Diving Destinations » World's Best Dive Sites

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

11 March 2019
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.

Barracuda
Manta Ray
Christmas tree worm
whale shark
scorpion fish
soft coral
dolphin
Inside The Thistlegorm
Daedalus lighthouse
Stingray dive
Maldives shark dive
nudibranch
Turtle
Maldives
Lionsmane jellyfish
Diving the Umbria
Soft coral
wreck
coral
clownfish
plumose anemones
Flag fish
coral
  1. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island, Malaysia
  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. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
  9. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
  10. Navy Pier, Western Australia
  11. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
  12. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
  13. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
  14. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
  15. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
  16. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
  17. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
  18. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
  19. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
  20. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
  21. Darwin Island, Galapagos
  22. Sodwana bay, South Africa
  23. Castle Rock - Komodo, Indonesia
  24. Manta reef, Mozambique
  25. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
  26. Ulong Channel, Palau
  27. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
  28. Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
  29. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
  30. Poor Knights, New Zealand
  31. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
  32. Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
  33. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
  34. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
  35. Jackson Reef, Egypt
  36. Bunaken, Indonesia
  37. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
  38. Apo Reef, Philippines
  39. South Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
  40. Wolf Island, Galapogos
  41. Similans, Thailand
  42. Blue Magic, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
  43. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  44. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
  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, Malaysia
  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. Malpelo Island, Colombia
  58. Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
  59. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
  60. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
  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. USS Saratoga, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Isles
  69. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
  70. Half Moon Wall, Belize
  71. Hin Muang, Thailand
  72. Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
  73. Peleliu Express, Palau
  74. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
  75. Ghiannis D, Egypt
  76. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
  77. Protea Banks, South Africa
  78. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
  79. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
  80. Barra Reef, Mozambique
  81. San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
  82. Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
  83. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
  84. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
  85. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
  86. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
  87. Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
  88. Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi
  89. Los Roques, Venezuela
  90. Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, Australia
  91. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
  92. Cathédrale , Hienghène , New Caledonia
  93. Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
  94. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
  95. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
  96. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
  97. Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
  98. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
  99. El Quadim Bay, El Quseir, Red Sea
  100. Umbria, Sudan

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…

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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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