The second worldwide journey Mike and I took collectively was to Belize for our PADI open-water diver certification. In some ways, the holiday was a check to see, not provided that we beloved scuba, but in addition touring collectively. After days of exploring the tropical waters, swimming alongside eagle rays, nurse sharks, numerous reef fish, and my lovely boyfriend, the reply was a convincing sure and sure! We shortly realized diving was an unimaginable and integral method to discover this blue planet, and we’ve since performed 200+ dives throughout the continents! Wanting again on our 18 years as scuba divers, we’re excited to share our high 10 dive locations on the planet.
Roatán, Honduras: Shore Dives & Caverns
After we instructed individuals we have been housesitting for 2 months in Honduras, most thought we have been nuts, however our diver associates utterly understood. In a main stretch of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (the second largest on the planet), Roatán is among the many greatest Caribbean diving locations, with 500+ species of fish, dozens of shipwrecks, sea partitions, underwater caves, and boundless coral gardens. The part between West Finish and West Bay is the island’s scuba diving hub, with lots of the websites accessible proper from shore or a few-minute boat experience for tremendous easy accessibility.
Tabyana
We went on three unimaginable dive journeys, beginning in West Bay’s Tabyana. Before everything, this web site is an unimaginable rock formation with crags letting in gentle for vibrant corals, nooks for a variety of habitats, and passageways to thrill the explorer in all of us. We dove a dramatic coral swim-through and have been surrounded by 1000’s of silverside fish. Ascending from the chasm, we have been in gardens of purple fan coral and parrot fish cleansing the reef, for a dive that made us need to turn out to be Cavern-Diver Certified.
Roatán Banks
Cayos Cochinos is throughout the UNESCO heritage part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, however savvy scuba outfitters know the very best diving is simply earlier than Cayos within the deep seamount of the Roatán Banks. We dropped down 40 toes and there gave the impression to be each sort of coral and reef fish possible. Peering into azure barrel sponges, eyeing up inexperienced morays, and channel-clinging crabs within the crevices, analyzing the peculiar nudibranch, and having a reef shark whiz by us was a delight!
Any scuba driver will let you know that our oceans are warming and coral bleaching is going on worldwide, however while you come to a spot like The Banks it provides you hope it’s not too late. For extra on defending this reef, try the good work by the non-profit and ocean watchdog, Roatán Marine Park.
Extra Roatán Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Cayos Cochinos, Mary’s Place, Gap within the Wall, West Finish Wall, and El Aguila Shipwreck. For extra Roatán adventures, don’t miss the story of our wild bungalow-housesit.
Higher Sipadan, Malaysia: Drifts & Macro
The Coral Triangle is essentially the most biodiverse marine area on the planet with over 6,000 species of fish and 76% of the planet’s coral species. It’s lined with epic scuba diving locations, however one which persistently tops the lists? Sipadan, Malaysia. The various terrain in Malaysia’s Celebes Sea provided us each sort of dive, from high-speed drift to shipwreck to otherworldly macro. Bumphead parrotfish, whitetip reef sharks, noticed rays, inexperienced sea turtles, numerous reef fish, and nudibranchs galore graced our 11 dives.
And to make this journey much more memorable, we stayed on a liveaboard like no different, Seaventures Dive Rig…a Seventies oil rig turned eco-friendly dive resort hovering over the reef. The previous cargo deck has been become a PADI dive middle and restaurant, worker housing into suites, the helipad right into a sweeping rooftop patio, and the freight elevator right into a enjoyable method to attain the ocean. Our days have been stuffed with three scuba classes (plus as many as we’d like on the home reef instantly beneath the rig), with breaks for bountiful meals, roof deck lounging, excessive dives off the plank, and boat journeys to the fascinating Bajau Laut (aka “sea gypsy”) village on Mabul Island.
Sipadan Marine Park
Rising 2,000 toes above the ocean ground and coated in 100 species of coral, that is the oceanic island that attracts individuals to the area. On account of its recognition, you’ll want a park allow and Advanced Open-Water Certification, with a max of two dives per day at Sipadan’s 13 websites. Barracuda Level is the channel the place these toothy beasts like to congregate, and West Ridge is the place the bumphead parrotfish prefer to bask within the daybreak gentle.
Paradise 1 & Paradise 2
Whereas the beige sandy backside and synthetic reef of north Mabul Island may not appear to be a lot at first, right here lies a few of the Coral Triangle’s most interesting macro and muck diving. Scouring the ocean ground we discovered a plethora of colourful nudibranchs, cuttlefish, frogfish (Mike’s new favourite creature), and extra extraordinary marine life. Plus, we noticed a faculty of ~800 jackfish!
West Mabul
The west aspect of Mabul has a surprising wall with sufficient present for an exhilarating drift dive. Beginning at Lobster Wall, it become a turbo drift to Panglima Reef, the place we have been greeted by an abundance of tropical fish and a number of inexperienced sea turtles.
Extra Borneo Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Mataking, Mandarin Valley, Hanging Reef, and The Dropoff. Discover more adventures around Borneo, Malaysia in our new guide.
Galapagos, Ecuador: Endemic Species & Sheer Abundance
Exploring the Galapagos Islands is sort of a safari at sea. However in contrast to an elusive cheetah or lioness within the tall grasses of the savanna, the Galapagos wildlife doesn’t shrink back…they’re equally inquisitive about you. Playful sea lions swim as much as snorkelers, penguins do laps round kayakers, and iguanas sunbathe alongside you. Remoted 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, these volcanic islands’ endemic species served because the groundwork for Charles Darwin’s Concept of Evolution and stay one of many world’s premier wildlife-viewing locations.
To discover this Nationwide Park and UNESCO Heritage Website, we went with Energetic Adventures and made positive scuba diving was part of our package deal. Not solely is that this space of the East Pacific teeming with awe-inspiring sharks, rays, sea lions, and turtles, however over 2,900 different marine organisms found within the Galapagos.
Kicker Rock
Formed like a boot break up in two, this underwater volcano off San Cristóbal Island is nothing wanting unimaginable. The canyon by the center is a veritable fish freeway and we took a experience within the quick lane. Marine lifetime of numerous varieties — hammerhead sharks, scorpion fish, Pacific inexperienced sea turtles, whitetip sharks, and sea lions all gave us shut encounters. Phrases can’t absolutely describe the quantity and fantastic thing about marine life we noticed on our two dives at Kicker Rock. Look ahead to yourselves (above).
Darwin & Wolf Islands
These neighboring islands on the northwest aspect of the archipelago all the time high the checklist of the Galapagos greatest dive websites. On account of their distant location, these isles and their dozen websites are mostly accessed by liveaboard ships, however when you’re there, you’ll have diving for days. We’ll actually be including it to our subsequent journey!
Extra Galapagos Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive El Arco, Gordon Rocks, North Seymour Ocean Facet, and Cape Marshall. For more things to do in the Galapagos, check out our two-part island-hopping guide.
Timor-Leste: Coral Backyard of Eden + Whales
Mark our phrases, Timor-Leste is the brand new frontier in scuba diving. Hidden away as a Portuguese colony for over 400 years, adopted by Indonesian navy occupation for the following 20 years, and propped up by UN Peacekeeping operations till 2012, Timor-Leste by no means actually had the prospect to develop and its reef is pristine consequently. Alongside the Ombai Strait and Indonesian Throughflow, the place upwelling from the deep basins of the Banda Sea brings nutrient-rich water, the world is a paradise for marine mammals and reef fish alike.
It’s a serious migratory route for whales, together with blue, beaked, humpback, sperm, killer, melonhead, plus tremendous pods of dolphins. October-December is the very best time to whale watch and, higher but, swim with the blue whales–one of many few locations on Earth the place that is even potential! Then there’s Ataúro Island, the place Conservation Worldwide discovered the best common reef fish range on the planet (a whopping 642 species), and in line with us, the prettiest coral gardens we’ve ever seen!
Ataúro Island & Two-Mile Reef
We set out for Ataúro with the seasoned Aquatica Dive Resort, one of many island’s longest-running operators, and have been shortly surrounded by a dozen pilot whales and over 100 dolphins. As Ataúro’s sheer cliffs drew nearer, we hugged the west aspect of their beautiful shoreline and dropped in at Iliana. The Two-Mile Reef combines the villages of Iliana and Arlo, with unimaginable partitions of sentimental coral colonies and big sponges.
The colour, textures, and density of life on the wall have been like nothing we’ve seen in our 18 years of diving. We noticed snappers, surgeonfish, fusiliers, trevally, and so many colleges of blue tangs it may have been a college. Whilst you can usually see eagle rays, dogtooth tuna, and barracudas, it wasn’t in regards to the huge fish, it was the sheer abundance of life in all its varieties and a brand new commonplace for wholesome reefs on this planet!
Ombai Strait
Swimming with the biggest mammal on earth just isn’t normally on the dive menu, however Desmond Lee, proprietor of Aquatica Dive Resort was satisfied he may provide it up (in a protected and respectful method) through the blue whale migration every fall. Learning their patterns as they transfer by the Ombai Strait, he’s discovered a means for freedivers to hitch the whales on the proper second for eye-to-eye remark. We will definitely be again for this!
Extra Timor-Leste Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Arlo Amphitheater, Bubble Seashore, Clownfish Metropolis, and Jaco Island. See more of our Timor-Leste adventures in this Instagram Reel.
Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia: Shark Gauntlet
French Polynesia is a rustic made up of over 100 islands and atolls, with Fakarava bringing out the very best of its biodiversity. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve within the Tuamotu Archipelago, Fakarava boasts the second-biggest lagoon in French Polynesia. With two passes on the alternative sides of the atoll, plankton, and colleges of fish are funneled between the pure gates, attracting droves of pelagics.
Well-known for its “wall of sharks” and glorious visibility (as much as 100 toes!), it’s a bucket-list diving vacation spot made higher with dreamy turquoise water and white sand spits. This a part of the Pacific additionally holds an additional huge spot in our hearts as a result of it’s additionally where we learned to sail. Over eight days, we had the prospect to discover the atoll by yacht and dive it from finish to finish.
Garuae Go
Beginning within the north of the atoll, we dove Garuae, French Polynesia’s widest go (greater than a mile!). The various topography permits for shallow dives among the many exhausting corals and a enjoyable drift into the guts of the channel. The excessive density of fish consists of jacks, perches, goatfish, groupers, and wrasses, together with loads of predators from sleeper sharks to moray eels.
Tetamanu Go
After days of crusing, anchoring at secluded coves, SUPing to shore for coconuts and hearts of palm, and dwelling our greatest pirate life, we reached Tetamanu Go within the far south. It brings a robust incoming present and so many resting sharks it’s been dubbed ‘the wall of sharks.” Whereas our timing wasn’t proper for the true “wall,” we had a lot enjoyable using the present with the fishies and ending our drift dive with a dramatic finale of grey reef sharks on a tag-team, high-speed chase to catch and thrash their dinner.
Extra French Polynesia Prime Dive Locations and Adventures
Dive Tumakohua Go, North Go, and neighboring atoll Rangiroa’s Passe de Tiputa. Check out more of our sailing and scuba adventures around French Polynesia.
Calamian Islands, Philippines: Wreck Diving Pattern Platter
Unroll your map of the Philippines’ 7,107 tropical islands, hone in on the archipelagos splitting the Sulu and South China Seas…and also you’ll discover the Calamianes. This island grouping round northern Palawan is completely beautiful with its black limestone mountains, turquoise lakes, and seashores. With regards to wreck diving, Coron Island is arguably the very best place on the planet to provide it a strive.
Most wreck dives require a particular PADI certification, on account of deeper depths and risks of getting into enclosed and unstable constructions, however Coron’s distinctive historical past brings them inside attain. Towards the top of World Conflict II, the US Navy pinpointed Coron Bay as a protected haven for Japanese provide boats and battleships. At 9am on September twenty fourth, 1944 a shock air strike sunk 24 ships in a single hour, abandoning all kinds of constructions for divers at each degree to discover.
Sangat Island
We went to Sangat Island which has Coron Bay’s largest focus of sunken ships, with 11 being inside leisure dive depths of 9 to 140 toes. Wreck diving is usually a little scary, so East Tangat, a gunboat/anti-submarine craft that lies on a shallow slope, permits you to consider the relic within the vibrant daylight and work your means down. Each delicate and exhausting corals have made it their residence and colleges of angelfish and butterflyfish transfer by the storied areas.
Olympia Maru
A 425-foot-long cellular plane restore facility and provide depot for the Japanese Military now lies on the base of Busuanga Island. The principle deck sits at 59-79 toes deep and with a wide-open cargo space, it’s simpler to discover and study this piece of historical past. Transferring by the wheelhouse and propeller shaft, we felt like we have been in a Discovery Channel particular! The construction and context of World Conflict II fight have been fascinating in and of itself, then add within the marine life, together with lovely puffers and a faculty of jackfish, and our minds have been blown.
Extra Palawan Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Irako, Akitsushima Warship, and Dimakya Island, and discover more of the Philippines.
Cayman Islands: Wall, Wreck, Shore
The Caribbean’s Cayman Islands might not be recognized for his or her mountains above the ocean, however beneath, the partitions rise 6,000 toes for some epic diving. And if that sort of drop makes you weak within the knees, Grand Cayman additionally has a few of the greatest shore dives round with superb rock formations and shipwrecks that even inexperienced persons can get pleasure from. With 365 dive websites, this three-island nation takes diving and ocean conservation critically, providing a few of the greatest Caribbean diving for daily of the yr.
Trinity Caves, West Bay
5 minutes from shore, throughout the teal shallows of the westside, the ocean ground appeared to drop out from beneath us. It was a shade of blue reserved for deep-sea fishing journeys and trans-Atlantic voyages. Kitted out like Jacques Cousteau, we descended 100 toes to the Trinity Caves. Passing dragon whips and sea followers, we entered the craggy rock tunnel with beams of sunshine peeking by. The Trinity reference is for the three caves, but in addition the look of a rough-hewn cathedral. We met a noticed eagle ray, parrot fish, clinging crabs, a Nassau grouper with a stomach filled with eggs, and extra beguiling creatures.
Doc Poulson Wreck
This previous telecommunications cable boat has been mendacity on the ocean ground because the Eighties and located a second life as a coral backyard. We swam into the hull, transferring by mangled iron with colleges of fish, emerged by the floorboards, and took the helm within the wheelhouse feeling like correct underwater explorers.
Extra Cayman Islands’ Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Ironshore Gardens, Lighthouse Level Reef, USS Kittiwake, Bloody Bay Marine Park, and Captain Keith Tibbetts. Read our Cayman Islands getaway guide for more Caribbean fun.
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand: Colourful Corals & Caverns
Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Seashore made everybody need to try Koh Phi Phi Island’s azure water and white sand utopia…particularly if you happen to have been already within the Andaman Sea neighborhood. We too joined the ranks of meatheads and misfits interested in Southern Thailand, with visions of Leo dancing by our heads, and skilled it for ourselves. We bought there and, though Koh Phi Phi was certainly get together insanity, its limestone islands and coral gardens have been even higher than the flicks.
Koh Bida Nok
This island throughout the best way slopes right down to an extremely vibrant reef, teeming with marine life. The underwater topography ranges from sandy bottoms, steep partitions, small caves, massive crevices, and rolling reefs. It’s coated in a variety of sentimental and exhausting corals, for a few of the greatest colours left within the sea. Large colleges of tuna, trevallies, two-spot snappers, anemone fish, butterflyfish, and even the uncommon Ghost Pipe could be seen right here, plus, we noticed over a dozen Hawksbill turtles! Come Could-August, you could even see whale sharks passing by, and blacktip reef sharks and leopard sharks could be noticed many of the yr.
Koh Phi Phi Le & Maya Bay
That is residence of the particular Seashore seashore. The north aspect of the bay has a sloping reef, some dramatic rock formations, together with an superior swim-through, a steep wall, and one of many largest caverns within the space. The most effective half was, by the point we have been performed with our dives, the tour boats had gone residence and we had the cove to ourselves for sundown and a swim to our personal mini Seashore tucked within the cliffs.
Extra Thailand Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Hin Dot, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, and Anemone Reef. Having spent five weeks in Thailand, we have lots more travel tips to share.
Nice Barrier Reef, Australia: The Mom of Them All
This checklist wouldn’t be full with out the Nice Barrier Reef….the biggest dwelling construction on this planet! Teeming with 600 forms of corals, 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 styles of mollusks, and quite a few sharks I don’t even need to comprehend, it’s really a world surprise. However don’t assume you possibly can simply e-book a two-tank dive from the gateway metropolis of Cairns and get the gist. We joined the Spirit of Freedom’s three-day Cod Hole and Ribbons Reef Dive Adventure within the distant northern sector of the protected park, and bought Superior Open Water Licensed alongside the best way to go even deeper…so price it!
Dynamite Go & Pixie Pinnacle
Diving thrice a day, plus occasional night time dives, we encountered tons of of forms of fish, together with noticed stingray, hawksbill turtles, whitetip reef sharks, sea snakes, large clams, diagonal banded sweetlips, puffer fish, large trevally, Maori Wrasse, and barracuda from Dynamite Go to Pixie Pinnacle.
Cod Gap
The liveaboard gave us entry to so many unimaginable lesser-known dive websites…however when within the GBR, you must see the world-famous Cod Gap. A household of potato cod likes to hang around at Ribbon Reef #10 and swim as much as scuba divers, particularly when park-sanctioned fish meals is readily available. This space is very regulated however a small variety of divers are allowed to feed the cod every day. On the backside of the ocean ground, we sat in a circle whereas 200-pound fish (that may attain 6 toes in size) swam in entrance of our faces, pursing their voluptuous lips.
The attractive Lizard Island was the proper Nice Barrier Reef finale and higher but, we got here away with associates that we’re nonetheless in contact with 10 years later!
Extra Nice Barrier Reef Prime Dive Locations
Eddy Reef, Lighthouse Bommies, Museum of Underwater Artwork, and the Whitsundays (a complete world we’re dying to dive into!)
Komodo Nationwide Park, Indonesia: Greatest Dive Vacation spot Total!
The cool currents of the Indian Ocean collide with the nice and cozy waters of the Pacific, creating the proper storm for a profusion of marine life within the waters of Indonesia’s Komodo Nationwide Park & UNESCO World Heritage Website. This marine space was initially created to guard the one habitat of the world’s largest lizard, however they discovered the ecosystem beneath the islands to be simply as vital. Within the coronary heart of the Coral Triangle, Komodo’s 29 islands and numerous reefs are on the pinnacle of its biodiversity.
The nutrient-rich currents deliver over 1,000 species of fish and 250 species of coral…and that’s slightly below the floor. Jagged mountains, pink sand seashores, and the one habitat for the Komodo dragon are ready within the islands above. Our four-day liveaboard right here was completely unimaginable, a lot in order that we featured it in our Nationwide Geographic E-book, Ultimate Journeys for Two. This locations is palms down one of many high 10 dive locations on the planet!
Manta Level
We descended into Makassar Reef, the place the biiiiig rays come to play and snack on plankton. Hanging out for fifteen minutes alongside the rocky backside, we began to doubt its status as “Manta Level,” then seemingly on queue this magnificence, with a 10-foot wingspan, and some associates gracefully flew previous us. Apart from the mantas, the shallow reef is in good condition with large trevallies, enormous clams, numerous sponges, and cuttlefish, together with the occasional eagle rays, sharks, and turtles.
The Cauldron
Three days of thrills culminated at The Cauldron, a spot with such a robust present which you can actually see it effervescent from the floor. It started with an unassuming drift dive over a coral backyard, full with gorgonian followers and coral bommies, then the present started to choose up as the ground went from 75 to 45 toes and the partitions closed in. Quickly we have been dashing by a slim canyon alongside a fish superhighway.
Wanting by the swirling water and previous the tuna visitors, we noticed our information signaling to huddle up and grasp on! We secured ourselves with a reef hook (the one method to keep in a single place) and let the marine life—colleges of midnight snapper, large trevally, even a number of sharks—whiz by. After 10 minutes, we pulled our hook and rode “The Shotgun” till the currents dissipated and our hearts stopped racing. Barely terrifying, totally superb.
Extra Komodo Prime Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Batu Bolong, The Passage, and Crystal Rock, and find out about our full Komodo Liveaboard experience, here.
Prime 10 Dive Locations within the World: Make Diving a A part of Your World
On a planet comprising 70% ocean, our travels would simply be skimming the floor with out scuba. Our open-water coaching has allowed us to swim alongside colleges of blue tangs, go eye to eye with Nemos, watch a Mandarin fish mating dance, and discover inside shipwrecks. With a regulator in our mouths, we not solely have the superpower to breathe underwater but in addition a motive to cease the chatter and hearken to the rhythms of nature and our innermost ideas. Within the deep blue, there’s nowhere to be however current.
Do YOU have the ability of scuba? Getting dive-certified was really the most effective issues we’ve ever performed for our travels and understanding of our blue planet. Begin your PADI journey or up your certification (wreck-diving, coral conservation, dive grasp, and many others.) by heading to PADI.com (use PADI low cost code HONEYTREK15 to get 15% off any on-line course)…the world awaits!
Thanks for testing our Prime 10 Dive Locations within the World (tell us which one is looking your identify!) and a giant thanks to PADI for sponsoring this put up and for educating us the artwork of scuba!!
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