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 take a look at to see, not provided that we liked scuba, but in addition 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 rapidly realized diving was an unbelievable and integral option to discover this blue planet, and we’ve since carried out 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 earth.
Roatán, Honduras: Shore Dives & Caverns
Once we informed individuals we had been housesitting for 2 months in Honduras, most thought we had been nuts, however our diver associates utterly understood. In a primary stretch of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (the second largest on the earth), 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 lots 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. At the beginning, this website is an unbelievable rock formation with crags letting in gentle for vibrant corals, nooks for a variety of habitats, and passageways to thrill the explorer in all of us. We dove a dramatic coral swim-through and had been surrounded by 1000’s 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 need to develop into Cavern-Diver Licensed.
Roatán Banks
Cayos Cochinos is inside 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 ft and there gave the impression 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, inspecting the peculiar nudibranch, and having a reef shark whiz by us was a delight! Any scuba driver will let you know that our oceans are warming and coral bleaching is occurring worldwide, however once you come to a spot like The Banks it provides you hope it’s not too late. For extra on defending this reef, try the nice 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.
Higher Sipadan, Malaysia: Drifts & Macro
The Coral Triangle is essentially the most biodiverse marine area on the earth 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 various terrain in Malaysia’s Celebes Sea provided 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 Seventies oil rig turned eco-friendly dive resort hovering over the reef. The outdated cargo deck has been was a PADI dive heart and restaurant, worker housing into suites, the helipad right into a sweeping rooftop patio, and the freight elevator right into a enjoyable option to attain the ocean. Our days had been stuffed with three scuba periods (plus as many as we’d like on the home reef immediately 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 pulls individuals to the area. As a consequence of its reputation, 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 prefer to bask within the daybreak gentle.
Paradise 1 & Paradise 2
Whereas the beige sandy backside and synthetic reef of north Mabul Island won’t appear to be a lot at first, right here lies among 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 extraordinary 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 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 draw back…they’re equally interested by 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 Idea 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 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
Formed like a boot cut up in two, this underwater volcano off San Cristóbal Island is nothing in need of unbelievable. The canyon via 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. Phrases can not totally describe the amount 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 facet of the archipelago all the time high the record of the Galapagos finest dive websites. As a consequence 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 Facet, and Cape Marshall. For extra issues to do within the Galapagos, try 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 army occupation for the subsequent twenty years, and propped up by UN Peacekeeping operations till 2012, Timor-Leste by no means actually had the possibility to develop and its reef is pristine consequently. Alongside 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 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, which Conservation Worldwide discovered the very best common reef fish range on the earth (a whopping 642 species), and in response to 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 big 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. When you can usually see eagle rays, dogtooth tuna, and barracudas, it wasn’t in regards to the large fish, it was the sheer abundance of life in all its varieties and a brand new customary for wholesome reefs on this planet!
Ombai Strait
Swimming with the most important mammal on earth just isn’t often on the dive menu, however Desmond Lee, proprietor of Aquatica Dive Resort was satisfied he may provide it up (in a secure and respectful method) in the course of the blue whale migration every fall. Learning their patterns as they transfer via the Ombai Strait, he’s discovered a means totally free divers to affix the whales on the proper second for eye-to-eye commentary. We will definitely be again for this!
Extra Timor-Leste Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Arlo Amphitheater, Bubble Seashore, 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 faculties of fish are funneled between the pure gates, attracting droves of pelagics. Well-known for its “wall of sharks” and glorious 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 large spot in our hearts as a result of it’s additionally the place we realized to sail. Over eight days, we had the possibility to discover the atoll by yacht and dive it from finish to finish.
Garuae Move
Beginning within the north of the atoll, we dove Garuae, French Polynesia’s widest cross (greater than a mile!). The various 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 Move
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 Move 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 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.
Extra French Polynesia High Dive Locations and Adventures
Dive Tumakohua Move, North Move, 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 gorgeous with its black limestone mountains, turquoise lakes, and seashores. On the subject of wreck diving, Coron Island is arguably the perfect place on the earth to offer it a strive. Most wreck dives require a particular PADI certification, as a consequence of deeper depths and risks of coming into enclosed and unstable buildings, however Coron’s distinctive historical past brings them inside attain. Towards the top of World Struggle 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 could be 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. Each smooth and laborious corals have made it their house and faculties of angelfish and butterflyfish transfer via the storied areas.
Olympia Maru
A 425-foot-long cell plane restore facility and provide depot for the Japanese Military now lies on the base of Busuanga Island. The principle deck sits at 59-79 ft deep and with a wide-open cargo space, it’s simpler to discover and study this piece of historical past. Shifting via 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 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 among the finest shore dives round with wonderful rock formations and shipwrecks that even inexperienced persons can take pleasure in. With 365 dive websites, this three-island nation takes diving and ocean conservation critically, providing among the finest Caribbean diving for each day of the yr.
Trinity Caves, West Bay
5 minutes from shore, throughout the teal shallows of the westside, the ocean ground appeared to drop out from underneath 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 via. The Trinity reference is for the three caves, but in addition 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 ground for the reason that Eighties and located a second life as a coral backyard. We swam into the hull, shifting via mangled iron with faculties of fish, emerged via 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 Seashore made everybody need to try 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 drawn to Southern Thailand, with visions of Leo dancing via our heads, and skilled it for ourselves. We acquired there and, though Koh Phi Phi was certainly celebration insanity, its limestone islands and coral gardens had been even higher than motion pictures.
Koh Bida Nok
This island throughout the way in which slopes all the way down to an extremely vibrant reef, teeming with marine life. The underwater topography ranges from sandy bottoms, steep partitions, small caves, giant crevices, and rolling reefs. It’s lined in a variety of sentimental and laborious corals, for among the finest colours left within the sea. Huge faculties 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 Might-August, chances are you’ll even see whale sharks passing via, and blacktip reef sharks and leopard sharks could be noticed a lot of the yr.
Koh Phi Phi Le & Maya Bay
That is house of the particular Seashore seashore. 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 perfect half was, by the point we had been carried out 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 Seashore 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’ve got tons 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 most important residing construction on this planet! Teeming with 600 kinds of corals, 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 forms of mollusks, and a amount of sharks I don’t even need to comprehend, it’s really a world surprise. However don’t suppose you possibly can simply ebook 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 way in which to go even deeper…so value it!
Dynamite Move & Pixie Pinnacle
Diving 3 times a day, plus occasional night time dives, we encountered a whole bunch of kinds 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 Move to Pixie Pinnacle.
Cod Gap
The liveaboard gave us entry to so many unbelievable lesser-known dive websites…however when within the GBR, you must 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 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 Nice Barrier Reef finale and higher but, we got here away with associates 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 General!
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 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 under 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 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 Nationwide Geographic E book, Final Journeys for Two.
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 associates gracefully flew previous us. Apart from the mantas, the shallow reef is in fine condition with big trevallies, enormous clams, numerous 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 which you can 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. Quickly we had been rushing via a slender canyon alongside a fish superhighway. Wanting via the swirling water and previous the tuna site visitors, we noticed our information signaling to huddle up and grasp on! We secured ourselves with a reef hook (the one option to keep in a single place) and let the marine life—faculties of midnight snapper, big trevally, even a couple of 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 wonderful.
Extra Komodo High Dive Locations & Adventures
Dive Batu Bolong, The Passage, and Crystal Rock, and find out about our full Komodo Liveaboard expertise, right here.
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 faculties 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 in addition a purpose 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 the most effective issues we’ve ever carried out 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!
Thanks for testing our High 10 Dive Locations within the World (tell us which one is asking your title!) and an enormous thanks to PADI for sponsoring this submit and for educating us the artwork of scuba!!
