Best Dive Sites by Category

Healthy hard and soft coral gardens packed with reef life.

Close encounters with hammerheads, reef sharks, bulls and the occasional whale shark.

Balmy year-round water (over 27°C) with comfortable, tropical diving.

Whale sharks, mantas, hammerheads, dolphins and schools of jacks.

Sites that suit freshly-certified divers, with gentle conditions and easy entries.

Riding the current along walls and pinnacles — fast, exciting, world-class drifts.

Cleaning stations and feeding aggregations where mantas circle divers.

Countries where a realistic travel budget stays under $70 a day.

Crystal water — 30 m and beyond for the clearest views.

Sunken ships, planes and structures worth diving — from shallow to technical.

Critter hunting: nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses and the weird and wonderful.

Overhead environments from caverns to full cave systems — for trained divers.