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SCUBA Diving DestinationsAfrica • Asia • Australia • Caribbean • Central America • Europe • The Gulfs • Mediterranean • North America • Pacific • Red Sea • South America
We regularly add new areas to the SCUBA Travel site. If you want to be notified of updates to the site, along with other SCUBA diving news and discussion, please subscribe to our newsletter: SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). Diving JordanSee our Red Sea Section. Diving Israel
"There are some amazing dive sites in Israel from wrecks to marine life. Both in the Med and Red Sea. Wreck site: the Italian Submarine Sire that was sunk by the Brits in WW2 not far from Hiafa Harbor. Marine life: the area of Park Ach ziv. There's diving here all year round. Archology diving at Ceasira or Dor. There is an underwater museum at Caesara. The museum is about the ancient Roman seaport of Caesara Maritna on the Med coast. You dive along a wire with a map. Each exhibit is number so you understand what you are seeing. Fasinating place all exhibits are in shallow water no more than 7 meters. I've dived there on several occasions. " Diving OmanMuscat "Surprisingly good, gentle diving. I visited Oman at Easter last year, the water temperature was a warm 26 degrees, and a 2/3mm wet suit is fine. It's a great place for the novice or for people who don't like deep diving as you are unlikely to get much below 15 - 20 m in most of the regular dive sites. Saw the usual culprits: sweetlips, cuttlefish, turtles, morays, etc - lots, really. The corals were mostly hard: cabbage and plate, staghorn plus anemone coral. Not quite the same standard as say the Red Sea, but not bad nonetheless. Oman itself is a great place to visit. You must hire a car and take time out to visit fishing villages and old Portuguese forts. There are 2 main dive centres in Muscat. As I did not want to stay in a posh hotel, who have their own dive operator or sub to Blue Bubbles, I stayed and dived with the Oman Dive Centre, whom I completely recommend." Oman Dive Operators:
GLOBAL SCUBA, P O Box 309, Medinat Sultan Qaboos PC115 Oman Ocean Boat Diving, P.O Box:495 P.C 133, Muscat, Oman Oman Dive Centre, P. O. Box 199,
Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos P. C 115, Sultanate of Oman Diving the Arabian Gulf"The Arabian Gulf is mucky and not as good as the Red Sea. They do have some neat fish but that is about it. They throw buses and cars in the water as a natural coral. The visibility is about 3 meters. Stick with the red sea. " See also: Our Saudi Arabia Red Sea section. Diving United Arab Emirates" In the UAE, the better dive sites are: Sharm Rocks, Energy Determination wreck (used to be world's biggest tanker) and a few other notable ones - ask a local diver. Tourists, please be advised that if you ever need a dive chamber in the UAE, you are going to struggle. The only way to get one, is to phone around the offices of the ship-repair companies, and try to "bum" and beg the use of their chamber. There are no readily accessible chambers for the public. And forget about having a chopper evac you "DAN" style- it likely ain't gonna happen, Ace! If you bend, the likely scenario is that you'll be sitting inside your hotel room for hours on end, waiting for a locally-based recreational diver to "beg" a chamber-time favor on your behalf from his informal contact network in the ship-repair industry. " Snoopy Island Rating: "Snoopy Island is a little island about 150 to 200 m out to sea. You can walk to it at low-tide. It's a nice, safe little place for newly licensed Open Water divers, or, for those seeking an easy "sun-bathing and dive day" at the beach. By no means, though, can it be descibed as a "top dive". I have dived Red Sea often, as well as Sipadan and Maldives, and Snoopy Island, although a pleasant little place, is probably about 45% as good as a place like Yolanda Reef in the Red Sea. You cannot even put the names on the same page! Martini Rock Rating: Inchcape II Rating: Musandam Sites Rating: Further reading: UAE Underwater Explorer: covers the top dives sites around UAE.. Dive Operators: Diving BrazilPlease our Brazil diving section... Further reading: The Rough Guide to Brazil (Order from the UK)
Diving VenezuelaLos Testigos Islands "Water a little murky as fed by rivers. However, very large wildlife: lobsters, sharks, turtles, all oversized (lobsters up to 15 lbs). depth range 50-150 ft, large rocky bottoms, boulders, formed shallows where life is abundant. very remote " "Murkiness was okay because of all the creatures. " Los Roques "The National Park the Roques is located about 150 km north of the Central Coast of the state Vargas of Venezuela. The Archipelago the Roques, comprises about 42 small barren islands and 200 keys and banks of sand that include a surface of but of 221,000 Hectares and separated of the neighboring islands and the continental coast by depths superior to the 1000 m.s, bathed by warm oceanic waters (25º-30º C) all the year and under the tradewinds influence that blows of the E or of the E-NE. The coralline, ambient reefs are exceptionally varied in habitat where small spaces of rompientes and calm waters are generated and zones of lights and total shades of nutrients. Of great commercial value they are the pargos, rabirrubias, carites and mere; and greater value still has the thorny lobster, since more from 90% of the national production it comes from the Roques." Venezuela Dive Operators: "30 ofshore islands, untouched, real! Very good value for money - spanish, accommodaton, meals and diving all for about $300 USD per week. Not as touristy as other places - diving was very good - lots of fishlife. Would rank it in the top 10% of my dives - but not top! " Diving NicaraguaBlowing Rock, Big Corn Island, Nicaragua " Big fish, turtles, pinnacle out in the middle of the Caribbean, untouched. " Diving the British Virgin IslandsThe Wreck of the RMS Rhone "The Rhone because it is blanketed in color -- encrusted in coral and sponges. You almost always see turtles and barracuda and it's teeming with fish: sergeant majors, angelfish, parrotfish, durgon. But it's a popular dive site for other reasons as well. It is the wreck of a 310 foot steamer that went down in a hurricane in 1867. She's in two sections. The bow is about 150 feet long and at about 70-80 feet of water. You can swim inside. You can see the bowsprit, foremast with crow's nest, a cannon. Stern is in 30 feet with a huge propeller Diving Argentina"The best place to dive in Argentina is in Valdez Península, in the Golfo Nuevo (New Gulf), there is a City there called Madryn and a small village call Puerto Pirámide. The water is a little cold, between 8 and 20 ºC. I recommend going between November and March, the whales are between June and November, but it isn´t posible to dive with them. "Diving in Argentina is in cold waters (from 6 oC to 15). The best spots are are Peninsula Valdes and Patagonia/Ushuaia. "There is some amazing diving in south east of Argentina, approx 800 km from BA. The name is Peurta Madryn. I was there out of season and did a few coldish dives with seals. theres also whale watching and from Oct to April and three types of penguins. Its a beautiful place too which I would highly recommend. Diving Ecuador and GalapagosFor the Galapagos see our Americas section, and Issue 90 of SCUBA News Diving BelizeYou can dive all year round in Belize. The rainy season is from June to November, but showers are generally short and the visibility at offshore sites isn't usually affected. March, October and November can be windy. The best time for diving is probably between April and June. Great Blue
Hole "Ring coral reef surrounding a large hole. Dive 14 m to the edge of the hole and then drop straight down into the hole. Hole reaches 148 m but there is on overhead ledge at 25 m. Habitated by mako sharks and assorted large tropical fish. 75 oF at surface, 68 oF at 33 m. "Quick descent to 40 m then swim through staligmites. Look for schools of carribean reef sharks between 80-20ft on the ascent. " "Is there another sight like it? 100 ft visibility coming over the bathwater warm reef of vibrant colors, descending into a cool, deep blue hole where the water begins to waver and shimmer as you enter the transition from salt to fresh water at about 50 ft. Watching the enormous tuna and other pelagics dive into the hole to clean themselves as you briefly remove your octopus to taste the fresh water. Then descending another 70 feet to explore the stalagtites and stalagmites of ancient caverns and you come across a man sitting there drawing on a canvas. " Shark Cave "Bottom half of an hour glass, full of sharks. Vis = 80 m, water temperature = 30 oC. " Half Moon Wall "Excellent visibility, coral of vibrant colours and many fish - located just off Half Moon Caye. " Long Caye Wall, Glover's Reef "Dived the top of the wall during open water certification dives. Fantastic site, approached across sandy flats complete with garden eels and more. Huge coral formations rise above the top of the wall, plenty of Creole Wrasse, Nassau and Tiger Grouper, Barracuda, Stoplight parrotfish, Queen Angelfish and much more. Managed to miss an overflight of sea turtles on the first dive, as we were too busy taking in the sea life in the reef. Wide variety of corals: Staghorn, Elkhorn, Brain coral and numerous sponges and sea fans." Belize "You should take a look at Belize. I lived there for 10 years and found the diving to be world class. " Dive Operators "This is a little private island in Belize, located 30 miles off the coast. They offer 7, 4 and 3 nights all-inclusive diving packages. The lodge is only 5-10 minutes away from the best dive sites, with a maximum of 30 divers per week. Their 7-night dive package includes 17 dives, a day trip to Lighthouse Reef Atoll and the Blue Hole, and one night dive."
Ocean's Edge, sroperville@yahoo.ca Off The Wall Dive Center and Resort, Long Caye, Glover's Reef Atoll, Belize, Central America. offthewallbze@xplornet.com "One and a half hours off the coast of Belize, from Dangriga. Would definitely dive with them again." Further reading: Honduras and Belize: White Star Guides Diving Diving BemudaNorth Rock " Coral Reef 8 miles Nort East of Bermuda. " Diving Netherlands AntillesBonaire " Wonderful coral. Easy dive profile. 30 meter + vis. Great places to dine and comfortable places to stay. Also, the island is safe and friendly. What's not to love? "I had heard and read about Bonaire for at least 20 years and was prepared for excellent macro-life. A recent Rodale survey even gave Bonaire top marks (or maybe #2) for small life. " I really enjoyed Bonaire in November. The water was crystal blue and visibility unbelievable. The marine life set the tone and moray eels from spotted to green 6 footers. The weather was sunny warm and the people were very good hosts. I am a member of NABS (National association of Black Scuba Divers) and our summit was held at the Plaza Resort of Bonaire. A great trip and a lot of dive sites. They even have good off-shore diving day and night. " "Karpata is great site from shallows to deep. Staghorn coral." "Lac Cai: Murky water with 100+ tarpons and then.....heaven. Eagle rays, stingrays, sometimes sharks. Big stuff." Dive Operators "I spent a week staying and diving at Buddy Dive Resort on Bonaire and was very pleased with the operation. Actually, I don't think, in 28 years of diving, that I've been to a better organised, more diver friendly land operation anywhere. " 80 ft + Vis, Turtles, Black tipped Reef Sharks, Slugs, schools of Jacks, some soft corals. Fathoms Mag describes this local to be one of the greatest dives, well I've seen better colour in Carmel, Calif. Pt Lobos. but the dive was still nice. The trip there from St. Martin cost $65 by cat, round trip. They supply beer, soda, bottled water. 1Hr.30 each way. Curaçao is an island of 180,000 people. It is 40 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide, sitting 40 miles north of Venezuela and 48 miles east of Aruba. For an article on diving and other activities around Curaçao see Tab Hauser's article. Further reading: The Dive Sites of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao Diving Puerto RicoLa Parguera "Magnificent wall dive with complete reef coverage, black coral forest, lots of sponges and rich marine environment. " Diving ColombiaProvidencia Island "The most beutiful place I have ever been. There are many places to rent a boat and diving equipment. Cost may vary from season to season. I went in high season (Dec-Jan) and the price is approx $50 for one dive. Much better than other places such as Costa Rica. Not only the diving is amazing but the island is magical. " Gorgona Island "Gorgona island, until 1985, was a jail; it's now a sanctuary. The land tours are great and you wlll see sharks, sea lions, dolpins, whale sharks, Whales (sometimes) and its not over populted with tourists. Gorgona was awesome, As good as the Galapagos. Colombia is more safe than the media would have you believe. " San Andres Island "I had a blast. Sunken ships. Sunken 737, Lots of big and bigger barracuda. Stingrays and a great trip to Johnny Cay to feed them in the evening. If you got to San Andres AVOID the Sunrise Hotel. It just plain old sucks and costs way too much. The Decameron Hotels are MUCH better. " Isla Rosario "If you like diving the reef and looking at tiny stuff 24/7 this is the dive for you. I would rate Cartagena as over promising and under delivering." Malpelo "The sinister and forbidding Malpelo Island is located 314 miles (506 Kilometers) off the coast of Buenaventura, Colombia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Malpelo is home to an important coral formation as well as a large variety and quantity of marine creatures. Of special interest is the hammerhead shark with its awe-inspiring schools reaching up to 300 hundred individuals. The two most outstanding phenomena in Malpelo are the huge number of cluster and free swimming moray eels and the enormous congregations of silky sharks who often mix with hammerheads to form colossal shark schools. "One of the most beautiful sites to dive in the world. Best of all is still unexploited by tourism. " "Dirty Rock, Malpelo, is 350 miles west of the coast of Columbia. This site is home to hundreds of hammerheads, blacktips, white tips, whale sharks, mantas, yellow fin tuna, etc. 65 deg water with 4-6 ft seas, but high-octane excitment. " Colombia Dive Operators: " Andres knows his stuff " Diving CubaPlease see the Americas section. Diving The BahamasWreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas "Jean Pierce's book Unofficial Guide to the World's Best Diving Vacations describes this dive as a pretty ordinary wreck which attracts a wide variety of fish making it excellent for photographers - well she must have been unlucky (or possibly not looking, as the book does seem to leave out dive sites well known around the world to people from outside the US!) to miss around a dozen Caribbean Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus perezi)in their natural environment. We didn't want to go on one of those commercial kneel in a circle on the sea bed while a divemaster in chain mail feeds sharks from a basket of chum dives that occur in parts of the Bahamas, and had not necessarily expected to see sharks at all. Our DM told us in our briefing we may see some and indeed as the bubbles from the giant stride entry cleared one unmistakable shape was visible as we looked down towards the wreck. Some swam parallel to us as we passed the wreck and swam along the edge of the reef, shadowing us - remaining a respectful distance away but close enough to let us know we were the visitors. Returning to the wreck later in the dive in shallower water with a sandy bottom we were definitely on their patch and they were all around us, circling the wreck, crossing above, below and parallel to us, closer now especially when we were stationary doing a stop on the anchor chain. Having seen sharks some distance below on a wall dive in the Red Sea, and larger numbers of inquisitive ones much closer on a night dive on the Great Barrier Reef which involved green eyes coming towards you then turning away as they realised what you were, to see these magnificent creatures up close in such clear water in daylight really was a great experience. On top of that is the fact that it's a nice little wreck on the edge of a reef with lots of other fish around which made this dive extremely memorable. " "Nice wreck, sharks, lion fish, swim throughs. Got it all. " Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island "Sugar wreck near Grand Bahama island. There is more variety of sealife at this 1800's wreck than any one place I have ever been. A true underwater photographers paradise! " Steel Forest, Nassau "Great wreck diving! Three wrecks in a row. Great swim thrus." Shark Dive, Nassau "Amazing close up shark experience. A must do. Caribeean reef sharks." Further reading: Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Bahamas Diving the Dominican RepublicSee our Dominican Republic page. Diving the Commonwealth of DominicaSee also our Dominica Section. "I'm a PADI Dive Instructor who has been living in the Commonwealth of Dominica for over two years now, and I'm still in love with the diving here.....pristine reefs, incredible sponges, loads of rare critters all on an island that looks looks like they should have filmed Jurassic Park here." Toucari Caves "The healthiest reef in the Caribbean, teaming with fish, incredible sponge diversity, swim-through, coral arch and bubbles rising from the reef...just a stunning dive" Further reading: Dominica - Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Guide Diving the Cayman IslandsYou can dive all year in the Cayman Islands. The rainy season starts in May and peaks in October. Spring and Autumn plankton blooms reduce visibility. Grand Cayman "Grand Cayman ....Very poor in marine life." Shark Alley, Grand Cayman "Dive down the grand cayman wall to about 30 metres, follow the wall along then come back up in a sand chute with large coral heads. A very good dive. " Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman "Great visibility and drop off features. " "The best wall diving in the Caribean Sea " "Swarms of sharks and rays, dramatic drop off into the black, layers and layers of beautiful ecosystems. Yum! " "Wall starts in the 60 foot range and drops off into 6000 feet of deep blue. Unbelievable sponges and reef life--occasional large ocean travellers." Cayman Brac "Cayman Brac had a lot of good diving...it had tons of rays, a few turtles, reef and nurse sharks, sea turtles, barricudas, and plenty of other creatures.....the diving was great overall.....the sunken russian ship was very interesting and so was the recreation of the underwater "Atlantis"....the walls were cool and the dive instructors were awesome...the water is also very clear....it was a great place to dive..... " Further reading: Lonely Planet: Diving and Snorkeling Cayman Islands Dive Operators: Southern Cross Club "My diving in the Caribbean Sea on Little Cayman Island this December 2004 was spectacular. The Southern Cross Club provides excellent, modern, clean and serene accomadations with three full gourmet meals a day. The dive boats (2) never had more than 6 or 7 people a day. The dive instructors are very experienced, professional and warm friendly people who are focused on your safety and enjoyment. I would definitely go back again. "
Turks and CaicosPlease see the Turks and Caicos section. Diving CanadaVancouver Island, British Colombia "Check out diving in BC. Though the coral reefs aren't here the sea life is bountiful and colourful. Some Harbour seals are tame enough to swim with the divers. The waters can be chilly but visibility is excellent. Porto Cove, just outside Vancouver, is a popular dive site and does not require boat access. " "There is a wonderful dive boat that operates there off Vancouver Island, Nautilus Explorer. Mike Lever has a great vessel and offers awesome dive trips ranging from 4 days to a week or longer. Many opportunities to see wolf eels, giant pacific octopus, six-gill sharks, rock fish, nudibranchs, and the list goes on. It's definitely a place to visit, although I highly recommend dry suits. Most of the dives are current sensitive, but Mike has the timing down to a science and does a marvellous job of optimising all the dive sites. It's a trip worth taking. " Kingston, Ontario "The diving in Kingston Ontario Canada is the best of the great lakes, but not many divers are aware of this. It offers historical shipwreck diving. Artefacts on wrecks are protected by Kingston's "Protect our Shipwrecks" for future divers to enjoy. The Wolf island ferry wreck, for example, has the bow sitting at 70 feet with a small perch hovering stern at 110 feet and propellers intact. Penetration diving is possible with a rope, the wearing of helmets and a good lighting system. This area is Canada's best kept secret for diving shipwrecks. " Browning Wall, Port Hardy "The best Cold water dive I have ever done and one of the best drift dives I have ever done. The wall has some of the most amazing invertebrate marine life I have ever seen. So abundant you feel like you can stare at a square meter of the wall for your whole dive. A must see. " Nova Scotia "I love tropical dives but last year I went back to Nova Scotia to see if I would still enjoy colder diving and it was fabulous! I would probably not be an enthusiastic winter diver like I used to be but Nova Scotia in the summer is a wonderful place to dive! The colors are not as dramatic as you see in warmer waters but there is an amazing variety of plant and animal life and of course lots of wrecks to keep it interesting. And you can dive right off the shore almost anywhere. " Birchy Head, Nova Scotia "If you want a challenge try BirchyHead located in Peggys Cove below Halifax Nova Scotia....If you like brush humping and cliff climbing to get to the site wow, this is the place. Overall visibility was great, cold water, and do to a recent passing of the storm front entry was complicated and exit was very challenging... Birchy Head is sand bottom, isolated rocks, there are walls to dive but nothing special and they are shallow and effected by the swells. Saw lots of lobster and scallops, some pelagic and the benthics in large number, like sea anenomies. " Diving USAPlease see our Americas section. Your CommentsWe endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular diving location or operator we'd love to hear from you. Books of the World's Best SCUBA Diving
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