With literally thousands and thousands of dive sites worldwide, each with a unique underwater landscape and marine life, not to mention sites yet to be discovered, it’s near impossible to say with absolute certainty that a particular dive site is No.1! Everyone has different ideas about what makes “the best” dive site. However, some dive sites always seem to come up in conversations about best dives and have a reputation among the diving community as the cream of the crop. So, while diving experiences anywhere depend on personal perspective and several other factors like the type of dive, weather conditions, visibility, currents, and luck as to what you see that day, some dive sites are worth a visit.
Here’s a look at some of the top-rated and most popular dives (in no particular order) to experience before you die.
1. Best Cave/Cavern Dives – Cenotes of the Riviera Maya, Mexico
The freshwater-filled limestone sinkholes known as Cenotes situated in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, lead to some of the most beautiful and intricate underwater caves and caverns in the World. The natural beauty of these cenotes and caves, with their crystal clear turquoise waters, sunlight reflecting stalactites, and stalagmites, are truly enigmatic works of art drawing divers from around the world to explore its waters. With over 3000 Cenotes, 1400 of which have been studied and recorded, it’s impossible to pick just one as the best. The Riviera Maya has the World’s three longest-running underwater Cave Sytems – Ox Bel Ha (146.7Km.), Nohoch Nah Chich (61Km.), and Dos Ojos (57.7 Km.). Cenote Dos Ojos, Cenote Tajmahal, and Gran Cenote are notable cenotes here. (For more, read: Cenotes: The Underwater Caves of The Riviera Maya, Mexico)
2. Best Wreck Dive – SS Yongala, Ayr, Australia
Rated 6th on our list of the World’s Top 10 Wreck Dives, but possibly the most popular wreck dives of all time and highly rated by thousands of divers the world over, is the SS Yongala at the Great Barrier. This enchanting Australian passenger ship lying within the Great Barrier Reef Park lay undercover for over half a century since it sank in a cyclone in 1911. Today, home to giant groupers, schools of trevally, cobia, turtles, and sweeping rays, the ship is only a 30-minute journey from the shore.
The incredible array of marine life that accompanies the wreck is unmatched. From eagle rays, tiger sharks, bull sharks, giant grouper, and turtles to swarms of giant barracuda and schools of bait fish that cover more than the eye can see, the SS Yongala is a Wreck dive site teaming with more life than many a coral reef! (For more, read: World’s Top 10 Wreck Dives)
3. Best Wall Dive – Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
Palau in Micronesia is a diving hot spot and unarguably one of the best dive destinations in the World! Breathtaking fringing coral reefs, crystal caves, and WWII wrecks surround the 200 islands of Palau. Of all the attractions on offer for diver’s delights, though, the drop-offs and wall dives are in a class of their own. Recognized as one of the best wall dives in the world due to its concentration of marine life, the Blue Corner Wall is at the northwest end of Ngemelis Island.
This dive site features a shallow coral shelf that projects into the ocean and has vertical walls on both sides. Not for the faint of heart, this is an advanced dive with sometimes powerful and unpredictable currents, which brings in schools of fish and large pelagics to the top edges of the walls. The wall drops from 30 to 1000 feet (10 to 330 meters) or more and is covered with a large variety of giant Gorgonian sea fans, hard corals, and soft corals. The flat coral plateau on the top extends between the two walls and drops gently on the west to about 45 to 60 feet (15 to 20 meters).
Covered in colonies of cabbage corals and many varieties of hard and soft corals, make the wall a fantastic place for underwater photography. But, the large schools of fish make this site as famous as it is. Sharks, Wahoo, Tuna, Hawks Bill and Green turtles, Eagle Rays, Giant Groupers, and Barracuda, to name a few species. Two resident Napoleon wrasses often accompany the divers throughout their dive. Diving here almost guarantees you great stories to tell friends and marine encounters you’ll never forget!
4. Best Manta Ray Dive– Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
The Kona Coast is one of the best places in the world to get up close and personal with manta rays. Often described as an experience of a lifetime, when one chance on one of these magnificent creatures, dive operators in Hawaii plate up this experience with a night dive twist, making it just spectacular. Divers are given underwater flashlights and are directed to point their beams towards the surface.
The bright lights attract hordes of plankton, which in turn bring the mantas and a ton of other fish to the vicinity. Much to the delight of divers and snorkelers, the manta rays swoop, turn, and even somersault towards the light. Where the plankton is plentiful, displaying the surprising agility of this creature. More than 60 individual Mantas, identified by spots on their underside, have been photographed, cataloged, and named as regulars on the Manta Ray Night Dives. (For more, read: Must Dive Sites: The Manta Ray Night Dive in Kailua Kona, Hawaii)
5. Best Deep Dive – Lighthouse Reef Blue Hole, Belize
The Belize Blue Hole is a world-famous deep dive site, more suited for adventure diving than for exploring reefs or marine life. A dry cave system created this nearly perfectly circular formation during the Ice Age. Its impressive diameter spans over 1,000 feet (300 meters) and reaches a depth of 450 feet (135 meters). The cave features stunning stalactite formations, and the surrounding reef rises to about 110 feet high. Divers often spot hammerhead sharks lurking in the shadows. While the Blue Hole is renowned for its deep, inky blue waters and breathtaking vertical passage that seems to lead to the sky, it remains a favorite location for thrill-seeking divers. Regarding Blue Hole Diving, the Belize Hole is the most well-known of the lot. (For more, read Blue Hole Diving and The Most Rewarding Dive Spots In The Caribbean)
Continued in Best Dive Sites: Top 15 Dives to Experience Before You Die #2
6. Best Drift Dive – Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel, Mexico
7. Best Ice Dive – Mc Murdo Sound, Antarctica
8. Best Night Dive – Maaya Thila, Maldives
9. Best Kelp Dive – San Clemente, Channel Islands, California
10. Best Coral Reef Life Dives – Sulawesi, Indonesia
Best Dive Sites: Top 15 Dives to Experience Before You Die #3
11. Best Big Fish Encounter Dive – Sipadan Island, Borneo, Malaysia
12. Best Shark Dive – Gansbaai, South Africa
13. Best Whale Shark Dive – Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai, Thailand
14. Best Shore Dives – Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
15. Best Liveaboard Dives – Sharm El Sheik and Ras Mohammed, Egypt
