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We regualarly add new areas to the SCUBA Travel site. If you want to be notified of updates to the site, along with other SCUBA news and discussion, please subscribe to our newsletter. MozambiqueBarra Reef, Mozambique I learned to dive here and many of the people I dived with were very experienced and worldly divers and they all agreed that it was the best diving they had ever seen. Better than the Red Sea, better than Australia... the best. The diving possibilities are almost limitless. There is a beautiful, calm, incredibly bright lagoon. Coral reefs abound within 300 m to 3000+ metres of the shore in all directions. The weather is irrationally gorgeous and visibility was virtually unlimited even at 30 m. Tropical, aquatic life abounds including blue spotted rays, crocodile fish, whales and sharks (even great whites). I saw four 1-4 metre rays in one 24 min. dive. The coral is spectacular and varied with many arches and tunnels and caves for those who like to play. As if that wasn't enough, it is probably some of the cheapest diving in the world. I got 7 dives and NAUI certification for less than a quarter of what it would have cost me in the U.S. AustraliaThe Yongola For sheer variety and numbers cannot be beaten. six-foot giant trevally hunting baitfish up and down the ship, tiger shark in the distance being mobbed by giant trevally which were only about a third of its length, 2 bull sharks up close being mobbed (in a split second) by a pair of dolphin that flashed by, eagle rays, turtles, giant grouper, seasnakes....all in one dive. Unbelievable!! Mandurah, Western Australia Great diving to be found in Mandurah, Western Australia. Purposely sunk wrecks for beginners and great selection of early Dutch Schooners etc.. for the more accomplished. All sites are marked with plinths and location markers on land. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea Amazing caves, 1000 Metre walls, pinnacles, turtles' grave yard, incredible night diving. A dive company called Coral Sea Diving Co takes you there, aboard Rum Runner. IndonesiaDonovan's dream, Alor, Indonesia This was only the second time this site had ever been dived. At the mouth of a long bay, the currents meant it could only be dived at slack tide. Even then it was a quick and vigorous descent to the shelter of a rock outcrop c. 30 feet down. Then there was no need to move anywhere: just hang out at 30 metres and watch the show: several grey reef sharks circling below, half-a dozen six-foot dogtooth tuna flashing through the clouds of fish above (which were so thick it was difficult to see the surface despite the 40 metre vis). Around 8 huge giant maori wrasse, biggest any of us had ever seen, lurking around too. School of huge yellowfin barracuda, horse-eye trevally circling us...wow! SudanSha'ab Rumi South, Sudan A narrow plateau starting at 20 Metres stretches out for 50-75 m and drops of at 40 m. It drops to 600 m on all sides. Lots of grey reef sharks, hammerheads are usually there, silvertips and sometimes silky sharks. I have had several manta encounters and the coral as well as the fish life is extraordinary with schools of barracuda and trevally. MexicoCenotes, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico Fresh water caves. Clear, clear water. Little life but the light is enough to take your breath away. Puerto GaleraWhile it's generally not on anyone's list of the best places to go, I found Puerto Galera to easily be as good as Yap, the Red Sea, and other similar places (I might even add Palau) when it comes to coral health and the variety of small and unusual animal life. When added to how inexpensive accommodation, food, and diving are, it is a very good deal. MaldivesThere are 85 resorts in the Maldives, but many of them don't cater for divers. It's best to go full board as everything is very expensive, including equipment hire. July and August are cheaper, but the visibility is not as good. The serious diving resorts include Biyadoo - very good food as they grow their own fruit and vegetables; Elaidoo - popular with Germans and Belgians. SeychellesNot as good for diving as the Maldives, but better destination if going with a non-diving partner. The diving is very easy and at certain times of the year you may see whale sharks. They allow a maximum of 2000 tourists and there are huge beaches with very few people. French PolynesiaIt helps to understand French - at least enough to understand diving terms and instructions. Not as many fish as in the Red Sea, but lots of Black and White Tip Reef Sharks. However, avoid Tahiti. For serious diving go to Rangiroa - one of the world's largest atolls with loads of sharks. JordanAqabah Easy diving and the coral is in good shape. Very friendly people. There is one boat diving operator - Aqua Marina Beach, and three PADI 5* centres. The Royal Diving Centre offers shore diving. Radison SAS is a luxurious hotel with good instructors. The best dive site is on the Saudi border. EgyptDahab Shore diving with amazing corals. Loads of fish including Napoleon (Maori) wrasse. Good for all levels, some difficult dives with fierce currents. Mangrove Bay 300 km south of Hurghada. Shore diving and day boats. The rare Dugong live here and in calm weather you can go to Elphinstone on a day trip. It's run by Ducks Diving Centre in Hurghada. Taba I recently did a boat dive from Taba on the Red Sea. I had done a lot of snorkelling there in the past but scuba was reserved for the better reefs of Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh. It was a pleasant surprise to find some great diving so close to Taba and in quite pristine conditions. There are some newly opened sites which are accessible only by boat and offer some beautiful and untouched coral. The fish life is not as rich as further south but we saw morays, lots of lionfish, wrasse, and octopus, etc. HawaiiManta Ray Night Dive, Kona Hawaii Underwater lights placed on the ocean floor attract infinite amounts of plankton, which in turn attract the huge, yet beautiful manta rays of Kona Hawaii. The rays get so close to you, that you often have to move to avoid them accidentally hitting you. This was by far, the best dive I have ever done. I have been to Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman before, and as good as that dive is, it came nowhere near the experience with the manta dive. It is very rare to experience such an amazingly wonderful and unforgettable time with one of the most beautiful and gentle animals in the world. Truk Lagoon, MicronesiaFujikawa Maru Picture perfect shipwreck - awash with coral and sea life. Each of the five holds offer exciting finds, however the highlight for me was the massive engine room which occupies the midships area, taking up 3 floors. Nippo Maru Deepish dive, fully intact upright shipwreck. Water visibility is good and many shark often frequent the ship. Excellent penetration opportunities for the trained diver. BrazilPedras Secas, Noronha Exuberant stadium-like rock formation, 16m max depth and 30m average visibility, with abundant marine life, from reef and nurse sharks to small multicolored reef fish. It is also a national park, so it is protected by law. Brazil's best, by far! Open sea dive, several small caverns and coral reef formations. A lot of small creatures, small shrimps, colourful school of fishs. Some lobsters and octopus. Encounters with "Lambarus" (Lime Sharks) and some hammerhead sharks, manta ray, eagle ray and more pelagic creatures. Regarding "Pedras Secas" dive site, its name means "dry stones" in Portuguese. Is an arena like formation, surrounded by small passages and small caverns and cracks in the rocks. The local divemaster will guide you through the best parts of the site and will always call your attention to the wonders that come into sight, deep range from 12 to 20 meters and there is no strong drift, so relax and enjoy the dive. Marine life can be described as unique and plentiful. Colorful fishes habituated with the presence of divers and some are even curious about the divers, getting closer to take a look at "such a strange creature that makes bubbles". There is no need to be lucky to find nurse sharks and green turtles, they are always around. Try sneaking in the small holes and slits in the bottom and you will probably find some lobsters, crabs, shrimps and octopuses ready to show their quick color changing show. Quite often, eagle rays and reef sharks can be seen. With some luck, you may encounter Manta Rays and Hammerhead Sharks, an unique experience. All this, spiced with a warm water (27oC / 80oF), visibility ranging from 15 metres (50 feet) in the bad days to more than 30 metres as an standard. There are three good operators in Noronha, but I strongly recommend using Atlantis, the second choice is Aguas Claras. Laje de Santos, São Paulo An oceanic rock, 70 miles from shore of SP state where pelagics find some harbour. Further to the abundant marine life, there is small and pretty conservate trawler wreck to explore. Several people come to the main city in South America for business reasons and forget their diving equipment. While in São Paulo, you get a car and in less than one hour you are in Santos, where you get a boat and within another one and a half hour you will be at Laje de Santos. It is a 400 m rock emerging 70 kilometres from the shore. There are dives for all levels of certification, with deeps ranging from 14 m to more than 40 m. Visibility sometimes turn into a lottery there are reports of less than 5 m but usually you will find 15 m and sometimes more than 25 m. Several parrot fishes and angel fishes will be surrounding you. A small trawler wrecked is a welcomed surplus to the site. Starfishes and octopuses can be found in the rocks. Quite often there are encounters with the main visitor of such site, the Manta Rays, which turns an already good dive in such site into a unique experience. Corveta A warship wreck technical dive that can be made by divers with more than 50 logged dives and Nitrox certified. BelizeGreat Blue Hole Ring coral reef surronding a large hole. Dive 14 m to the edge of the hole and then drop straight down into the hole. Hole reaches 148 m but there is on overhead ledge at 25 m. Habitated by mako sharks and assorted large tropical fish. 75 oF at surface, 68 oF at 33 m. Shark Cave Bottom half of an hour glass, full of sharks. Vis = 80 m, water temperature = 30 oC. Belize You should take a look at Belize. I lived there for 10 years and found the diving to be world class. BritainHispania The best wreck in Britain, in the opinion of a diver who's logged over 1000 dives. Very intact, picturesque, covered in life. Saint Kilda Oceanic blue water and visibility. The only dive site in Britain which is outside the green coastal waters. Highlight? 7.5 lb lobsters! IrelandThere are hundreds of dive sites off the west coast of Ireland. Here are descriptions of a couple. Rutland Sound, Burtonport, Co. Donegal This is a Drift dive located in the channel on the way out to Aranmore Island. How fast a drift you want depends on at what stage the tide is. I last dived this channel in early September last year on a Spring Tide. We timed it to be three hours after the tide-change as we wanted a fast drift. Our Club, Omagh SAC, know this area well as we do this dive every year. In mid-channel there is a maximum of 23 m though much shallower at the edges of the channel and with a lesser speed of the tide-run. Good boat cover is essential as you can travel maybe 1 km underwater in only 20 or so minutes. Another minor point is to find out the times of sailing of the Aranmore Ferry. The ferry travels up and down the channel, which accounts for the variety of old and recent, but interesting, object found on the bottom. So if you happen to be underwater do not panic as it has a very shallow draught. Just stay on the bottom, or head to the western side of the channel. A good safe dive and one for trainees as well as experienced Divers. Tory Island Located approximately 14 km off the north coast of Co. Donegal. A ferry runs from Magherority (??) out to the island. There were 23 of us and other passengers also, plus all our gear and bags, which the skipper of the ferry and two crew all helped to load. We stayed in the only hotel on the island and made good use of the Dive Centre behind it. They supplied all our air filling needs and also took us to the various dive-sites around the island. All the divs we did gave us approximately 30 m viz, even at 30 m depth. Granted, you have to have luck with the weather, which we did, and so we were treated to fabulous views of the marine wild-life. This area is frequently visited by Whales, Dolphins and also the odd Basking Shark. Very much worth a visit but should be booked well in advance as the demand is great. Sipidan IslandBarracuda Point Tornado of 1000's of schooling barracudas, taking your mind off the fantastic healthy corals. Not as good as brothers. Hanging Garden Soft corals at their best, with macro life to match, whilst drifting along turtle highway. Sipidan Friends of ours were kidnapped from Sipidan Island one year ago by Muslim rebels and held hostage for nearly 4 months. I would like to warn divers to look carefully when booking diving in the East - as there seem to be a lot of corruption and danger not told to divers by travel agents. Solomon IslandsGrand Central Station Loads of fish, sharks, tuna, everything all at once - couldn't see the surface of the water there were so many fish. Gizo This area has got the best all-round diving I've ever done. Walls, pelagics, lots of big stuff - sharks, mantas, schools of eagle rays, a great wreck, several plane wrecks and no crowds . Grand Bahama IslandSugar Wreck Sugar wreck near Grand bahama island. There is more variety of sealife at this 1800's wreck than any one place I have ever been. A true underwater photographers paradise! Malawi, East AfricaLake Malawi Lake Malawi in East Africa, is excellent for both experienced and novice divers with NAUI open water courses for about $120 US with Aqua Africa in Nkata Bay, combine this with 75% of the worlds tropical fish, amazing swim throughs, crocs and hippos and you've got one hell of a dive site. Dominican RepublicDominican Republic Not worth visiting for diving. Very little to see and the dives all the same. Your CommentsWe endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular dive or diving location we'd love to hear from you. We're also compiling a Top Ten Dives list. Tell us about your favourite dives: why were those particular dive site so fantastic? Books of the World's Best Dive Sites
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