100 Best Dive Sites in the World
21 March 2013
The top dive site since our list began, way back in the year 2000, had been continually held by the Yongala - a fantastic wreck dive in Australia. But not anymore. Blue Corner Wall in Palau has steadily crept up the list until this week it pushed the Yongala into second place.
How many of the dives on this list have you dived? Tweet @SCUBANews or tell us below .
To vote for your best dive , scroll down to the bottom of the page. You may also be interested in our Best Wreck Dives list and the Top Dives in Europe .
Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
Yongala, Australia
Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
Great Blue Hole, Belize
Navy Pier, Western Australia
Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
President Coolidge, Vanuatu
Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
Richelieu Rock, Thailand
Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
Ulong Channel, Palau
Sodwana bay, South Africa
Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
Manta reef, Mozambique
Poor Knights, New Zealand
Darwin Island, Galapagos
Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
Darwin Arch, Galapagos
Castle Rock - Komodo National Park, Indonesia
South Point, Sipadan
Wolf Island, Galapogos
Similans, Thailand
Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Mnemba Island, Tanzania
Bunaken, Indonesia
Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
Jackson Reef, Egypt
Malpelo Island, Colombia
Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
The Zenobia, Cyprus
Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
Apo Reef, Philippines
Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
St Johns, Egypt
Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
Sipadan Drop Off
Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
Half Moon Wall, Belize
Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
Peleliu Express, Palau
Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
Ghiannis D, Egypt
Stingray City, Grand Cayman
Protea Banks, South Africa
Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
Blue Hole,Gozo, Malta
Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
Barra Reef, Mozambique
Cirkewwa, Malta
Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
Hin Muang, Thailand
alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
The Point, Layang - Layang
Umbria, Sudan
The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
Booroo, Isle of Man
Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas
Pinnacles, Ponto Malongane, Mozambique
Monad Shoal, Malapascua, Philippines
Palancar Bricks, Cozumel
Socorro: The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
Mafia Island, Tanzania
Rainbow Warrier, New Zealand
Manuelita Coral Night Dive (Dinner Bell), Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Los testigos islands, Venezuela
Rangali Madivaru, Maldives
Gili air, Indonesia
Batu Bolong, Flores, Indonesia
San Andres Colombia
Turtle tavern, Sipadan
Compiled from divers' votes by Jill Studholme
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, 2008, 300 pages, Hardback
Available from UK and
USA
Ultimate Diving Adventures: 100 Extraordinary Experiences Under Water
by Len Deeley and Karen Gargani, John Wiley & Sons, 2009, 218 pages, Paperback
Details some of the best dive sites around the world, with some lovely photographs. The authors have included many of the dives listed in our best dives list.
Available from UK and
USA
Diving the World Beth and Shaun Tierney, Footprint Travel Guides, 2009, 352 pages, Paperback
Available from UK and
USA
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.
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