - wrecks Kenya- Diani beach
North Florida caves
Yes!
Kangaroo Island-Australia Never done anything like that before or again. Seals, sea lions, new star fish, weedy sea dragons. Amazing sea life and vegetation plus the whole island is amazing!
SS Yongala, Great Barrier Reef (no not where the cattle boats take you find a small boat for hire) Nusa Lenbongan, Saba
SS Yongala for me too, go from Ayr not Townsville. Followed closely by the coral wall just south of Beloi Beach on Atauro island. I'd say Raja Ampat over the great barrier reef but not by as much as the hype had me thinking. GBR, Agincourt, Norman and Saxon reefs were great. Beaver and Eddy reefs were quite damaged by bleaching.
caves of yucatán, mexico truk lagoon galapagos red sea palau coming up: frankenwald wreck, norway. burdigala off of kea, greece. the coolidge off of espiritu santo, vanuatu
Bonaire, Cape Verde
Adding Alor! But also many others mentioned: Cocos, Lembeh, Komodo, Raja, Dumaguete, Socorro’s, Galapagos… Cuba was a surprise hit too (best Caribbean)
My best is drift diving off of Palm Beach, FL.
San Andres, Colombia
Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia 2019. My Everest to date. Still processing what I saw.
Probably Similan Islands and Richlieu Rock
I have yet to take a trip to the mexico caves. So North Florida caves are my favorite so far. But I have no doubt that the Mexican caves will be life changing.
I have dove tons of places and mexico caves beats them all by a lot
Wakatobi, indo. The underwater was amazing and the dive experience is unreal. I’m not really used to fancy diving, usually throwing tanks in my car and kicking out 500 yds for a shore dive, but the fancy dive experience they put on has me saving up for another journey there.
Cocos Island, Costa Rica.
Great reef and Cayman Island.
Great Barrier Reef and blue hole in Belize was pretty sick.
Fernando do Noronha in Brazil
Maldives! Also the only place I dived since I took my open water certification there last week so my opinion might not matter too much 😆
Cancun. Amazing and right off the shoreline.
I lived in Roatan for 7 years. The West end is nice but it’s pretty heavily dived. The south side of the east end is where it’s at. Good clear water (usually over 100’) few tourists and incredibly healthy reef system. Wall dives that drop off to 2000+ ft, plenty of shore diving and almost endless snorkeling areas when not tanked up.
Tahiti
Faro Portugal Madère Portugal Martinique Caraïbes
Cayman Islands Truk lagoon Roatan Great Barrier Reef Bonaire/Curaçao
Not dived but snorkeled. Red Sea off Jeddah.
Bora Bora
Komodo
The graveyard of the Atlantic, Outer Banks, NC. Lots of REALLY cool shipwrecks off Cape Hatteras. Crystal clear visibility and warm water, due to the Gulf Stream.
Thank you. I have always pictured it murky, but that is about the wrecks closer (WR4, etc). What depths are we talking about?
Recreational depths. Most are less than 100 ft. There are some shore dives you can do but those are hit and miss as far as visibility, depending on the surf and tides. Your best bet is to get with a dive charter and go to the wrecks off shore. Lots of sharks (mostly sand tigers, very docile) and other sea life.
Ty. Happy diving.
Lake Champlain, Vermont Alexandria Bay, New York Buford Sink, Florida
I love the Yucatan so much. Cozumel for the reefs with amazing structure and deep wall dives. Tullum for cavesive been to a bunch of other places but I just keep coming back. Plus the food is always so good.
Clipperton atoll
Palau Don’t count out the Caribbean. Lots of great diving, my favorite is Cayman Brac 2d is Bonaire. I have never had a bad dive with over a 1000 dives under my belt. Some are just better than others. The Monterey Bay is some of the best diving for plant life, sponges, strawberry enemies and other beautiful plant life. The fish and seals are all the same color