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 liked scuba, but additionally touring collectively. After days of exploring the tropical waters, swimming alongside eagle rays, nurse sharks, numerous reef fish, and my lovable boyfriend, the reply was a powerful sure and sure! We rapidly realized diving was an unbelievable and integral approach to discover this blue planet, and we’ve since accomplished 200+ dives throughout the continents! Looking again on our 18 years as scuba divers, we’re excited to share our prime 10 dive locations on this planet.
Roatán, Honduras: Shore Dives & Caverns
When we instructed folks we had been housesitting for 2 months in Honduras, most thought we had been nuts, however our diver pals fully understood. In a primary stretch of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (the second largest on this planet), Roatán is among the many finest Caribbean diving locations, with 500+ species of fish, dozens of shipwrecks, sea partitions, underwater caves, and boundless coral gardens. The part between West End and West Bay is the island’s scuba diving hub, with most of the websites accessible proper from shore or a few-minute boat journey for tremendous quick access.
Tabyana
We went on three unbelievable dive journeys, beginning in West Bay’s Tabyana. First and foremost, this website is an unbelievable rock formation with crags letting in gentle for vibrant corals, nooks for a variety of habitats, and passageways to please the explorer in all of us. We dove a dramatic coral swim-through and had been surrounded by hundreds of silverside fish. Ascending from the chasm, we had been in gardens of purple fan coral and parrot fish cleansing the reef, for a dive that made us wish to develop into 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 ft and there appeared 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 inform you that our oceans are warming and coral bleaching is going on worldwide, however while you come to a spot like The Banks it offers you hope it’s not too late. For extra on defending this reef, take a look at the nice work by the non-profit and ocean watchdog, Roatán Marine Park.
More Roatán Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Cayos Cochinos, Mary’s Place, Hole within the Wall, West End Wall, and El Aguila Shipwreck. For extra Roatán adventures, don’t miss the story of our wild bungalow-housesit.
Greater Sipadan, Malaysia: Drifts & Macro
The Coral Triangle is essentially the most biodiverse marine area on this 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 diversified terrain in Malaysia’s Celebes Sea supplied 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 Nineteen Seventies oil rig turned eco-friendly dive resort hovering over the reef. The outdated cargo deck has been became 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 approach to attain the ocean. Our days had been crammed with three scuba classes (plus as many as we’d like on the home reef instantly under 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 ft above the ocean ground and lined in 100 species of coral, that is the oceanic island that attracts folks to the area. Due to 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 Point 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
While the beige sandy backside and synthetic reef of north Mabul Island may not seem to be a lot at first, right here lies a number of the Coral Triangle’s best macro and muck diving. Scouring the ocean ground we discovered a plethora of colourful nudibranchs, cuttlefish, frogfish (Mike’s new favourite creature), and extra bizarre marine life. Plus, we noticed a college of ~800 jackfish!
West Mabul
The west facet of Mabul has a shocking wall with sufficient present for an exciting drift dive. Starting at Lobster Wall, it became a turbo drift to Panglima Reef, the place we had been greeted by an abundance of tropical fish and a number of inexperienced sea turtles.
More Borneo Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Mataking, Mandarin Valley, Hanging Reef, and The Dropoff. Discover extra adventures round Borneo, Malaysia in our new information.
Galapagos, Ecuador: Endemic Species & Sheer Abundance
Exploring the Galapagos Islands is sort of a safari at sea. But not like an elusive cheetah or lioness within the tall grasses of the savanna, the Galapagos wildlife doesn’t draw back…they’re equally interested in you. Playful sea lions swim as much as snorkelers, penguins do laps round kayakers, and iguanas sunbathe alongside you. Isolated 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, these volcanic islands’ endemic species served because the groundwork for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and stay one of many world’s premier wildlife-viewing locations.
To discover this National Park and UNESCO Heritage Site, we went with Active Adventures and made certain 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
Shaped like a boot break up in two, this underwater volcano off San Cristóbal Island is nothing wanting unbelievable. The canyon by the center is a veritable fish freeway and we took a journey 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. Words can not totally describe the quantity and fantastic thing about marine life we noticed on our two dives at Kicker Rock. Watch for yourselves (above).
Darwin & Wolf Islands
These neighboring islands on the northwest facet of the archipelago at all times prime the checklist of the Galapagos finest dive websites. Due to 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 definitely be including it to our subsequent journey!
More Galapagos Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive El Arco, Gordon Rocks, North Seymour Ocean Side, and Cape Marshall. For extra issues to do within the Galapagos, take a look at our two-part island-hopping information.
Timor-Leste: Coral Garden 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 army occupation for the following twenty 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 because of this. Along the Ombai Strait and Indonesian Throughflow, the place upwelling from the deep basins of the Banda Sea brings nutrient-rich water, the realm is a paradise for marine mammals and reef fish alike. It’s a significant 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 attainable! Then there’s Ataúro Island, which Conservation International discovered the best common reef fish variety on this planet (a whopping 642 species), and based on 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 had been rapidly surrounded by a dozen pilot whales and over 100 dolphins. As Ataúro’s sheer cliffs drew nearer, we hugged the west facet of their gorgeous shoreline and dropped in at Iliana. The Two-Mile Reef combines the villages of Iliana and Arlo, with unbelievable partitions of sentimental coral colonies and large sponges. The colour, textures, and density of life on the wall had been like nothing we’ve seen in our 18 years of diving. We noticed snappers, surgeonfish, fusiliers, trevally, and so many faculties of blue tangs it may have been a college. While you’ll be able to usually see eagle rays, dogtooth tuna, and barracudas, it wasn’t concerning the huge fish, it was the sheer abundance of life in all its varieties and a brand new normal for wholesome reefs on this planet!
Ombai Strait
Swimming with the biggest mammal on earth is just not often on the dive menu, however Desmond Lee, proprietor of Aquatica Dive Resort was satisfied he may supply it up (in a secure and respectful method) in the course of the blue whale migration every fall. Studying their patterns as they transfer by the Ombai Strait, he’s discovered a means at no cost divers to affix the whales on the proper second for eye-to-eye commentary. We will definitely be again for this!
More Timor-Leste Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Arlo Amphitheater, Bubble Beach, Clownfish City, and Jaco Island. See extra of our Timor-Leste adventures on 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. Famous for its “wall of sharks” and wonderful visibility (as much as 100 ft!), 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 the place we discovered to sail. Over eight days, we had the prospect to discover the atoll by yacht and dive it from finish to finish.
Garuae Pass
Starting within the north of the atoll, we dove Garuae, French Polynesia’s widest go (greater than a mile!). The diversified topography permits for shallow dives among the many arduous corals and a enjoyable drift into the center of the channel. The excessive density of fish contains jacks, perches, goatfish, groupers, and wrasses, together with loads of predators from sleeper sharks to moray eels.
Tetamanu Pass
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 Pass within the far south. It brings a powerful incoming present and so many resting sharks it’s been dubbed ‘the wall of sharks.” While 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.
More French Polynesia Top Dive Destinations and Adventures
Dive Tumakohua Pass, North Pass, and neighboring atoll Rangiroa’s Passe de Tiputa. Check out extra of our crusing and scuba adventures round French Polynesia.
Calamian Islands, Philippines: Wreck Diving Sample 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 totally gorgeous with its black limestone mountains, turquoise lakes, and seashores. When it involves wreck diving, Coron Island is arguably the very best place on this planet to provide it a strive. Most wreck dives require a particular PADI certification, attributable to deeper depths and risks of coming into enclosed and unstable buildings, however Coron’s distinctive historical past brings them inside attain. Toward the tip of World War II, the US Navy pinpointed Coron Bay as a secure 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 buildings 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 ft. Wreck diving is usually a little scary, so East Tangat, a gunboat/anti-submarine craft that lies on a shallow slope, enables you to consider the relic within the vibrant daylight and work your means down. Both smooth and arduous corals have made it their house 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 Army now lies on the base of Busuanga Island. The foremost deck sits at 59-79 ft deep and with a wide-open cargo space, it’s simpler to discover and look at this piece of historical past. Moving by the wheelhouse and propeller shaft, we felt like we had been in a Discovery Channel particular! The construction and context of World War II fight had been fascinating in and of itself, then add within the marine life, together with lovable puffers and a college of jackfish, and our minds had been blown.
More Palawan Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Irako, Akitsushima Warship, and Dimakya Island, and discover extra of the Philippines.
Cayman Islands: Wall, Wreck, Shore
The Caribbean’s Cayman Islands will not be identified for his or her mountains above the ocean, however under, the partitions rise 6,000 ft for some epic diving. And if that sort of drop makes you weak within the knees, Grand Cayman additionally has a number of the finest shore dives round with wonderful rock formations and shipwrecks that even rookies can take pleasure in. With 365 dive websites, this three-island nation takes diving and ocean conservation severely, providing a number of the finest Caribbean diving for on daily basis of the yr.
Trinity Caves, West Bay
Five minutes from shore, throughout the teal shallows of the westside, the ocean ground appeared to drop out from below 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 ft 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 additionally 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 outdated telecommunications cable boat has been mendacity on the ocean ground for the reason that Nineteen 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.
More Cayman Islands Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Ironshore Gardens, Lighthouse Point Reef, USS Kittiwake, Bloody Bay Marine Park, and Captain Keith Tibbetts. Read our Cayman Islands getaway information for extra Caribbean enjoyable.
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand: Colorful Corals & Caverns
Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach made everybody wish to take a look at Koh Phi Phi Island’s azure water and white sand utopia…particularly in case you had 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 occasion insanity, its limestone islands and coral gardens had been even higher than films.
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 lined in a variety of sentimental and arduous corals, for a number of the finest colours left within the sea. Big colleges of tuna, trevallies, two-spot snappers, anemone fish, butterflyfish, and even the uncommon Ghost Pipe might be seen right here, plus, we noticed over a dozen Hawksbill turtles! Come May-August, chances are you’ll even see whale sharks passing by, and blacktip reef sharks and leopard sharks might be noticed many of the yr.
Koh Phi Phi Le & Maya Bay
This is house of the particular Beach seaside. The north facet 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 better part was, by the point we had been accomplished with our dives, the tour boats had gone house and we had the cove to ourselves for sundown and a swim to our personal mini Beach tucked within the cliffs.
More Thailand Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Hin Dot, Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, and Anemone Reef. Having spent 5 weeks in Thailand, we have now heaps extra journey tricks to share.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia: The Mother of Them All
This checklist wouldn’t be full with out the Great Barrier Reef….the biggest dwelling construction on this planet! Teeming with 600 sorts of corals, 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 forms of mollusks, and a amount of sharks I don’t even wish to comprehend, it’s really a world marvel. But don’t suppose you’ll be able to simply guide 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 Advanced Open Water Certified alongside the best way to go even deeper…so price it!
Dynamite Pass & Pixie Pinnacle
Diving 3 times a day, plus occasional evening dives, we encountered tons of of sorts 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 Pass to Pixie Pinnacle.
Cod Hole
The liveaboard gave us entry to so many unbelievable lesser-known dive websites…however when within the GBR, it’s important to see the world-famous Cod Hole. 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. At the underside of the ocean ground, we sat in a circle whereas 200-pound fish (that may attain 6 ft in size) swam in entrance of our faces, pursing their voluptuous lips.
The attractive Lizard Island was the proper Great Barrier Reef finale and higher but, we got here away with pals that we’re nonetheless in contact with 10 years later!
More Great Barrier Reef Top Dive Destinations
Eddy Reef, Lighthouse Bommies, Museum of Underwater Art, and the Whitsundays (a complete world we’re dying to dive into!)
Komodo National Park, Indonesia: Best Dive Destination Overall!
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 National Park & UNESCO World Heritage Site. This marine space was initially created to guard the one habitat of the world’s largest lizard, however they discovered the ecosystem under the islands to be simply as necessary. In the center of the Coral Triangle, Komodo’s 29 islands and numerous reefs are on the pinnacle of its biodiversity. The nutrient-rich currents carry 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 unbelievable, a lot in order that we featured it in our National Geographic Book, Ultimate Journeys for Two.
Manta Point
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 popularity as “Manta Point,” then seemingly on queue this magnificence, with a 10-foot wingspan, and some pals gracefully flew previous us. Aside from the mantas, the shallow reef is in fine condition with large trevallies, big clams, varied 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 powerful present you could 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 select up as the ground went from 75 to 45 ft and the partitions closed in. Soon we had been dashing by a slender canyon alongside a fish superhighway. Looking by the swirling water and previous the tuna site visitors, we noticed our information signaling to huddle up and hold on! We secured ourselves with a reef hook (the one approach to keep in a single place) and let the marine life—colleges of midnight snapper, large trevally, even just a few sharks—whiz by. After 10 minutes, we pulled our hook and rode “The Shotgun” till the currents dissipated and our hearts stopped racing. Slightly terrifying, totally wonderful.
More Komodo Top Dive Destinations & Adventures
Dive Batu Bolong, The Passage, and Crystal Rock, and find out about our full Komodo Liveaboard expertise, right here.
Make Diving 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 additionally a purpose to cease the chatter and hearken to the rhythms of nature and our innermost ideas. In the deep blue, there’s nowhere to be however current.
Do YOU have the facility of scuba? Getting dive-certified was really probably the greatest issues we’ve ever accomplished for our travels and understanding of our blue planet. Start your PADI journey or up your certification (wreck-diving, coral conservation, dive grasp, and so forth.) by heading to PADI.com (use PADI low cost code HONEYTREK15 to get 15% off any on-line course)…the world awaits!
Thanks for trying out our Top 10 Dive Destinations within the World (tell us which one is asking your title!) and a giant thanks to PADI for sponsoring this put up and for instructing us the artwork of scuba!!