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A list of the best rated scuba dive sites in the world.
Great Blue Hole
The Blue Hole is a sunken underwater cave of approximately one thousand feet wide and three hundred feet deep, located in the center of Lighthouse Reef. From out of the air you have spectacular views of this geological phenomenon. Theories of a meteorite that struck Lighthouse Reef millions of years ago and leaving this huge crater behind are not true. It was formed in one of our ice ages when the land was lowered enough to expose lighthouse reef. Sweet water created holes and cracks in the lime...
Yongala Wreck
While there are many shipwrecks along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, one of the best wreck dives is this one, the S.S. Yongala. This ship, made out of steel and timber, sank during a cyclone just about 60 kilometers from Townsville at Cape Bowling Green, taking the lives of all 121 passengers. The wreck lies in the middle of a flat and sandy shipping channel in about 30m of water. You can still see the aft, the rudder and forward masts, engine and steam rooms, toilets, port-holes and most of th...
Emboodhu Express
The Emboodhu Express, often written as Embudhoo Express, is located in the southern channel of Emboodhu Finolhu about 1hr 10 minutes sailing from Male'. Emboodhu Express is named for its famous currents which can be up to 5 knots that attract large pelagics such as sharks and rays. The whole channel is a marine protected area. The southern corner is the shark point. This dive is ideal for advanced divers as the sharks are more likely encountered at greater depths. The dive starts outside the...
Talipanan Reef
A 25-minute boat ride west of Puerto Galera is a pinnacle 500m/1650ft offshore sitting in the middle of Talipanan Reef. The top is at 15m/50ft and has a huge diversity of small fish, basket sponges, hard and soft corals. On the north-west face it drops off to over 80m/265ft where gorgonian fans are abound. A plateau in the shallow depths drops off vertically at 24m/80ft. In mid water there are shoals of surgeons and unicornfish; often giant tuna come in from the depth to feed. Below, schools of ...
Mary's Place
Mary's Place is probably the most famous dive site on Roatan. The dive was created during prehistoric volcanic activity. This activity broke of a huge chunk in the elbow like formation of the reef. This section is itself divided by other fissures to make an exotic undersea maze decorated with spectacular marine life. To protect this unique dive site, Mary's Place has been under a management plan, since 1997, designed to sustain this natural resource. Access is limited to one dive per div...
Richelieu Rock
Diving Richelieu Rock in Thailand has become world's top location for diving with whale sharks. The best season for diving with whales is from March to May when these majestic gentle but huge creatures pass by. A sighting of the largest fish living in the ocean has a ten percent success rate. These amazing creatures are rare almost everywhere in the world so consider yourself lucky if you have the opportunity to dive with them. The whales are attracted to this horse shoe shaped splintered rock p...
Great White Wall
The Great White Wall has its name because of the many soft coral which can be found below 15 meter. They are actually lavender in color, but the depth gives them a white appearance. Surface conditions can get rough, currents can be strong and so most of the time this site is dived as a drift dive. Often starting or ending near a huge tunnel where you can swim through. It has two exits, one at 10 meter and one at 27 meter, from where you will be entering a new world of colored coral.Gorgonian fan...
USAT Liberty
This 120 meter long wreck, the USAT Liberty (often misnamed as USS Liberty) was working as a cargo ship during World War II, when a torpedo from a Japanese submarine hit it. They tried to get the wreck to Singaraja near the north coast of Bali, but she got too much water. Instead, they towed her to Tulamben where she sat for more than twenty years. Then, in 1963, the volcano Mount Agung erupted and the earthquakes broke the Liberty at bow and stern. This caused the wreck to slid further down the...
Kona Manta Ray Night Dive
It is all about Manta Rays on the Kona Manta Ray Night dive site. There is plenty of other marine life, but tours and crew will focus on attracting mantas with their flashlights and food supplies. The crew will start the Manta Ray dive, by placing lights on the ocean floor aiming upwards. Plankton is attracted by this light and the plankton will attract the Mantas. As thick clouds of these microscopic animals enjoy the lights, manta rays come to feed. Not only plankton but also thousands of minu...
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait consists out of hundreds of islands, inlets, shoals, cays and reefs. It lies between Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and is remote diving at its best. Diving is only accessible by live-aboards that usually start at Lockhart River, about halfway between Cairns and Cape York. You can dive at the shipwrecks in the Cape York Peninsula, next to superb drop-offs and it is one of the best places for exploration dives, meaning not many divers have dived here before you. It ha...