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

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
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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

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
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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
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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.