Best diving locations...in the world

[Tigerman]

The cenotes in Mexico is awsome and theres also some AWSOME whaleshark snorkling to be done there at the right time of the year. When I was out there in 2007 there was probably 40-50 whalesharks lurking around and anything from "small" 7-8 meter ones to really big ones of 10-12 meters.


The reefs and fish life in the Red Sea is amazing and theres also a few wrecks there, amongst them the SS thistlegrom which is very nice, but quite crowded.


Personally the two places highest on my list atm is the Great Barrier Reef and Hawaii..

 

[Misa]

It depends on a little more than what you want to see under water.... because even on a dive trip you'll spend most of your time top-side.

Are you looking for an exclusive tourist destination--the more the merrier and a good night-life? Do you want to rough it? Do you want hand holding or a bit of freedom... or a lot of freedom? Do you want to be on land or is a live-aboard more to your liking etc. etc.

R..

For sure cant be a safari, my wife doesnt like living on a boat. I can rough it and im ok with a bit of freedom...so what do u have in mind ?

Thanks for sharing all those great locations...already doing some research about it

 

[Diver0001]

Well I haven't been everywhere and done everything but I've been to the Carribean a few times and the Red Sea a few times and I much prefer the Red Sea. If your wife isn't a diver then you'll have to think about Sharm el Sheik or Hurghada so she doesn't get bored to death. Further to the south around Marsa Alam there are some outstanding diving areas but you really have to go just for the diving because there's literally nothing else to do there. Marsa Shagra is one of these. The diving is outstanding, the house-reef is easy for beginners and advanced divers and you can choose from various excursions under supervision. There's also a chance of seeing a manatee. No gurantees of course. It would also be a suitable location to take your advanced if you don't already have it. The down side to Marsa Shagra is that it can be very dull if you're not diving.

If you're looking for somewhere closer to home with good diving conditions and wrecks but not the amazing marine life of the tropics then both Croatia and the Turkish Riviera are good. I especially liked it in Turkey. There *is* some marine life like Sepias, squid, some groupers, small stuff, sea horses etc but just not like in the tropics. Overfishing, you know.

Obviously the Black Sea is a good place to go wreck diving but niether the conditions or the marine life will impress you I think. That's probably a little "too" close to home for you.

Another possible option for you, although it isn't tropical at all, is the Western Coast of Canada around Vancouver. Lots of marine life, good diving conditions most of the time and decent wreck diving on specially sunk wrecks for divers. Some people think that it's the nicest non-tropical area in the world, and they may be right. Also, Vancouver is an interesting city for you as a tourist.

I've also been diving in Lake Malawi and as far as seeing unique marine life it's really interesting but I just did it as a distraction while I was travelling through there so I don't know what it's like if you go there especially to dive. It was also a long time ago. I hear, although I haven't been there, that Mozambique has excellent diving too with chances of seeing whale sharks. In any event I liked travelling in East Africa so if you like that kind of tourism those are good locations.

R..

 

[Tigerman]

Im a bit ashamed of myself for forgetting a divesite that is considered one of the best in the world by amongst others national geographic. Im also a bit ashamed that I havent gotten around to dive it myself.
Saltstraumen near Bodø in northern Norway - Saltstraumen Dykkersenter

 

[Misa]

any1 here been to Atol Bikini or PNG and can post some pictures with surroundings, wrecks, etc?

ty

 

[scubadivemaldives]

You could dive for weeks in the Maldives and never run out of awesome dive sites. The Maldive Victory Wreck satisfies your thirst for a wreck dive, and all the other sites fulfill your first two requirements. You'll love it!!!

 

[deepdiver1]

Well it may be close but for price you cant beat cozumel. The vis is great reefs are exellent. But best dive capital in the world a must Queensland austalia. It is a must do.

 

[Louie]

Tough one this...

Marine life and variety: Papua New Guinea - sorry I can't find the pictures. I've only done the west coast and didn't do the wrecks in Port Moresby. I fantasise about doing that part of the world again, popping over to the Solomon Islands and seeing both marine life and wrecks there.

Good diving conditions - if you meant visibility or warmer waters - Red Sea (Elphinstone, St Johns, Brothers) or Outer Great Barrier Reef/Coral Sea.

Wrecks - The Coolidge in Vanuatu (200metres with a lot of history). The attractions on land are quite fascinating as well.

Finally, for cheap and raucous fun on land after the dives - Thailand. Just avoid the Full Moon Parties like the plague.

 

[Oceanic Dreams]

Hi All , just went through the thread and as an industrail expert in Maldives i would like to contribute my thoughts for the topic.

I believe there are so many great dive destination around the globe , everyone with its unique identity. As i read the Misac post and the 3 point intrest of the condition of the place he would like to be, It reflected The Maldives.

As we all know Maldives is in tropics. The underwater is with clear visibility 15 - 40 metres (50 - 130 feet) , with water temperature of 24Ž°C (75Ž°F) .

The fish life in Maldives is just like an aquarium with all colourful big and small fishes. Hammerheads, grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, manta rays, turtles, frogfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, jacks, trevallies, snappers, napoleon wrasse, barracudas... the list is almost endless! also the big guy whale shark.

The dives will be exciting and the types of dives done in Maldives are channel dives, reefs dive, and wreck dives.

I believe The Maldives is unique for its rich diversity. We hope to have you diving in Maldives .

If you have any inquiry please do not hesistate to mail me.

 

[mgmonk]

So many places. It's amazing that we're all so lucky to see so much diversity in the ocean today. The ease of travel is definitely both the benefit and the bane of modern life and diving.

Not going to say "the best" because I hate playing favorites, but for sure "absolutely amazing":

Get over to Sulawesi, Indonesia. From Monado you can easily travel to both Bunnaken (deep wall/drift dives with healthy coral) and Lembeh (super wonderful macro and bizarre-o). I'm actually surprised that Lembeh has only been mentioned once (maybe I missed another post) and absent on the "top 100" list. I rank it in my top 10 so far for sure. Overall, I think Sulawesi is great for the convenience of two such massively different scopes of diving (wall:bunnaken vs muck:Lembeh). For a single vacation you can really pack it in without having to spend much down time traveling.

Depending on you schedule, think about how much lost time there can be between trips if you have to island hop or get from port to port.

Then there are the liveaboards in SE Asia. Similans, Raja Ampat....

MAN, life is complicated with all these decisions.

Have fun, and tell us where you end up.