100 Top Dive Sites of the World

Here is the SCUBA Travel list of the 100 top dive sites, as voted for by our readers. To cast your vote, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

1. Yongala, Australia
2. Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
3. Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
4. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
5. Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
6. Navy Pier, Western Australia
7. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
8. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
9. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
10. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
11. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
12. Great Blue Hole, Belize
13. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
14. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
15. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
16. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
    Inside The Thistlegorm
    
17. Sodwana bay, South Africa
18. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
19. Poor Knights, New Zealand
20. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
21. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
22. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
23. Manta reef, Mozambique
24. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
25. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
26. Ulong Channel, Palau
27. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
28. Darwin Island, Galapagos
29. Similans, Thailand
30. Wolf Island, Galapogos
31. Puerto Galera, Philippines
32. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
33. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
    Soft coral on Daedelus
    
34. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
35. Protea Banks, South Africa
36. The Zenobia, Cyprus
37. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
38. Barra Reef, Mozambique
39. St Johns, Egypt
40. Blue Hole, Gozo, Malta
41. Jackson Reef, Egypt
42. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
43. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
44. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
45. Half Moon Wall, Belize
46. Hin Muang, Thailand
47. Sipadan Drop Off
48. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
49. Peleliu Express, Palau
50. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
51. Ghiannis D, Egypt
    Dead Men's Fingers on the Booroo
    
52. Booroo, Isle of Man
53. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
54. Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas
55. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
56. Gili air, Indonesia
57. The Point, Layang - Layang
58. Rainbow Warrier, New Zealand
59. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
60. Turtle tavern, Sipadan
61. Los testigos islands, Venezuela
62. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
63. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
64. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
65. The Express, Kuredu, Maldives
66. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
67. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
68. Hanging Garden, Sipadan
69. Wakaya Passage,Fiji
70. Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel, Mexico
71. Toucari Caves, Dominica
72. Joel's, PNG
73. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
74. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
75. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
76. Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island
    The Umbria
    
77. Umbria, Sudan
78. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
79. Office, Mozambique
80. South Point, Sipadan
81. Chios island, Greece
82. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
83. Bay of Pigs, Cuba
84. Tiputa pass, Rangiroa, New Zealand
85. Fish Factory, Vuna Reef, Taveuni, Fiji
86. Shark Fin Point, Fiji
87. Great Basses reef, Sri Lanka
88. East Timor
89. Cenotes, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
90. Marbini Padre, Malaysia
91. Eddystone Reef, Britain
92. Malpelo Island, Colombia
93. Cirkewwa, Malta
94. Shark Point, Solomon Islands
95. Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
96. Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island
97. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
98. Amed Wall II, Indonesia
99. Raja Empat, Papua, Indonesia
100. Beach Beru, Maldives

Books of the World's Best Dive Sites

Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites

ed Jack Jackson, New Holland Publishers, 2003, 300 pages, Hardback
Buy with 20% off at Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com

Dive - The Ultimate Guide to 60 of the World's Top Dive Locations

by Monty Halls, Ultimate Sports Publications Ltd, 2004, 320 pages, Softback
Monty Halls' book describes 60 of the world's best diving areas, and highlights specific dives not to be missed whilst you are there. It also aims to provide independent travellers with the other information they will need, such as about water temperatures, visa requirements, the best time of year to go and addresses of dive centres and recompression chambers. For more details read our review... or visit amazon.co.uk or amazon.com.
Buy with 10% off at Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com

Diving with Giants: The World's Best Pelagic Dives

by Jack Jackson, New Holland Publishers Ltd , 2006, 160 pages, Hardback
Features the best places in the world's oceans and seas to dive with pelagic species: sharks, manta rays, dolphins, whales, barracuda, etc.
Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Diving the World

by Beth and Shaun Tierney, Footprint Handbooks, 2006, 352 pages, Paperback
Some 200 prime sites have been carefully selected, reviewed and photographed by experienced husband-and-wife team, Beth and Shaun Tierney. From the pristine reefs of Papua New Guinea to the warm waters of the Belize Barrier Reef and the legendary wrecks of Micronesia's Truk Lagoon
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com

The Best Dive Sites of the World

ed Egidio Trainito and Kurt Amsler, White Star, 2007, 364 pages, Paperback
Buy with 15% off at Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com

Scuba Diver's Travel Companion

by Jeremy Agnew, Rizzoli Publications, 1997, 168 pages, Paperback
Buy with 9% off at Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com

Vote for your Top Dives

Name:             E-mail:      

Dive Site 1:      Dive Site 2: 
Dive 1 Description:             Dive 2 Description: 
     
Other Comments or Runner-Up Dives:

How are the votes counted?
The first criteria is number of votes (weighted to favour the first choice dive site above the second). Where two dives tie for a position, priority is given to those with the most enticing descriptions and those whose area has several votes for different dives.

SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)

Every month we send out a free newsletter which will tell you when the top 100 dive list has been updated. It also has articles on diving areas, underwater life, diving book reviews and interviews with authors. To receive this please fill in your e-mail address below. For an archive of previous issues see the SCUBA News page.