9 March 2021
Compiled from divers' votes, here is the definitive list of the best dive sites on the planet. How many of them have you dived?
The list is overwhelmingly dominated by warm water dives, with the only cold water representatives coming from the Galapagos, Iceland and, perhaps surprisingly, the Isle of Man.
Compare liveaboards to top 100 diving spots
Vote for your favourite dive sites in the world below. Want to narrow the list down? See the Best Wreck Diving in the World list, the Top Dives in Europe or the Best Dives in the Caribbean.
- Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island, Malaysia
- Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
- Yongala, Australia
- Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
- Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
- Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
- Great Blue Hole, Belize
- Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
- Richelieu Rock, Thailand
- Navy Pier, Western Australia
- Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
- Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
- President Coolidge, Vanuatu
- Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
- Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
- Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
- Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
- Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
- Bloody bay wall, Little Cayman
- Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
- Darwin Island, Galapagos
- Sodwana bay, South Africa
- Castle Rock - Komodo, Indonesia
- Manta reef, Mozambique
- Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan, Red Sea
- Ulong Channel, Palau
- Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
- Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
- Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
- Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
- Poor Knights, New Zealand
- Wolf Island, Galapogos
- Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
- Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
- South Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
- Darwin Arch, Galapagos
- Jackson Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
- Bunaken, Indonesia
- Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
- Apo Reef, Philippines
- Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
- Similans, Thailand
- Blue Magic, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
- Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
- Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
- Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
- The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
- San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
- Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
- Sipadan Drop Off, Malaysia
- Puerto Galera, Philippines
- Mnemba Island, Tanzania
- Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
- Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
- Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
- Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
- Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
- The Zenobia, Cyprus
- Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
- Malpelo Island, Colombia
- Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
- Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
- Sangalaki Island, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Indonesia
- Alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
- East of Eden, Ko Similan, Thailand
- Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
- Neptune's Arm, Vamizi Island, Mozambique
- Cirkewwa, Malta
- St Johns, Egyptian Red Sea
- USS Saratoga, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Isles
- Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
- Half Moon Wall, Belize
- Hin Muang, Thailand
- Little Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
- Peleliu Express, Palau
- Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
- Ghiannis D, Egyptian Red Sea
- Stingray City, Grand Cayman
- Roca Partida, Revillagigedo Islands, Baja California, Mexico
- Protea Banks, South Africa
- Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
- Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
- Barra Reef, Mozambique
- Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
- Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
- Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
- Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
- Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
- Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
- Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi
- Los Roques, Venezuela
- Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, Australia
- Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
- Cathédrale , Hienghène , New Caledonia
- Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
- Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
- Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
- Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
- Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
- Cabo Pulmo Rocky Reef, Mexico
Compiled from divers' votes by Jill Studholme
