Diving Destinations » World's Best Dive Sites

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

2 October 2018
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 dive sites

Vote for your favourite dive sites below. You may also be interested in the Best Wreck Dives list and the Top Dives in Europe.

1. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
2. Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
3. Yongala, Australia
4. Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
5. Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
6. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
7. Great Blue Hole, Belize
8. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
9. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
10. Navy Pier, Western Australia
11. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
12. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
13. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
14. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
15. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
16. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
17. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
18. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
19. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
20. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
21. Sodwana bay, South Africa
22. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
23. Ulong Channel, Palau
24. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
25. Darwin Island, Galapagos
26. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
27. Castle Rock - Komodo National Park, Indonesia
28. Manta reef, Mozambique
29. Poor Knights, New Zealand
30. Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
31. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
32. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
33. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
34. Jackson Reef, Egypt
35. Bunaken, Indonesia
36. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
37. South Point, Sipadan
38. Wolf Island, Galapogos
39. Similans, Thailand
40. Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
41. Blue Magic, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
42. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
43. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
44. Apo Reef, Philippines
45. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
46. The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
47. Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
48. Sipadan Drop Off
49. Puerto Galera, Philippines
50. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
51. Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
52. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
53. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
54. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
55. The Zenobia, Cyprus
56. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
57. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
58. Malpelo Island, Colombia
59. Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
60. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
61. Sangalaki Island, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Indonesia
62. Alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
63. East of Eden, Ko Similan, Thailand
64. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
65. Neptune's Arm, Vamizi Island, Mozambique
66. Cirkewwa, Malta
67. St Johns, Egypt
68. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
69. Half Moon Wall, Belize
70. Hin Muang, Thailand
71. Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
72. Peleliu Express, Palau
73. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
74. Ghiannis D, Egypt
75. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
76. Protea Banks, South Africa
77. Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
78. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
79. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
80. Barra Reef, Mozambique
81. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
82. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
83. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
84. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
85. Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
86. San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
87. Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi
88. los roques/venezuela
89. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
90. Cathédrale , Hienghène , New Caledonia
91. Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
92. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
93. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
94. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
95. Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
96. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
97. El Quadim Bay, El Quseir, Red Sea
98. Blue Hole, Gozo, Malta
99. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras

Compiled from divers' votes by Jill Studholme

Books of the World's Best Dive Sites

Diving the World

Beth and Shaun Tierney, Footprint Travel Guides, 52 pages, Paperback
From the sardine run to swimming pigs - a diver's wish-list for finding the very best underwater wildlife experiences.
Find out more…

World's Best Wildlife Dive Sites

Nick Robertson-Brown and Caroline Robertson-Brown, 288 pages, Hardback
Find out more…

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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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