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The best 100 dives in the world - how many have you dived?

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

destinations » Best Diving in the World

14 June 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 a Scottish wreck.

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.


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. Navy Pier, Western Australia
  10. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
  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. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
  18. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
  19. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
  20. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
  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. Wolf Island, Galapogos
  29. Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
  30. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
  31. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
  32. Poor Knights, New Zealand
  33. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
  34. Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
  35. Blue Magic, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia
  36. South Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
  37. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
  38. Jackson Reef, Egypt
  39. Bunaken, Indonesia
  40. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
  41. San Francisco Maru, Chuuk Lagoon
  42. Apo Reef, Philippines
  43. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
  44. Similans, Thailand
  45. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  46. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
  47. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
  48. The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
  49. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
  50. Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
  51. Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
  52. Sipadan Drop Off, Malaysia
  53. Puerto Galera, Philippines
  54. Batu Bolong, Komodo, Indonesia
  55. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
  56. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
  57. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
  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. Alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  64. East of Eden, Ko Similan, Thailand
  65. Sangalaki Island, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Indonesia
  66. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  67. Neptune's Arm, Vamizi Island, Mozambique
  68. Cirkewwa, Malta
  69. St Johns, Egypt
  70. Perpendicular wall, Christmas Island, Australia
  71. Half Moon Wall, Belize
  72. USS Saratoga, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Isles
  73. Hin Muang, Thailand
  74. Little Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
  75. Peleliu Express, Palau
  76. Ghiannis D, Egypt
  77. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
  78. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
  79. Roca Partida, Revillagigedo Islands, Baja California, Mexico
  80. Protea Banks, South Africa
  81. Barra Reef, Mozambique
  82. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
  83. Split rock, Kadavu Isle. Fiji
  84. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
  85. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
  86. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
  87. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
  88. Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, Australia
  89. Silfra, Thingvellir, Iceland
  90. Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi
  91. Canyon, Thomas Reef, Egypt
  92. Los Roques, Venezuela
  93. 7 Mile Reef Sodwana Bay
  94. Balls Pyramid, Lord Howe Island, Australia
  95. Landslide, Wolf Island, Galapagos
  96. Rainbow Reef, Taveuni, Fiji
  97. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
  98. Cathédrale, Hienghène, New Caledonia
  99. Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
  100. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives

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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