Some of our highlighted diving spots
SS Thistlegorm - Ras Mohammed
Egypt
One of the best wreck dives in the world (and probably one of the most famous dive sites), the SS Thistlegorm lies in the northern section of the Red Sea. As a popular day trip and liveaboard stop, it’s easily accessible from Sharm El-Sheikh. The wreck itself was previously a 420-foot (128-meter) British transport ship. Unfortunately, she met her fate in 1941 when she was sunk by a German air attack. Today, she remains a window into history with a visible cargo of trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, tanks, and even a locomotive. For this reason, many divers consider it one of the top 3 dive sites in the world.
Blue Corner - Ngemelis Island
Palaos
Blue Corner is a dive for the ages. It consists of a reef-covered wall that runs along the side of Ngemelis Island in Palau. While the dive is great at any time due to the massive schools of fish, this drift-diving site shows its best face when the currents are strong (think more current, more fish – it’s never been more apt). Divers use reef hooks to carefully attach to the wall and watch a number of pelagic species swim past. Common sights include tuna, sharks, and eagle rays. This is undoubtedly some of the best reef diving in the world, and many Blue Corner alumni claim that they have never seen so many sharks on a single dive.
Tiger Beach - Grand Bahama Island
Bahamas
Known for shark diving, the Bahamas is a wonderland country of fantastic dive sites and home to some of the best diving in the Caribbean. While you can swim with hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, and reef sharks, at Tiger Beach, you’ll find daily encounters with several tiger sharks all at once. While you wait on the sandy bottom, these large sharks circle around the group in an experience that will delight thrill-seekers and underwater photographers alike. There’s also a chance to see nurse, lemon, and Caribbean reef sharks at this famous Bahamas shark dive site.
Manta Night Dive - Kona, Hawaii
United State
Certainly one of the most unique night dives, the Manta Night Dive is a ballet for manta rays which lands this Hawaiian destination on countless lists of the top 10 dive sites worldwide. Just off the coast of Kona is an artificially illuminated area where divers descend to the sandy observation areas. As the light attracts plankton, mantas arrive to take advantage of the feast. All the divers need to do is relax and enjoy the show while the graceful manta rays turn and spin overhead.
Bajo Alcyone - Cocos Island
Costa Rica
Cocos Island, which lies far from the Costa Rican Pacific coast, is only accessible by liveaboard but is consistently ranked as the top destination in the world for hammerhead diving with this first-class dive site. The seamount known as Bajo Alcyone rises to 82 feet (25 meters) below the surface and is regularly home to large shoals of hammerhead sharks. The diving can be tricky, but the plan is simple. Divers descend to the top of the seamount, wedge themselves between the rocks, and watch the action above. This is truly an epic site and worthy of a place on every “best dive sites” list!
Cenote Angelita - Tulum, Mexico
Costa Rica
Mexico is unquestionably one of the best diving countries in the world, and thousands of cenotes are scattered throughout its Yucatan Peninsula. While many of them could easily find a spot on this list, the mystical quality of Cenote Angelita makes it hard to ignore. At approximately 100 feet (30 meters), the clear freshwater is separated from the saltwater below by a layer of hydrogen sulfide. The appearance of this cloudy substance is otherworldly and makes for fantastic underwater photography.
Secret Bay (Manit Muck) - Anilao
Philippines
A wonderland for macro lovers and underwater photographers, Secret Bay (or Manit Muck as it’s known locally) is often cited as one of the top 10 dive sites in the Philippines. This site is quite shallow at between only 10 and 70 feet (3 and 21 meters), but it is abundantly productive for macro marine life and critters. In fact, many divers have reported sightings of mantis shrimp, rare nudibranchs, gobies of all types, and even wonderpus octopuses. This is also one of the area’s best dive sites for night diving, when Ambon scorpionfish, Bobbit worms, seahorses, frogfish, and other nocturnal species become active.
Silfra Fissure - Thingvellir National Park
Iceland
Diving between continental plates may sound risky, but scuba divers flock to the Silfra Fissure year-round for the pleasure. Granted, these plates are moving so slowly that you will never know it. With 300-foot (100-meter) visibility, exploring the space between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in Iceland is a dream. Glide along with the aquatic grasses full of blues and greens before snapping a picture between the rock faces of the plates. This is without a doubt one of the best places to scuba dive in Europe.
North Horn - Great Barrier Reef
Australia
We couldn’t talk about the planet’s best dive sites without mentioning the Great Barrier Reef. Indeed, this natural wonder could fill a list of Australia‘s top 10 dive sites all by itself. In Osprey Reef, North Horn is one of the area’s most sought-after dives, especially for pelagic action. Drift dives along vibrant, coral-encrusted walls regularly bring encounters with gray, silvertip, hammerhead, tiger, and wobbegong sharks—sometimes in a single dive! You might also spot barracuda, giant trevallies, tuna, eagle rays, and even manta rays gliding past.