Diving Destinations » World's Best Dive Sites

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

14 June 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. 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. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
  36. Jackson Reef, Egypt
  37. Bunaken, Indonesia
  38. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
  39. Apo Reef, Philippines
  40. South Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
  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. San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
  48. Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
  49. Sipadan Drop Off, Malaysia
  50. Puerto Galera, Philippines
  51. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
  52. Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
  53. Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
  54. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
  55. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
  56. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
  57. The Zenobia, Cyprus
  58. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
  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. Peleliu Express, Palau
  75. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
  76. Ghiannis D, Egypt
  77. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
  78. Protea Banks, South Africa
  79. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
  80. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
  81. Barra Reef, Mozambique
  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. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
  95. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
  96. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
  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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