BestScuba Diving

Reef systems, walls, wrecks and pelagic sites from the Coral Triangle to the Caribbean. Several of the most famous are genuinely not beginner dives — current, depth and surface conditions rule out more people than certification level does — and the big animals are seasonal, so the site that defines a destination may be diveable only a few months a year.

Aerial view of Arlington Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
Great Barrier Reef
Australia
UNESCO World Heritage SiteWorld's Largest Coral Reef
Details & links
The world's largest coral reef system, extending roughly 2,300 kilometres off Queensland and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Outer reefs offer clearer water and encounters with dwarf minke whales in winter.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Whale shark encountered by divers at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Ningaloo Reef
Australia
Shore-Accessible Reef
Details & links
A fringing reef along Western Australia's coast, reachable from shore. It is one of the most reliable places to swim with whale sharks during their seasonal aggregation.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Tiger shark at Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama
Tiger Beach
Bahamas
Shallow Sandy Site
Details & links
A shallow sandy site off Grand Bahama known for close encounters with tiger sharks in bright, clear water. It is one of the world's best-known shark-diving locations.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Aerial view of the Great Blue Hole marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize
Great Blue Hole
Belize
Ancient Limestone Stalactites
Details & links
A large circular marine sinkhole off the Belize coast, part of the Belize Barrier Reef. Its deep walls hold ancient limestone stalactites formed when the cavern was above sea level.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Diver at the top of the 1000 Steps shore-diving site, Bonaire
Bonaire
Caribbean Netherlands
Protected Marine ParkShore-Entry Diving
Details & links
A Dutch Caribbean island whose entire coastline is a protected marine park. It is renowned for accessible shore diving, with dozens of reef sites entered directly from the beach.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Southern stingrays gathering in shallow water at Stingray City, Grand Cayman
Stingray City
Cayman Islands
Waist-Deep Water
Details & links
A shallow sandbar in Grand Cayman's North Sound where wild southern stingrays gather. The waist-deep water makes it accessible to snorkelers and novice divers alike.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Scalloped hammerhead shark near Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Cocos Island
Costa Rica
National ParkLiveaboard Access Only
Details & links
An uninhabited Pacific island reached only by multi-day liveaboard, protected as a national park. Its currents draw large schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks.
Wikipedia PADI Map
School of scalloped hammerhead sharks at Wolf Island, Galápagos
Galápagos Islands
Ecuador
On the Equator
Details & links
A volcanic archipelago on the equator where cool nutrient-rich currents support unusual marine life. Remote northern islands are known for large hammerhead schools and marine iguanas.
Galápagos Islands guide Wikipedia PADI Map
Rocky headland and reef flat at Ras Mohammed National Park where the shallow reef drops into deep Red Sea water
Ras Mohammed
Egypt
National Park
Details & links
A national park at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the Red Sea meets deep water. Sheer coral walls and seasonal fish aggregations make it a Red Sea highlight.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Coral-encrusted wreckage of the SS Thistlegorm on the Red Sea floor
SS Thistlegorm
Egypt
Sunk 1941WWII Wreck
Details & links
A British merchant ship sunk in the Red Sea in 1941, its holds still packed with wartime cargo of trucks, motorcycles, and munitions. It ranks among the world's great wreck dives.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Bull shark swimming over the reef in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji
Beqa Lagoon
Fiji
Shark Dives
Details & links
A large barrier-reef lagoon south of Fiji's main island, best known for organized shark dives that gather bull sharks and other species alongside vivid soft-coral reefs.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Turquoise lagoon and palm-lined motu at Fakarava atoll, French Polynesia
Fakarava
French Polynesia
UNESCO Biosphere ReserveGrey Reef Sharks
Details & links
A Tuamotu atoll and UNESCO biosphere reserve whose southern pass hosts a dense wall of grey reef sharks, a phenomenon that peaks during the annual grouper spawning.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Clear turquoise reef water off the coast of Roatán, Honduras
Roatán
Honduras
Largest Bay IslandMesoamerican Barrier Reef
Details & links
The largest of the Bay Islands, ringed by the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Steep coral walls and warm clear water make it a long-established Caribbean dive destination.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Diver's bubbles rising through the crystal-clear rift walls of Silfra fissure
Silfra Fissure
Iceland
Thingvellir National ParkBetween Two Tectonic Plates
Details & links
A rift in Thingvellir National Park where divers move between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Filtered glacial meltwater gives extraordinary underwater visibility.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Diver over a coral reef teeming with reef fish in Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat
Indonesia
Coral TriangleRichest Marine Biodiversity on Earth
Details & links
An archipelago in West Papua at the heart of the Coral Triangle, holding some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth, from tiny critters to manta rays and reef sharks.
Wikipedia PADI Map
A reef manta ray gliding over the seafloor in Komodo National Park, Indonesia
Komodo National Park
Indonesia
UNESCO World Heritage SiteCoral Triangle
Details & links
A UNESCO site in the Lesser Sunda Islands with strong currents that draw manta rays and large pelagics. Northern reefs are warm while cooler southern sites support dense soft coral.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Sipadan Island rising from the Celebes Sea off Borneo, Malaysia
Sipadan Island
Malaysia
Permit Required
Details & links
An oceanic island off Borneo rising from deep water, famous for sea turtles and swirling schools of barracuda and jackfish. Daily diver numbers are capped by permit.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Beach and water villas at Thudufushi, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
South Ari Atoll
Maldives
Marine Protected Area
Details & links
A Maldivian atoll whose protected zone hosts one of the world's few resident whale shark populations, alongside manta rays drawn to its plankton-rich channels.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Fungus Rock in Dwejra Bay, Gozo, Malta
Gozo
Malta
Purpose-Sunk Wrecks Nearby
Details & links
The smaller of Malta's main islands, offering clear Mediterranean water with caves, arches, and swim-throughs. Purpose-sunk wrecks near Xatt l-Aħmar, including MV Karwela and MV Cominoland, are accessible from shore.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Coastal view at Punta Sur, Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel
Mexico
Marine Park
Details & links
An island off the Yucatán coast known for fast drift dives along the Palancar and Colombia reefs, part of a protected marine park with vivid sponge and coral formations.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Cenote Ik-Kil, a limestone sinkhole in Yucatán, Mexico
Cenotes
Mexico (Yucatán)
Freshwater Dive Site
Details & links
Freshwater sinkholes connected to the peninsula's vast flooded cave systems. They offer exceptional clarity and haloclines where fresh and salt water meet, a specialty of cavern and cave divers.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico
Socorro Islands
Mexico
Liveaboard Only
Details & links
A volcanic group in the Revillagigedo archipelago far off mainland Mexico, reached by liveaboard. It is renowned for curious giant oceanic manta rays and winter humpback whales.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Deck of the sunken Fujikawa Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Chuuk
Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon
Chuuk, Micronesia
Sunk 1944
Details & links
A sheltered lagoon holding the sunken remains of a Japanese wartime fleet lost in 1944. The wrecks, now coral-encrusted, form one of the world's premier wreck-diving sites.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Rock Islands near German Channel, adjacent to Blue Corner, Palau
Blue Corner
Palau
Palau's Signature Dive
Details & links
A current-swept reef plateau where divers hook onto the reef edge to watch sharks and large fish pass. It is Palau's signature dive and among the most celebrated in the Pacific.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Restorf Island in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea
Kimbe Bay
Papua New Guinea
Coral Triangle
Details & links
A deep bay on New Britain within the Coral Triangle, dotted with offshore seamounts and pinnacles. It is noted for high coral diversity and clear, sheltered water.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Terns resting on a sandbar in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
Tubbataha Reef
Philippines
UNESCO Site
Details & links
A remote UNESCO marine park in the Sulu Sea, reachable only by liveaboard during a short season. Its isolated atolls host sharks, turtles, and steep coral walls.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Bounty Beach on Malapascua Island, Philippines
Malapascua
Philippines
Thresher Sharks
Details & links
A small island north of Cebu, one of the few places where thresher sharks are reliably seen at a cleaning station on the nearby Monad Shoal, best at dawn.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Vila Franca Islet, a volcanic crater islet off São Miguel Island, Azores
Azores
Portugal
Blue Sharks
Details & links
A volcanic archipelago in the mid-Atlantic where offshore seamounts draw pelagic life. Summer diving features blue sharks, mobula rays, and dramatic underwater rock formations.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Aerial view of Aldabra Atoll's lagoon, Seychelles
Aldabra Atoll
Seychelles
UNESCO SiteLargest Raised Atoll
Details & links
A remote UNESCO World Heritage atoll, one of the largest raised coral atolls on Earth. Its isolation keeps reefs pristine, with reef sharks, mantas, and giant tortoises above water.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Dune path down to the beach at Sodwana Bay, South Africa
Sodwana Bay
South Africa
Southernmost Reefs in AfricaCoelacanth Habitat
Details & links
Part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park on South Africa's east coast, marking the southernmost tropical coral reefs in Africa. Nearby canyons famously shelter living coelacanths.
Wikipedia PADI Map
The Medes Islands off the Costa Brava, Spain
Medes Islands
Spain
Protected Since 1983
Details & links
A small protected archipelago off the Costa Brava, one of the Mediterranean's oldest marine reserves. Decades of protection have restored abundant groupers and other reef fish.
Wikipedia PADI Map
Sail Rock granite boulder formation in the Similan Islands, Thailand
Similan Islands
Thailand
Seasonal Closure
Details & links
A protected island group in the Andaman Sea off Phuket, known for granite boulder formations and clear water. The park closes seasonally to allow reefs to recover.
Wikipedia PADI Guide Map
Clear shallow water over the reef at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Key Largo, Florida
First Undersea Park in the US
Details & links
Established in 1963 as the first undersea park in the United States, protecting a stretch of the only living coral barrier reef in the continental US, with the submerged Christ of the Abyss statue on Key Largo Dry Rocks.
Florida Keys guide Wikipedia Official site Map