100 Best Dive Sites of the World

Here is the SCUBA Travel list of the 100 best 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. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
4. Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
5. Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
6. Navy Pier, Western Australia
7. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
8. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
9. Great Blue Hole, Belize
10. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
11. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
12. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
13. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
14. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
15. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
16. Sodwana bay, South Africa
17. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
18. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
19. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
20. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
21. Ulong Channel, Palau
22. Manta reef, Mozambique
23. Poor Knights, New Zealand
24. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
25. South Point, Sipadan
26. Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
27. Similans, Thailand
28. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
29. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
30. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
31. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
32. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
33. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
34. Puerto Galera, Philippines
35. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
36. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
37. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
38. Darwin Island, Galapagos
39. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
40. Jackson Reef, Egypt
41. Wolf Island, Galapogos
42. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
43. The Zenobia, Cyprus
44. Castle Rock - Komodo National Park, Indonesia
45. Sipadan Drop Off
46. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
47. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
48. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
49. Peleliu Express, Palau
50. Ghiannis D, Egypt
51. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
52. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
53. Protea Banks, South Africa
54. Raja Empat, Papua, Indonesia
55. Barra Reef, Mozambique
56. St Johns, Egypt
57. Blue Hole,Gozo, Malta
58. Cirkewwa, Malta
59. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
60. Apo Reef, Philippines
61. Bunaken, Indonesia
62. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
63. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
64. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
65. Half Moon Wall, Belize
66. Hin Muang, Thailand
67. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
68. Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
69. Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
70. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
71. Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
72. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
73. The Point, Layang - Layang
74. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
75. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
76. Booroo, Isle of Man
77. Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas
78. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
79. Gili air, Indonesia
80. Rainbow Warrier, New Zealand
81. Turtle tavern, Sipadan
82. Los testigos islands, Venezuela
83. Rangali Madivaru, Maldives
84. Mafia Island, Tanzania
85. Manta Point, Maldives
86. Little Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
87. The Express, Kuredu, Maldives
88. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
89. Hanging Garden, Sipadan
90. South West, Koh Tao
91. Wakaya Passage,Fiji
92. Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel, Mexico
93. Lekuan 1, Bunaken National Park, N. Sulawesi
94. Lombok Strait
95. Toucari Caves, Dominica
96. Joel's, PNG
97. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
98. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
99. Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island
100. Umbria, Sudan

Books of the World's Best Dive Sites

Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die

Chris Santella, 2008, 224 pages, Hardback
Buy with 20% off at Amazon.co.uk
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Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites

ed Jack Jackson, New Holland Publishers, 2008, 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

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 top 10 list.
Buy from 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.