destinations » Best Diving in the World

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

27 May 2020
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.

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Vote for your favourite dive sites in the world below. Want to narrow the list down? See the Best Wreck Dives list and the Top Dives in Europe.


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. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
  31. Poor Knights, New Zealand
  32. Wolf Island, Galapogos
  33. Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
  34. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
  35. South Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
  36. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
  37. Jackson Reef, Egypt
  38. Bunaken, Indonesia
  39. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
  40. Apo Reef, Philippines
  41. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
  42. Similans, Thailand
  43. Blue Magic, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
  44. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  45. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
  46. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
  47. The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
  48. San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
  49. Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
  50. Sipadan Drop Off, Malaysia
  51. Puerto Galera, Philippines
  52. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
  53. Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
  54. Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
  55. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
  56. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
  57. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
  58. The Zenobia, Cyprus
  59. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
  60. Malpelo Island, Colombia
  61. Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
  62. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
  63. Sangalaki Island, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Indonesia
  64. Alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  65. East of Eden, Ko Similan, Thailand
  66. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  67. Neptune's Arm, Vamizi Island, Mozambique
  68. Cirkewwa, Malta
  69. St Johns, Egypt
  70. USS Saratoga, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Isles
  71. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
  72. Half Moon Wall, Belize
  73. Hin Muang, Thailand
  74. Little Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
  75. Peleliu Express, Palau
  76. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
  77. Ghiannis D, Egypt
  78. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
  79. Roca Partida, Revillagigedo Islands, Baja California, Mexico
  80. Protea Banks, South Africa
  81. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
  82. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
  83. Barra Reef, Mozambique
  84. Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
  85. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
  86. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
  87. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
  88. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
  89. Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
  90. Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi
  91. Los Roques, Venezuela
  92. Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, Australia
  93. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
  94. Cathédrale , Hienghène , New Caledonia
  95. Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
  96. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
  97. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
  98. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
  99. Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
  100. Cabo Pulmo Rocky Reef, Mexico

Compiled from divers' votes by Jill Studholme

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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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