OUR DIVE SITES

Our team has many thousands of dives across 40 destinations under their weight belt, we know the best dive sites to match the type of marine life you want to see, the best time of year to see them.

Whether its seeking out the smallest creature such as the "Sheep Nudibranch" or the biggest Sharks in huge schools we can direct you to the right dive site to meet your needs. Don't be fooled by the pictures, we have the local knowledge to give the best advice.

Choose From over 2000 Dive sites

We have chosen the best products to dive the best dive sites, it has taken us many years to refine our choices and we are on hand to help you choose the right product for your diving holiday.

The choice is so vast

We have taken time to evaluate within our team and with our valued clients to list the top 30 dive sites around the globe we offer holidays too. It is very difficult to choose the best dive sites as what one person likes another may not. Some love macro some love the big stuff. Some prefer a house reef with no current on a remote island in Fiji and others prefer the drifts offered by places such as Verde Island in Puerto Galera.

The choice is huge and we are constantly updating our dive site list. We are busy updating our old Google Earth overlay as we recently added 800 new dive sites to it and we will re-launch this soon with over 2000 dive sites to explore and interact with.

Our Top 30 Dives Sites

Top 30 Dive Sites

We have carefully chosen from over 2000 dive sites

Here are our choices for the top 30 dive sites in the world we offer holidays to. The team have fought with fins to get the top 3 agreed and we hope you like our choice! Have we missed a top site? We would love to hear your feedback on our choices. We may offer some free goodies for good feedback and amend the listing.

Darwin

Galapagos National Park, Galapagos Islands

The Darwin dive site is the main attraction for divers. From July to December divers will encounters with the biggest fish of the ocean, the Whale shark. Large schools of hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, silky sharks, Manta rays, Blue spotted jacks, Rainbow runners, Streamer hogfish, Spotted Morays, Sea turtles, Hawksbill turtles, Bottle nose dolphins, Sailfish can also be seen here, making this site simply one of the best diving sites in the world.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40m+

Thistlegorm

Sharm El Sheikh , Red Sea

The Thistlegorm was discovered in 1956 by Jacques Cousteau and is probably the most famous wreck in the world. It sank in 1941 when it was hit by a German bomb that blew a hole in the port side, igniting tank ammunition that was in the hold. The explosion ripped the roof of the ship backwards, rather like opening a tin of sardines.
The stern section of the wreck lies almost horizontal to the sea bed; the remainder of the wreck is nearly upright. Inside the wreckage, tyres, tanks, motorbikes, Bedford trucks, waders and wellington boots can be seen. Penetration is possible around the bridge and blast area. The large propeller is still in position and the guns on the stern are in excellent condition.
Artillery litters the blast area. A bath tub can be seen towards the bow and a toilet near the stern. The sea life is impressive with possibility of seeing tuna overhead the resident turtle. Expect this to be very busy, especially once the day boats have reached it; it is likely to be chaos both on the surface and under the water.

  • Dive Type: Drift Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 31m

Blue Corner

Palau, Micronesia

The Blue Corner is one of the most famous dive sites around Palau and it’s also the one that everyone wants to visit. Depths and currents here can change in seconds, therefore at times this dive site will not make it suitable for beginners. Divers can expect to encounter plenty of white tip and grey reef sharks, barracuda, jacks, rays, tuna, snapper, wrasse and bass. A myriad of smaller reef fish inhabit the area as well.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Fujikawa Maru

Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

The Fujikawa Maru was a passenger cargo ship that is now sitting upright in Truk Lagoon. Aircraft parts, fuel drums, shells, guns and many artifacts in forward holds. Very interesting engine room and huge deck guns on bow and stern. Good coral growth and fish life.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 37m

Majic Rock

Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

A small fringing reef leads to patch reefs and coral heads at 10 metres. The site takes its name from the small rock that teems with life including ribbon eels; pearl-eyed morays, sweepers, leaf fish and devilfish have been seen. The shallows are a good place to spot large cuttlefish.

  • Dive Type: Wreck Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25m

Giannis D

Hurghada , Red Sea

This Greek freighter hit the reef in April 1983 and over the course of two weeks slowly broke into two parts and sank. She is the most dived wreck in the area, laying in 24 metres and leaning to port with a fully intact stern section and an impressive engine room packed with glass fish.

The bow is very interesting too but is a long swim out. She is a great wreck for penetration but beware of disorientation due to the angle at which she lays. Be wary of the many lion fish and scorpion fish that call this wreck home and watch out for the strong surges in and around the wreck in rough weather.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 24m

Aliwal Shoal

Durban, South Africa

Aliwal Shoal displays incredibly diverse marine life - a product of South Africa's unique location at a convergence of three oceans. This enables the Shoal to accommodate both tropical and temperate species.

There are a variety of dives sites that can be experienced including deep sites, wrecks and, of course, some of the best shark diving on the planet. Due to its size, there are plenty of sites of interest on the Shoal; the more famous are Raggies Cave, Pinnacles, Shark Alley, Cathedral, South Sands, North Sands, Inside Edge, Outside Edge, Chunnel and Manta Point.

The Shoal boasts an abundance of aquatic life from Nudibranchs to Manta Rays, including Turtles, Dolphins, Eels and a great variety of tropical fish species.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40m

Black Forest

Bligh Waters, Fiji

Among scattered bommies, the dive sites’ black forest, chimneys, and “tetons”, will amaze with the colours.This photographer’s paradise has huge sea fans that are attached to two small reefs abundant with fish life. The crew reports sightings of a pair of photogenic blue ribbon eels. They are not camera shy.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18m

Yap Corner

Yap, Micronesia

Yap Corner is a very exciting dive that has all the potential to equal Palau's famous Blue Corner.

Here, divers will have the opportunity to see a variety of corals on the top reef, as well as a large number of anemones in deeper water, oceanic grey reef sharks and white tip reef sharks. Large schools of jacks and snappers are there every dive. A school of eagle rays has been seen on almost every dive and schools of large barracuda making regular appearances.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 100m

Irako

Palawan & Tubbataha, Philippines

This massive 200-meter Japanese refrigeration vessel, resting upright on the sea bed, is frequently home to Giant Groupers, as well as shoals of Tuna, Yellow Fin, Lion and Scorpion fish. She lays at the mouth of Coron Bay 28-40 meters deep. She weighs 9723 tons and is 19 meters wide. Irako was damaged and sunk in January 1944 by US Submarine, North-west of Truk. The main deck is 34 meters and it is advised that only the advanced divers penetrate the wreck due to the depth. Divers can penetrate the machine shop compartment where you will explore the bench drill and metal production machinery. This wreck usually has the best visibility of all Coron Bay Wrecks. The engine room is for the experienced and well-equipped divers as it offers a deep penetration. The two engines were steam powered geared turbines sourced from boilers.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40m

Bajo Alcyone

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Bajo Alcyone is the place to see the Hammerheads amongst other pelagic. The abundancy of resident sea life makes this site one of the island’s signature dives. Mantas, Whitetip Sharks, Whale Sharks, Silky, Blacktip Sharks, and hundreds of schooling Hammerheads are everywhere. And underwater plateau, discovered by Cousteau when he visited Cocos Island, is home to a variety of sharks.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25m

Merope rock

Mindoro & Anilao, Philippines

The Merope Rock is about 20 km west of Apo Reef. It is similar to Hunters Rock and is really only accessible on overnight trips or on the way to Busuanga.

This excellent dive site is home to strong currents that attracts large pelagic including tuna, trevally, barracuda, and sharks, Merope Rock features splendid coral and sponge growth and is home to all kinds of reef fish and colourful creatures. While the top of the rock is situated at a depth of 15 meters, the wall on the eastern side drops away to hundreds of meters below, providing an excellent view into the endless blue.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 100m+

Pescador Island Cathedral

The Visayas , Philippines

The Pescador Cathedral has a depth of 2 to 65 meters and visibility of 20 to 40 meters. There is an unbelievable variety of corals, frog fish, schools of lion fish, barracudas, tuna and snappers, etc. There is a magnificent cave that has a heavenly view of the surface so it's easy to see why it's called the Cathedral. Occasionally you will meet sharks and at the north east side there is a plateau where you can find nudibranchs, shrimps and lots of other small marine life. The wall is covered with soft coral which offers a home to octopus, moray eels, snake-eels, nudibranchs and many more.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 65m

Dirty Rock

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Located near Wafer Bay, Dirty Rock is an impressive and exciting dive. Noted as one of our guests’ favourites, here you will come up close and personal with Whale Sharks that often cruise around this site.

Dirty Rock is perhaps best known for the hundreds of Marble Rays and huge schools of Jacks that can be seen here. A swim through one of the schools is definitely worth the trip!

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 39m

Sandbore Channel

Provo, Turks & Caicos

The Sandbore Channel is the channel that is between the north point of West Caicos and to the outer reef, West Reef. The tops of the different sites start as low as 28 ft to 30 ft, with some of the most pristine diving available, from vertical drop offs, to sandy bottoms with giant stingrays. These waters are especially great for larger pelagic like eagle rays, reef sharks, and occasionally Manta and Hammerheads. There are also very vibrant reef lives, and we have sites where we see Octopus during day dives, large lobster, large Nassau, grouper and Jew Fish.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 35m

Hanifaru Bay

Northern Region, Maldives

The famous Hanifaru Bay, which is known locally as Vandhumaafaru Adi, is thought to be one the few places in the world where whale sharks congregate in to mate, although recent research suggests otherwise with the vast majority of the whale sharks seen there being young males. The bay also regularly sees some of the largest gatherings of Manta rays worldwide with up to one hundred individuals in the small inlet when the tide pushes plankton into the bay.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Jackson’s Wall

Little Cayman, Cayman Islands

This great site is for both deep and shallow dives. After a tour of the main wall, divers can make an extended safety stop looking for small creatures in the shallow coral heads around the mooring pin. A friendly barracuda usually hangs beneath the boat at Jackson's, and reef shark sightings are common.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18m

Blue Hole

Belize City, Belize

It is the world’s largest blue hole, made famous by Jacques Cousteau in the 1970’s. The first shelf of this collapsed underground cavern begins at 110 feet. Here stalactites descend from the ceiling. A healthy reef exists around the edge of the blue hole and is home to an abundant juvenile sea life, as well as schools of Parrotfish, Squid, Flaming, Scallops and several varieties of Angelfish. The shallows are great for diving or snorkelling.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 125m

Monad Shoal

The Visayas , Philippines

This dive spot is big sunken Island rising up from the ocean floor. It has spectacular overhangs and walls, disappearing into the endless deep blue ocean.

Big schools of tuna, jacks and barracudas can be seen here. Sharks are common in this area and more occasionally even hammerheads. Visibility can reach up to 100ft/30m. But one of the real special events in this area is the close encounter with the breath-taking Thresher Sharks that circle in front of you.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 200m

The Anchor

Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

The Anchor is located to the west of Grand Turk’s middle section, and as you may have guessed, a huge, old anchor can be found at the site, sitting motionless on top of the wall at around 35 feet (10 meters). Thought to be over 100 years old, the ship that the anchor once belonged to is not known, but its design is consistent with that of a British warship of HM Royal Navy. Coral and sponges now encrust the rusty chunk of metal, the chains of which are still evident, and an abundance of aquatic wildlife is attracted to the area, hovering around the anchor as if it has a magnetic pull.

  • Dive Type: Shore Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 10

Princess Alice Bank

Azores, Azores

Princess Alice Bank is one of the most famous seamounts in the archipelago. Here you will spot groups of devil rays and thousands of pelagic fish in a unique and incredible setting with 30 metres plus visibility.

This seamount is located 3 hours away from Faial Island and is only visited by divers on a day trip with 2 dives at an extra charge. Dusky groupers, round stingrays, moray eels and hogfish patrol the seafloor but it is the life found near the surface that attracts divers here and make it a legendary dive with groups of dozens of graceful devil rays making their way through schools of barracuda, skipjack tuna, trevallies, sharks and other fish.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 35m

Osprey Reef

Queensland, Australia

Osprey reef in the Coral Sea is one of the most spectacular dive sites in the world located nearly 350 km away from Cairns. The reef is roughly an oval shape and consists of a lagoon area at around 30 metres but within 1km the reef drops to 1000m making it ideal for huge amounts of pelagic action including Australia's famous shark feed dive at North Horn.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Maaya thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

A Protected Marine Area, this offers one of the best-known dives in the Maldives. There is a remarkable variety of marine life on the thila, including grey reef sharks, white tip sharks, turtles, stonefish, frogfish, zebra morays, batfish and many, many more species. At the edge of the thila, where there is a large coral overhang full of bright orange Tubastrea corals.The top of the rock, at 15m (50ft), is covered in colourful soft corals. The vertical side of the rock drops down to the atoll plate at 40m (130ft). In this channel between the satellite rock and the thila, grey reef sharks often patrol and we have seen guitar shark here on a number of occasions.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40m

Elphinstone Reef

Marsa Alam, Red Sea

The sheer walls of this great reef plunge steeply into the blue, richly decorated with soft corals, sponges, gorgonians and fans. Sharks often swim by the spot to feed on the abundant reef fish population. The northern plateau is home to schooling hammerheads with frequent sightings of oceanic white tip sharks.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Umbria

Port Sudan, Sudan

Since Port Sudan used to be one of the most important ports in the world, there are numerous exciting wrecks waiting to be discovered. One of them is Umbria, a large Italian vessel that lies on the sea bottom about 1 ½km from Port Sudan. She lies at 25m at about a 45-degree angle and in low tide the tips of her two masts even peek out of the water for an easy dive. About 18 tons of ammunition and explosives lie still in her cargo holdings along with half a million of Maria Teresa coins. Originally she was on her way to Eritrea with her cargo but she happened to set anchor in Sudan when Italy proclaimed war with the country. So the Sudanese occupied the boat and they were about to order the Italians off Umbria when they got the news that she was sinking. It is exciting to discover all the rooms and cargo spaces, some of which have remained completely intact like the bakery and the engine room. Fiat Lagunas, bottled wine and ammunition are lined up in the cargo hulls. Lots of snapper fish and sea lilies found home under the giant rudder by the stern. Lots of tiny comical cleaning crabs live near the collapsed funnel on one of the gangways which start to clean our hands if we put them on the bridge. Around the wreck we can run into barracudas, butterflyfish, spiny fish and schools of tiny red fish. On the right side of the boat corals bloom like bunches of rosehip bushes.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25

Ningaloo Reef

Western Australia, Australia

Ningaloo Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve (formerly Ningaloo Marine Park) is also very impressive. One of the worlds largest fringe reefs, it is Australian’s second largest reef and is just slightly smaller than the Belize Barrier Reef system.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Crystal Bay

Bali, Indonesia

Crystal Bay also known as Penida Bay is the best dive site in Bali for seeing the famous Mola- Mola (Ocean sunfish).

The visibility is pristine and 'Crystal' clear. The site is home to a beautiful coral reef that starts at 5m/16ft depth and goes down to a white sandy bottom.

On the north side of the bay there is a Bat Cave. Divers can enter the Bat Cave from under the water and then go up to the surface to seesleeping bats overhead.

During the 'Mola season', these large animals from the deep come up in the bay to about 30 metres depth to get nibbled on and cleaned by Emperor Angelfish and Bannerfish.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Novice Diver - 20 + Dives
  • Max Depth: 50

Stavronikita

Barbados , Barbados

The "Stav" as it is commonly known starts at 20 feet at the top of the fore mast which itself is covered with different corals and lots of Sergeant Majors. As you go down the mast you encounter groupers and snappers around the bottom of the mast. The wreck is well intact even though she has been down since 1978. This wreck can be dived in two ways, from the prop up through the ship with a maximum depth of 130 feet, or along the deck and though the cabins with a maximum depth of 100 feet. Lots of sponges and black coral have grown on her. By the prob you can find lots of sea whips.

  • Dive Type: Wreck Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40

Coral Gardens

Tobago, Tobago

Coral Gardens in Speyside is a major attraction for divers due to the giant boulder brain coral measuring 4.5 metres tall and 6 metres wide that can be seen on this gentle slopping reef. Coral Gardens is also covered with gorgonians, black and slit-pore sea rods and you can find massive schools of blue striped and French grunts, cottonwick and the occasional nurse shark.

  • Dive Type: Drift Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18m

Cousteau’s Underwater Village

Port Sudan, Sudan

Cousteau’s Underwater Village is home to the remnants of the days when Jacques Yves Cousteau embarked upon the first experiment into sub aqua living back in 1963.

The world’s first ever aquanauts lived in this assembled house, which was in the shape of a starfish with a main central chamber and four protruding arms. This house was equipped with bunk beds, toilets, showers, a stereo system and a UV chamber where every aquanaut had to spend at least 10 minutes a day to compensate for the lack of sunlight they were getting down there. In the secondary buildings there was a shed for tools, another for underwater scooters and much more.

  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 14m

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