Escape the crowded world and immerse yourself is a breath-taking experience that no other places can offer your. If you are born with a sense of adventure and a passion to explore, dive in and learn about the tragic history of different shipwrecks and witness marine life matched by few other places on this planet. Take a look at this list of amazing diving sites and start packing your scuba suit, you’re going on a journey for a lifetime!
1. Maaya Thila, Maldives
Maaya Thila is a wonderful diving site with a diameter of approximately 80 meters, easy to navigate through in just one dive, if the current is favorable. The marine life is of an incredible diversity, with several coral outcrops on the northwest and south sides, many caves and overhangs, a great feast of fish ranging from the white tips (the center of attention of this site), dog-toothed tuna, great barracudas, blue-faced angelfish, Moorish idol, parrot-fish, clown triggerfish, tall fin bat-fish, butterfly fish, stone-fish, lion-fish and angler-fish. Large turtles are also a regular around the reef.
This dive is a fish watcher’s delight, and a magnificent sight for anyone, with beautiful soft coral and gorgonians on the reef faces. It is a great idea to dive at night too.
2. Koh Tao Island, Thailand
Koh Tao Island is a wonderful destination, with many wonderful diving sites that will take your breath away. Try out Chumphon, with its pinnacles that are covered in colorful sea anemone and surrounded by fascinating marine live, such as large schools of trevally, bat-fish and barracuda. You can also spot giant barracudas, scorpion-fish and whale sharks. Southwest is also a great choice, a site that is also carpeted in anemone and surrounded by clown fish. Also, visit the wreck of Sattakut, a former US Nave ship, frequented by stingrays and puffer-fish. Some other great sites here are Shark Island (it resembles a dorsal fin and is also a little more dangerous than the others, due to the killer current and aggressive trigger-fish), Sail Rock, The Twins (great for new divers), White Rock and Green Rock.
3. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island, Malaysia
One of the most treasured spots at Sipadan Island, the Barracuda Point is where you will most likely find yourself in the middle of a swirling vortex of chevron or black-tail barracuda. Frequent visitors of this place are the grey reef sharks, great barracudas, dog-toothed tuna, Big-eye and giant trevally.
This is one of the most colorful and entertaining dives, with a marine life of great diversity. You should be careful though, as the currents in the north can get very strong as you go deeper.
4. The Yongala, Australia
One of the world’s greatest wreck diving sites, the Yongala wreck is a national historic site within the amazing, World Heritage listed, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is covered in a variety of corals, full of artifacts and surrounded by fascinating marine life.
Take into consideration that the dives go as far as 30 meters deep and you must be an advanced diver or show deep dive experience with training.
Divers say they have had an amazing experience here and saw huge schools of barracuda, ray’s, sea snakes, turtles and even bull sharks.
5. The Egyptian Red Sea
Although it is a quite soliciting dive, the trip to the British supply ship SS Thistlegorm is definitely worth it. It is practically a slip into a World War II time capsule, as the wreck is surrounded by piles of explosives, hand grenades, anti-tank mines, essentially an impressive load of war material, frozen in time in the Egyptian Red Sea.
Another great diving site in the Red Sea is the Shark and Yolanda Reef, also one of the most popular in the area. Shark reef is a wall that drops 800m, with crystal blue water and filled with thousands of snappers and barracudas, which are hunted down by marauding sharks. The Yolanda reef takes its name from a ship that hit the reef and sank here in the early ’80s. Here you can see a beautiful coral garden, full of vibrant soft corals and thousands of Anthia. Remains of the sunken ship are found in the west side, and the two reefs are linked together by a sandy slope.
The Big Brother Island is characterized by an amazingly healthy fish population, dominated by tiny anthias, sweepers and glass-fish, while its walls are densely covered by huge gorgonians and colorful soft corals. Frequented by numerous sharks, this site might bring grey and white tip reef sharks, hammerheads and thresher sharks right in front of your eyes. It is also home to two fascinating Red Sea wrecks, Numidia and Aida.
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6. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Because planktonic marine life is attracted to light at night, underwater lights are set up in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, shortly after sunset. Manta Rays are drawn to the area and are a true delight to divers that chose this adventure. They come and go as they please, as this is their natural habitat, and the chances are you will spot 1 to 5 Manta Rays in Manta Village, or an even larger number in Manta Heaven. The record was set in September 2014, at 46 Manta Rays spotted in one night.
You will most definitely by advised not to touch the Manta Rays, as it can really harm them, stay on the surface if you are a snorkeler, stay on the bottom and remove the snorkel from your mask if you’re a diver.
7. Cape Kri, Indonesia
One of the most amazing diving sites in the world, holding a record count of 374 different species in one dive, Cape Kri is also home to 1200 fish species, 600 coral species and 699 mollusk species. Huge schools of Big-eye trevallies, Barracudas and Snappers can be seen hanging over the drop-off, while at the base of the reef, at 38 meters, an ancient snagged anchor rests next to a bommie with a dense school of Banded sweet-lips. Beautiful coral gardens, turtles, even dolphins and whales are present in the reefs belonging to Cape Kri. The sights are fantastic and a dive here is unforgettable.
Some other great diving sites around the world are Magnetic Island, Puerto Galera – Philippines
The Great Blue Hole – Belize, Blue Corner Wall – Micronesia, Navy Pier – Western Australia, the Liberty wreck – Indonesia, the President Coolidge wreck – Vanuatu, Playa del Carmen – Mexico, The Galapagos Islands – Ecuador and Semporna Archipelago – Borneo.
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