Diving Destinations » World's Best Dive Sites

Revealed: the World's Top 100 Dive Sites

9 April 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. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
14. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
15. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
16. Gordon's Rock, Galapagos
17. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
18. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
19. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
20. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
21. Sodwana bay, South Africa
22. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
23. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
24. Ulong Channel, Palau
25. Darwin Island, Galapagos
26. Raja Ampat, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
27. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
28. Castle Rock - Komodo National Park, Indonesia
29. Manta reef, Mozambique
30. Poor Knights, New Zealand
31. Bikini atoll, Marshall Islands
32. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
33. Verde Island or Drop Off, Philippines
34. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
35. Jackson Reef, Egypt
36. Bunaken, Indonesia
37. South Point, Sipadan
38. Wolf Island, Galapogos
39. Similans, Thailand
40. Maaya Thila, South Ari Atoll, Maldives
41. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
42. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
43. Apo Reef, Philippines
44. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
45. The Boiler, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
46. Scotts head pinnacle, Dominica
47. Sipadan Drop Off
48. Puerto Galera, Philippines
49. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
50. Punta Sur / Devils Throat, Cozumel, Mexico
51. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
52. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
53. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
54. The Zenobia, Cyprus
55. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
56. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Orkney
57. Malpelo Island, Colombia
58. Molokini Crater Wall, Hawaii
59. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
60. Sangalaki Island, East Kalimantan. Indonesia
61. Alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
62. East of Eden, Ko Similan, Thailand
63. Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat
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, Flores, 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. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
89. Cathédrale , Hienghène , New Caledonia
90. Paradise point, Milne Bay PNG
91. Seaventure House Reef, Mabul
92. Manta Ray Night Dive, Fesdhoo Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
93. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
94. Albatross Passage, Kavieng, PNG
95. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
96. El Quadim Bay, El Quseir, Red Sea
97. Blue Hole, Gozo, Malta
98. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
99. Umbria, Sudan
100. Browning Wall, Port Hardy, Canada

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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