Ever since I took a scuba diving course as an undergrad, I’ve been hooked on the wondrous experiences that lie in wait below the ocean surfaces. Now, more than half a lifetime since my first dive course—and several PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certifications later—I’ve gone scuba diving on every continent in the world except Antarctica (although it’s on the list!).
Some people might tell you that snorkeling is as good as diving. But you might think differently after you’ve inserted yourself into a school of chevron barracuda 50 feet down, knelt in the ocean-floor sand to watch mantas soar overhead, or spent time getting to know the ways of a feisty clown fish peering from its anemone.
And with more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface covered by water, the best places in the world to go scuba diving are as varied and interesting as land-based attractions.
Here are 19 of the very best places in the world to dive, including the mind-blowingly clear waters of Niue in the South Pacific, where humpbacks migrate through every winter, and the accessible, sun-dappled coral reefs and shipwrecks of the Florida Keys.
Niue island, in the South Pacific, is ideal for whale watching.
Photo by Ant Brown Photography
1. Niue
Never heard of Niue? The humpback whales have. Every year from July through late-September, they arrive en masse on their winter migration from Antarctica to calve and mate in the warm, crystal clear waters of this tiny South Pacific nation. Home to only about 1,200 full-time residents, Niue can only be reached by intrepid humans by boat or Air New Zealand flights from Auckland.
One of PADI’s newest Eco Centers, Niue Blue, brings small groups out on RIB boats (rigid inflatable) for responsible whale watching and snorkeling encounters, plus year-round dive trips into the cave-pocked underwater terrain laden with healthy hard corals along the west coast. The operator also partners with not-for-profit Daughters of the Deep, which supports young Niuean women considering a career in marine conservation and the dive industry.
The island’s one resort is the lovely oceanfront Scenic Matavai Resort Niue. There, you can regularly spot fluking and breaching in the deep nearshore waters during whale season, a time when the hotel’s “whale bell” rings almost nonstop. Because there are no rivers or lakes on Niue’s limestone terrain, the surrounding waters are crystal clear, with underwater visibility that regularly exceeds 150 feet.
Niue was one of the first countries in the world to commit to protecting 100 percent of its ocean waters as an exclusive economic zone. And through local non-profit and government partnership Niue Ocean Wide, visitors can sponsor a square kilometer of those waters for the next 20 years.
The waters around Poor Knights Island have been praised by none other than Jacques Cousteau.
Photo by Guy Cowdry/Shutterstock
2. Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
Off the coast of the North Island, the marine-reserve Poor Knights Islands (Tawhiti Rahi in Māori) are volcanic remnants of part of the Pacific Ring of Fire—with waters that drew praise from Jacques Cousteau as one of the world’s best diving destinations. The islands became a marine protected area (MPA) in 1981 and have been considered a major success story, thanks to the completely regenerated marine ecosystem where cold- and warm-water animals coexist.
Bathed by subtropical currents, the waters here harbor abundant kelp forests and interesting tropical fish not usually found this far south, including mosaic eels, red-banded shrimp, and Lord Howe coralfish. The most breathtaking sight might be the blue and pink fish at Blue MaoMao Arch schooling, alongside clouds of kingfish, snapper, and other species.
This is a “no-take” zone, where fishing, mining, extraction, and other interference are prohibited. The best operator is Dive! Tutukaka, New Zealand’s first PADI Adaptive Service Facility, working to make the sport more accessible. The shop also mentors and trains locals to be guides and guardians of their backyard coastline. Stay nearby at Lodge 9, a boutique dive lodge with a cedarwood sauna and upcycled decor elements made from marine debris.
A shallow river channel flows into the ocean in Fakarava.
Photo by Goinyk Production/Shutterstock
3. French Polynesia
A trip to Tahiti is best spent going through as many tanks as possible in the atoll passes of the Tuamotu Archipelago. On the incoming tide at Rangiroa’s famed Tiputa Pass, the visibility clears and illuminates a shimmering spectacle that might include unicorn fish and pompano, as well as surprise appearances by the atoll’s resident dolphins who often play with divers underwater. PADI Five Star Dive Resort the 6 Passengers makes the short boat trip to Tiputa Pass daily.
Also in the Tuamotus, the atoll of Fakarava is known for diving at its south pass, Tetamanu, famed for its wall of hundreds of gray reef sharks. The north pass, Garuae, is similarly thrilling and houses thousands of fish within Ali Baba Canyon. O2 Fakarava can bring you to both. Also in the Tuamotus, on the atoll of Tikehau, divers head out to Tuheiava Pass with Tikehau Diving for regular sightings of mantas at a cleaning station (pinnacles that draw large fish to have their gills, teeth, and carapaces cleaned by smaller ones).
Elsewhere in Tahiti, dive with blacktip reef sharks around Mo’orea and the main island, or snorkel with migrating humpback whales offshore from Rurutu from around August to early October. In Bora Bora, trips with Bora Diving Center (by Eleuthera) are another good bet for seeing mantas and schooling eagle rays within the famous lagoon. And in Nuku Hiva in the remote Marquesas Islands, Nuku Dive brings divers just offshore for regular sightings of scalloped hammerhead sharks.
The Great Barrier Reef area around Lizard Island is a draw for experienced divers because of its healthy coral and abundant fish life.
Courtesy of Lizard Island
4. Lizard Island and Lord Howe Island, Australia
Home to the world’s most vast coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, Australia can claim roughly three-quarters of the world’s coral species, with 600 varieties in the continent’s waters. With so much underwater terrain to explore, experienced scuba divers target the most pristine waters for spotting healthy coral and abundant fish life, like those around Lizard Island—a luxury PADI dive resort on the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. From the property, it’s a short boat ride to one of the Great Barrier’s most lauded dive sites, the Cod Hole, where resident potato cod can grow up to six feet long.
Further south in Australia, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island sits along the world’s southernmost coral reef. The world’s tallest sea stack—Ball’s Pyramid, which rises more than 1,800 feet above the Pacific Ocean is a magnet for marine life. These waters are the only ones in Australia where divers can spot inquisitive Galápagos whaler sharks. Other species to look out for: anemone fish, the beautiful sea slugs called Spanish Dancers, and green and hawksbill sea turtles.
Anambas Archipelago, in the South China Sea between Borneo and mainland Malaysia, is one of Indonesia’s first marine conservation areas.
Photo courtesy of Bawah Reserve
5. Anambas Archipelago, Indonesia
Other places in Indonesia have more name recognition. But this archipelago in the South China Sea between Borneo and mainland Malaysia is one of Indonesia’s first marine conservation areas, with vibrant corals and a kaleidoscope of marine life accessible in less than 90 feet of water.
Set on six pristine islands, the sustainable luxury property Bawah Reserve offers the best base for accessing the diving areas. Marine biologists are on staff, and an on-site PADI 5-Star Diving Center offers everything from bubble-maker courses for kids to to daily dives, some of which allow you to help with coral transplanting and reef health monitoring.
6. Japan
Scuba diving might not be the first pursuit that comes to mind, with everything else there is to see, do, (and eat!) in Japan,. But the country has an outsized amount of opportunities.
Underwater ecosystems span Japan’s islands and latitudes. They include the tropical coral reefs of Okinawa, ice diving in Hokkaido along the Shiretoko Peninsula, and shipwreck diving in the Ogasawara Islands, also known as the “Galápagos of the Orient,” where pelagic species like whales, sharks, and dolphins pass through.
Yakushima National Park in Kagoshima Prefecture has pristine coral reefs where loggerhead and green sea turtles spawn.
In Okinawa, ANA Intercontinental Manza Beach was Japan’s first to have a PADI Eco Center.
And on the northwest side of Ishigaki Island, you can mingle among mantas at a cleaning station called Manta Scramble, which Euro Divers at Club Med Kabira Ishigaki regularly dives.
7. Fernando de Noronha Marine Park, Brazil
Brazil’s top spot for diving is a UNESCO World Heritage Atlantic Ocean site known for volcanic landscapes and scenic beaches. It is roughly 220 miles off the country’s northeast coast.
The 21-island volcanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is where you’ll find the protected waters of Fernando de Noronha Marine Park, an important breeding ground for spinner dolphins that is also home to 230 species of fish and 15 species of coral in some of the country’s most biodiverse waters.
Operators like Noronha Diver can take you to more than 20 dive sites. You might see rocks covered with bright red sponges, schooling horse-eyed jacks, and nurse sharks at rest on the white sandy seafloor.
Tobago is home to an underwater wreck and the world’s largest brain coral.
Courtesy of Aline Doodn/Unsplash
8. Tobago
Tobago, Trinidad’s beachier and wilder sister island, is a favorite among scuba divers. Nutrients from the Orinoco Delta make the waters particularly enticing to marine life and also help the island’s barrel sponges grow especially huge. Float in a superman pose above the world’s largest brain coral (16 feet in diameter) in the waters off Speyside, with Tobago Dive Experience.
Base yourself closer to the airport in the island’s south at Coco Reef Resort & Spa, Tobago’s grande dame oceanfront resort. The on-site dive shop, Undersea Tobago, runs daily trips to dive nearshore reefs as well as the wreck of the Maverick, a former passenger ferry sunk in 100 feet of water. It is now home to free-swimming eels and octopuses.
Scuba dive closer to home around the Revillagigedo Islands below the tip of Cabo San Lucas west of mainland Mexico.
Photo by Leonardo Gonzalez/Shutterstock
9. Socorro and Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
Dreaming of magical manta encounters? Or of being surrounded by schools of hammerheads and being buzzed by an orca? It’s not unheard of in the Socorro and Revillagigedo Islands. For experienced divers, high-adrenaline diving awaits in these remote volcanic islands that can be reached only by liveaboards (where you sleep on a boat that’s your dive platform) that venture some 285 miles south off the tip of Cabo San Lucas; trips range from 5 to 17 nights.
November to May is the best season, especially January into April. This is when humpback whales are often seen migrating through the waters of the Revillagigedo Islands. Take part in citizen scientist expeditions aboard the 16-passenger Quino el Guardian, a former research vessel that’s among many dive liveaboards, including those from Socorro’s equally recommended Nautilus Adventures.
The UNESCO-protected Raja Ampat Islands supports three quarters of the world’s coral species.
Photo by Public_P/Shutterstock
10. Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Basically at the bull’s-eye of the marine world’s biodiversity in the Coral Triangle, where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet, Raja Ampat lies in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. The UNESCO World Heritage–listed destination composed of roughly 1,500 islands is a far-flung place many experienced divers hope to visit at least once in their lives.
Its waters are home to roughly 75 percent of the world’s coral species and more than 1,500 different species of fish. Simply put, the views in Raja Ampat are the stuff of dive dreams: pristine pastures of corals, manta ray encounters, and schools of tropical fish so thick they nearly block the sun.
Base on land in a local village at Meridian Adventure, which won PADI’s Green Star award for its environmental efforts, or at the inimitable Misool Eco Resort with its on-site conservation center. Aqua Expeditions offers luxury sailings through Raja Ampat from December to February. And experienced liveaboard divers love the boutique vibe of high-end Indonesian vessels operated by Arenui and Dive Damai.
PADI praises the Galapagos Islands for their great visibility and geological formations.
Photo by Somphob Boonlaim/Shutterstock
11. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
The Galápagos Islands, a storied destination for nature lovers, has so much more to offer when experienced as a certified scuba diver of any level. For the advanced, channels around the islands work like pelagic highways, attracting more than 3,000 different marine species.
Plan to dive by liveaboard boats for the most legendary sites, including Darwin’s Arch. “It’s a paradise for any diver, with hundreds of hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, eagle rays, dolphins, Galápagos sharks,” says Jenny Waack, founder of Galapagos Shark Diving. “I once finished a safety stop there with a group of dolphins and boobies staring down from the surface.”
Ecuadoran company Ecoventura’s 16-passenger Galapagos Sky offers expedition cruising and dive trips year-round to Wolf and Darwin islands and other sites known to attract mantas, eagle rays, and whale sharks.
For diving excursions with a home base on land, expedition lodge Finch Bay, near Puerto Ayora, has diving packages to visit sites around the island of Santa Cruz.
Several small ship expeditions will show you the best of the Azores islands’ underwater beauty.
Photo by Hanneke Wetzer/Shutterstock
12. Azores
In the Portuguese Azores islands, conservation efforts have led to the protection and rebound of sperm whales. This autonomous region, located roughly 1,000 miles off the mainland in the mid-Atlantic, is known for clear waters surrounding nine volcanic islands. And, while it’s rare to see the deep-diving cetaceans while scuba diving, there are plenty of other underwater highlights because warm and cold currents collide here, creating “a unique ecosystem,” says Arlindo Serrão of Portugal Dive, which showcases views around islands like São Miguel, Pico, and Faial.
Or book a berth aboard the eight-passenger Water and Wind catamaran to sites that include Princess Alice Bank, where huge schools of jack, tuna, and barracuda cloud the seamount. For land-based diving, Haliotis Diving Center operates guided boat trips from Santa Maria. Once you get hooked on diving Portugal’s islands, consider making Madeira and Porto Santo’s great wreck diving your next venture .
Vibrant anthias swim above a colorful coral reef in Fiji. This South Pacific island group is a favorite destination for scuba divers, snorkelers, and adventure-seekers.
Photo by Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock
13. Fiji
Slip on a mask and roll off a dive boat in Fiji, home to 42 percent of the world’s coral species, according to the Coral Reef Alliance.
To see the underwater colors and corals at their most mind-blowing, head to the aptly named Rainbow Reef, which runs between the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni in the Somosomo Strait. For daily two-tank dives on the reef, base at Paradise Taveuni or Fiji’s first PADI Eco Center, Sau Bay Resort & Spa, where mangrove and coral planting can be incorporated into your stay. Migrating humpback whales are often seen between June and October in these waters, where PADI and Fiji launched an initiative called “Bula Blue” to increase conservation efforts.
Off Viti Levu’s southern coast, in Beqa Lagoon, divers marvel at the sight of tiger sharks, nurse sharks, bull sharks, lemons, and more. Other coral reefs to visit include the Great Astrolabe Reef around Kadavu Island and Namena Marine Reserve, between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the country’s largest no-take reef.
Elsewhere in Fiji, pair topside relaxing and diving with a stay at an eco-minded property like Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Six Senses Fiji, or Vomo Island, all of which run coral restoration and education programs, including for youth. Closer to the international airport on Fiji’s main island, the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa and Nanuku Resort Fiji offer regular dive trips, too.
It’s hard to miss a goliath grouper fish on a dive at the Florida Keys.
Photo by DNADiving/Shutterstock
14. Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are the ultimate underwater smorgasbord. Here, divers can knock out their very first open-water ocean dive after getting certified, perhaps testing their skills in the remains of a wreck.
Part of the third-largest living coral barrier reef system in the world, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is home to 6,000 animal species, many of which swim above spur-and-groove reefs (corals separated by channels of sand) that rarely dip below the 45-foot mark. Then there are the many wrecks sunken in these waters—you can explore nine of them as part of a road trip through the Keys along the Florida Keys Wreck Trek, starting with the 510-foot-long Spiegel Grove. A former U.S. Navy landing ship covered with corals and abounding with fish life, it was sunk off Key Largo in 2002 to form an artificial reef.
On that note, consider giving back to the area by volunteering with the Coral Restoration Foundation for projects that might involve outplanting corals onto the reef or building coral trees on land.
Palau’s Jellyfish Lake has been threatened in recent years by climate change and overtourism.
Photo by frantisekhojdysz/Shutterstock
15. Palau, Micronesia
Snorkelers know Palau mostly for its famous Jellyfish Lake, which has fewer of its namesake creatures than in the past due to the effects of over-tourism and climate change. For scuba divers, heading into the remote waters of Micronesia roughly 800 miles southwest of Guam is the ultimate thrill, with wall and drift dives being the runaway highlight.
The currents can move so swiftly at famous Palau dive sites like Blue Corner that divers need to use a reef hook (attached to a dead part of the reef) to stay put. The spectacle that unfolds can be likened to an underwater wildebeest migration—where the wildebeest are tropical fish and the predators are sharks.
German Channel is a famed site for reliable manta sightings, and Ulong Channel has gorgeous walls of lettuce corals lining a sandy channel and a conveyor belt of marine life passing through. Long-standing operators that have Palau’s waters wired for diving include Sam’s Tours and Fish ‘n Fins. For more serious divers, liveaboard options include the Palau Siren, the Palau Aggressor II, the Ocean Hunter, and the 11-cabin Four Seasons Explorer, Palau catamaran, a floating five-star base for diving, snorkeling, and paddling the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Rock Islands Southern Lagoon.
Celestia sails to Komodo National Park, Raja Ampat, and other destinations in Indonesia’s Coral Triangle.
Courtesy of Celestia
16. Komodo, Indonesia
Most travelers equate Komodo in the Indonesian archipelago with its fierce dragons, the world’s largest living lizards. You can visit them between dives if you base yourself on land and head out with a shop like Blue Marlin Dive. Alternatively, consider hopping aboard the seven-cabin, custom-designed phinisi, Celestia, a luxury schooner offering daily massages, private island-hopping, beach dinners, and snorkeling in addition to diving in Komodo National Park, famed for its drift dives.
For a comfortable base on land, choose the luxury resort AYANA Komodo Waecicu Beach or the recently opened Marriott property, Ta’aktana, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Labuan Bajo.
Swim close (but not too close) to manta rays, whale sharks, and turtles on a trip to the Maldives.
Photo by SennaRelax/Shutterstock
17. Maldives
This low-lying archipelago renowned for its white sandy beaches and overwater bungalows needs no introduction to the honeymooning set. But for scuba divers, the Maldives is so much more than gourmet meals and spa sessions on repeat. The pristine reefs here are home to an abundance of marine life and endless underwater cleaning stations that attract resident manta rays, whale sharks, and turtles. The large UNESCO-listed lagoon called Baa Atoll attracts scores of reef manta rays, and it is one of scuba diving’s most epic experiences.
Many Maldivian resorts are taking the lead with conservation efforts, including Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, with its coral propagation and turtle rescue and rehabilitation projects, and the PADI Eco Center Six Senses Laamu. The resort spearheaded the Maldives Underwater Initiative with a goal of identifying, surveying, and protecting more than 670 resident sea turtles and over 130 manta rays. Laamu Atoll has even been named a Mission Blue Hope Spot for being at the intersection of marine conservation and economic development initiatives.
Egypt is a fine place for travelers to practice regenerative diving, where their visits leave the dive sites better than before.
Photo by Jay Clue
18. Marsa Alam, Egypt
Regenerative-minded diving figures big in one of North Africa’s favorite diving destinations, Marsa Alam. Located on the western edge of the Red Sea in southern Egypt, the region’s dive tourism largely benefits local communities. All divers are encouraged to take part in a Dive Against Debris when they head out with PADI Eco Center Red Sea Diving Safari, an eco-conscious operator with three locations in Marsa Alam, including the village of Marsa Shagra, where its “house reef” is one of many conservation efforts.
Colorful reef and drift dives are the lure in the waters around Marsa Alam, where more than 60 spectacular dive sites are a siren call to (wet) suit up. Elphinstone Reef consistently ranks among the world’s best dive sites thanks to its abundance of healthy soft corals and frequent shark sightings, including the chance to see everything from thresher sharks to scalloped hammerheads.
19. Vanuatu
The chance to dive with dugongs—marine mammals closely related to manatees—brings many an intrepid diver to Vanuatu, a South Pacific archipelago strung with 83 islands that are home to one of the creatures’ most healthy populations in the world.
With a regenerative tourism model that supports the local community, Volcano Island Divers at White Grass Ocean Resort and Spa on Tanna Island has been named the country’s first PADI Eco Center.
Vanuatu’s dive options range from coral reef and dramatic caverns to legendary World War II ship and plane wrecks like Million Dollar Point and the SS President Coolidge, a troopship sunk by mines in 1942 that can be explored with Aore Adventures in Espiritu Santo.
A singular experience awaits on night dives with Gone Diving in Port Villa, where you can enjoy responsible diving outings to potentially spot the chambered nautilus—an ancient cephalopod that’s best seen at night.
This article was originally published in 2024 and most recently updated September 2025 with current information.
