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 cute boyfriend, the reply was a powerful sure and sure! We shortly realized diving was an unimaginable and integral method to discover this blue planet, and we’ve since finished 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 informed individuals we had been housesitting for 2 months in Honduras, most thought we had been nuts, however our diver buddies utterly understood. In a primary stretch of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (the second largest on the 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 Finish and West Bay is the island’s scuba diving hub, with most of the websites accessible proper from shore or a few-minute boat trip for tremendous easy accessibility.
Tabyana
We went on three unimaginable dive journeys, beginning in West Bay’s Tabyana. At the start, this website is an unimaginable 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 change into Cavern-Diver Licensed.
Roatán Banks
Cayos Cochinos is throughout the UNESCO heritage part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, however savvy scuba outfitters know the perfect diving is simply earlier than Cayos within the deep seamount of the Roatán Banks. We dropped down 40 toes and there appeared to be each kind of coral and reef fish conceivable. Peering into azure barrel sponges, eyeing up inexperienced morays, and channel-clinging crabs within the crevices, inspecting 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 whenever 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 good work by the non-profit and ocean watchdog, Roatán Marine Park.
Extra Roatán High 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.
Better 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 constantly tops the lists? Sipadan, Malaysia. The numerous terrain in Malaysia’s Celebes Sea supplied us each type 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 was 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 had been stuffed with three scuba classes (plus as many as we’d like on the home reef straight 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 flooring and coated in 100 species of coral, that is the oceanic island that pulls individuals to the area. As a result of its recognition, you’ll want a park allow and Superior 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 wish 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 best macro and muck diving. Scouring the ocean flooring we discovered a plethora of colourful nudibranchs, cuttlefish, frogfish (Mike’s new favourite creature), and extra extraordinary marine life. Plus, we noticed a college of ~800 jackfish!
West Mabul
The west aspect of Mabul has a shocking wall with sufficient present for an exhilarating drift dive. Beginning at Lobster Wall, it was 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.
Extra Borneo High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Mataking, Mandarin Valley, Hanging Reef, and The Dropoff. Uncover 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. However not like 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 Principle of Evolution and stay one of many world’s premier wildlife-viewing locations.
To discover this Nationwide Park and UNESCO Heritage Web site, we went with Energetic Adventures and made positive scuba diving was part of our bundle. 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 cut up in two, this underwater volcano off San Cristóbal Island is nothing wanting unimaginable. The canyon by way of the center is a veritable fish freeway and we took a trip 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 totally describe the quantity and great 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 record of the Galapagos finest dive websites. As a result 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 High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive El Arco, Gordon Rocks, North Seymour Ocean Aspect, and Cape Marshall. For extra issues to do within the Galapagos, take a look at our two-part island-hopping information.
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 subsequent 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. 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 perfect 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, the place Conservation Worldwide discovered the very best common reef fish variety on the planet (a whopping 642 species), and in keeping 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 had 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 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. Whilst you can 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 kinds and a brand new normal for wholesome reefs on this planet!
Ombai Strait
Swimming with the biggest mammal on earth will not be normally on the dive menu, however Desmond Lee, proprietor of Aquatica Dive Resort was satisfied he may supply it up (in a protected and respectful method) in the course of the blue whale migration every fall. Finding out their patterns as they transfer by way of the Ombai Strait, he’s discovered a approach 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 Seaside, Clownfish Metropolis, 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 perfect 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 other 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 wonderful 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 the place we realized 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 numerous topography permits for shallow dives among the many laborious corals and a enjoyable drift into the guts 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 Go
After days of crusing, anchoring at secluded coves, SUPing to shore for coconuts and hearts of palm, and residing our greatest pirate life, we reached Tetamanu Go within the far south. It brings a powerful 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 driving 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 High Dive Locations and Adventures
Dive Tumakohua Go, North Go, and neighboring atoll Rangiroa’s Passe de Tiputa. Take a look at extra of our crusing and scuba adventures round 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. In relation to wreck diving, Coron Island is arguably the perfect place on the planet to provide it a strive.
Most wreck dives require a particular PADI certification, resulting from deeper depths and risks of getting into enclosed and unstable buildings, however Coron’s distinctive historical past brings them inside attain. Towards the tip of World Struggle 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, forsaking 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 toes. Wreck diving is usually a little scary, so East Tangat, a gunboat/anti-submarine craft that lies on a shallow slope, helps you to consider the relic within the brilliant daylight and work your approach down. Each delicate and laborious corals have made it their house and colleges of angelfish and butterflyfish transfer by way of 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 primary deck sits at 59-79 toes deep and with a wide-open cargo space, it’s simpler to discover and look at this piece of historical past. Shifting by way of the wheelhouse and propeller shaft, we felt like we had been in a Discovery Channel particular! The construction and context of World Struggle II fight had been fascinating in and of itself, then add within the marine life, together with cute puffers and a college of jackfish, and our minds had been blown.
Extra Palawan High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Irako, Akitsushima Warship, and Dimakya Island, and discover extra of the Philippines.
Cayman Islands: Wall, Wreck, Shore
The Caribbean’s Cayman Islands is probably not recognized for his or her mountains above the ocean, however beneath, the partitions rise 6,000 toes for some epic diving. And if that type of drop makes you weak within the knees, Grand Cayman additionally has a few of the finest shore dives round with superb rock formations and shipwrecks that even newbies can take pleasure in. With 365 dive websites, this three-island nation takes diving and ocean conservation significantly, providing a few of the finest Caribbean diving for on daily basis of the 12 months.
Trinity Caves, West Bay
5 minutes from shore, throughout the teal shallows of the westside, the ocean flooring 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 toes to the Trinity Caves. Passing dragon whips and sea followers, we entered the craggy rock tunnel with beams of sunshine peeking by way of. 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 stuffed with eggs, and extra beguiling creatures.
Doc Poulson Wreck
This outdated telecommunications cable boat has been mendacity on the ocean flooring for the reason that Eighties and located a second life as a coral backyard. We swam into the hull, transferring by way of mangled iron with colleges of fish, emerged by way of the floorboards, and took the helm within the wheelhouse feeling like correct underwater explorers.
Extra Cayman Islands’ High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Ironshore Gardens, Lighthouse Level Reef, USS Kittiwake, Bloody Bay Marine Park, and Captain Keith Tibbetts. Learn our Cayman Islands getaway information for extra Caribbean enjoyable.
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand: Colourful Corals & Caverns
Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Seaside made everybody wish to take a look at Koh Phi Phi Island’s azure water and white sand utopia…particularly in the event you had been already within the Andaman Sea neighborhood. We too joined the ranks of meatheads and misfits drawn to Southern Thailand, with visions of Leo dancing by way of our heads, and skilled it for ourselves. We acquired there and, though Koh Phi Phi was certainly occasion insanity, its limestone islands and coral gardens had 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 laborious corals, for a few of the finest colours left within the sea. Huge 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 might even see whale sharks passing by way of, and blacktip reef sharks and leopard sharks could be noticed many of the 12 months.
Koh Phi Phi Le & Maya Bay
That is house of the particular Seaside 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 had been finished 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 Seaside tucked within the cliffs.
Extra Thailand High Dive Locations & 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.
Nice Barrier Reef, Australia: The Mom of Them All
This record wouldn’t be full with out the Nice Barrier Reef….the biggest residing construction on this planet! Teeming with 600 varieties of corals, 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 styles of mollusks, and various sharks I don’t even wish to comprehend, it’s really a world marvel. However don’t suppose you’ll be able to 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 Gap and Ribbons Reef Dive Journey within the distant northern sector of the protected park, and acquired Superior Open Water Licensed alongside the best way to go even deeper…so price it!
Dynamite Go & Pixie Pinnacle
Diving 3 times a day, plus occasional night time dives, we encountered a whole bunch of varieties of fish, together with noticed stingray, hawksbill turtles, whitetip reef sharks, sea snakes, big clams, diagonal banded sweetlips, puffer fish, big 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, it’s a must to 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 extremely regulated however a small variety of divers are allowed to feed the cod every day. On the backside of the ocean flooring, 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 beautiful Lizard Island was the right Nice Barrier Reef finale and higher but, we got here away with buddies that we’re nonetheless in contact with 10 years later!
Extra Nice Barrier Reef High Dive Locations
Eddy Reef, Lighthouse Bommies, Museum of Underwater Artwork, and the Whitsundays (an entire world we’re dying to dive into!)
Komodo Nationwide Park, Indonesia: Finest Dive Vacation spot Total!
The cool currents of the Indian Ocean collide with the nice and cozy waters of the Pacific, creating the right storm for a profusion of marine life within the waters of Indonesia’s Komodo Nationwide Park & UNESCO World Heritage Web site. 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 convey over 1,000 species of fish and 250 species of coral…and that’s just under 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, Final Journeys for Two. This locations is fingers 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 buddies gracefully flew previous us. Except for the mantas, the shallow reef is in good condition with big 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 that you would be able to 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 toes and the partitions closed in. Quickly we had been dashing by way of a slim canyon alongside a fish superhighway.
Wanting by way of 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, big 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. Barely terrifying, completely superb.
Extra Komodo High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Batu Bolong, The Passage, and Crystal Rock, and study our full Komodo Liveaboard expertise, right here.
High 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 additionally a cause 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 among the best issues we’ve ever finished for our travels and understanding of our blue planet. Begin 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!
