Explore the world underwater

Cabrera (Cova Blava)

Spain

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

25 m20 °C

Reef fish · lobsters · the blue light effect

Scapa Flow

United Kingdom

Hasta 45 m · Advanced / technical

10 m10 °C

Plumose anemones · conger eels · scallops; typical cold-water fauna of the North Atlantic

Portofino Marine Reserve

Italy

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

20 m19 °C

Groupers · corals · red gorgonians

Cristo degli Abissi (San Fruttuoso)

Italy

Hasta 30 m · Open Water; also accessible freediving

Grouper · lobster · passing pelagics; walls with coral and deep crevices

Zakynthos (tortuga boba)

Greece

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

25 m23 °C

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) · groupers

Tavolara (Cerdeña)

Italy

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m20 °C

Groupers · lobsters · red corals

Plemmirio Marine Reserve (Sicilia)

Italy

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

25 m22 °C

Corals · moray eels · lobsters

Aegadian Islands (Favignana)

Italy

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m21 °C

Groupers · corals · Punic archaeological remains

Ustica Island

Italy

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

25 m22 °C

Dusky groupers · tuna · amberjack

El Hierro / La Restinga

Spain

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m21 °C

Angelsharks · occasional basking sharks · manta rays

Tremiti Islands

Italy

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m21 °C

Groupers · red corals · lobsters

Grotta di Nereo (Cueva de Nereo)

Italy

Hasta 33 m · Advanced Open Water; the narrow tunnels require a cave qualification

Red coral (Corallium rubrum) · spiny lobsters · European lobsters

Pecio de Peristera (Museo Subacuático de Alonnisos)

Greece

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water; only with an authorised guide

Mediterranean reef life; the park protects the Mediterranean monk seal

Kornati Islands

Croatia

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

25 m21 °C

Posidonia oceanica meadows · bottlenose dolphin · loggerhead turtle

Lastovo Island

Croatia

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

25 m21 °C

Groupers · lobsters · corals

Mljet Island

Croatia

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

25 m21 °C

Groupers · corals · two inland salt lakes

Malta (Blue Hole Gozo / Um El Faroud)

Malta

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

35 m20 °C

Groupers · moray eels · octopus

Cirkewwa (Malta)

Malta

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

30 m20 °C

Reef fish · two patrol boat wrecks

Zenobia Wreck

Cyprus

Hasta 42 m · Technical

25 m20 °C

Large groupers · barracuda · moray eels

Strýtan (chimenea hidrotermal)

Iceland

Hasta 70 m · Advanced Open Water (drysuit)

20 m5 °C

Limited wildlife; a unique mineral tufa chimney

Komodo National Park

Indonesia

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, strong currents

22 m26 °C

Reef manta rays all year round · grey reef sharks · thresher shark

Ningaloo Reef

Australia

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

20 m25 °C

Between 300 and 500 whale sharks a year; giant manta rays · turtles · whales; more than 300 species of coral

Raja Ampat

Indonesia

Hasta 40 m · Open Water

25 m29 °C

Reef and oceanic manta rays · tasselled wobbegongs · endemic walking sharks (Hemiscyllium)

Bunaken Marine Park

Indonesia

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m28 °C

Green and hawksbill turtles on almost every dive · eagle rays · reef sharks

Wakatobi National Park

Indonesia

Hasta 40 m · Open Water

30 m28 °C

Close to 950 species of fish and some 400 of coral; mobula rays · short-finned pilot whales · six species of dolphin

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

Philippines

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

More than 350 species of coral and close to 500 of fish; hammerheads · thresher shark · eagle rays

Misool (Boo Windows y Magic Mountain)

Indonesia

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water

Reef and oceanic manta rays · reef sharks · wobbegongs

Sipadan

Malaysia

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

28 m28 °C

Chevron barracuda in tornado formation · green and hawksbill turtles · whitetip sharks

Similan Islands

Thailand

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water

20 m28 °C

Manta rays at the cleaning stations of Koh Bon and Koh Tachai · turtles · leopard sharks

Cenderawasih Bay (whale shark)

Indonesia

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

15 m28 °C

Resident whale shark · more than 35 endemic fish species · hard coral gardens

Apo Reef Natural Park

Philippines

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

Reef sharks · hammerheads · thresher shark

Moalboal (Sardine Run)

Philippines

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

20 m28 °C

Millions of sardines in bait balls · turtles · whitetip sharks

Kri Island (Raja Ampat)

Indonesia

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

20 m28 °C

Giant manta rays · tasselled wobbegongs beneath the table corals · Denise's pygmy seahorse (endemic to Raja Ampat)

Cape Kri

Indonesia

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

20 m29 °C

Giant trevally of more than 20 kg · bigeye trevally · barracuda

Blue Magic (Raja Ampat)

Indonesia

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water

20 m28 °C

Oceanic manta rays · reef sharks · shoals of trevally

Manta Ridge (Arborek)

Indonesia

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

15 m28 °C

Resident reef manta rays · cleaner wrasse

Surin Islands

Thailand

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

20 m28 °C

More than 260 species of reef fish · 68 of coral · 48 of nudibranch and 31 of shrimp recorded in the park

Menjangan Island (Bali Barat)

Indonesia

Hasta 40 m · Open Water

30 m27 °C

Whitetip reef sharks · turtles · Napoleon wrasse

Apo Island

Philippines

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Green turtles well used to divers · shoals of reef fish · dense hard coral

Richelieu Rock

Thailand

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

15 m28 °C

Occasional whale shark and manta ray · schooling mackerel and barracuda · frogfish

Ogasawara Islands

Japan

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m24 °C

Sperm whales and humpback whales · dolphins at Futami (Chichijima) · more than 190 threatened bird species across the archipelago as a whole

Hin Daeng / Hin Muang

Thailand

Hasta 60 m · Advanced

25 m28 °C

Manta ray · occasional whale shark · grey reef shark

SS Yongala

Australia

Hasta 28 m · Advanced Open Water

15 m26 °C

Olive sea snakes · very large turtles · groupers

Whitsunday Islands (Bahía Chalkies)

Australia

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

15 m25 °C

Turtles · reef fish · hard corals

Osprey Reef (Coral Sea)

Australia

Hasta 40 m · Advanced

30 m27 °C

Grey reef sharks · silky sharks · giant corals

Isla de Navidad (Christmas Island)

Australia

Hasta 40 m · Open Water on the shallow reefs; advanced on Perpendicular Wall

Whale sharks · manta rays · spinner dolphins all year round

Lady Elliot Island

Australia

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

20 m24 °C

Reef manta rays for much of the year · turtles · leopard sharks

Atolón de Baa (Hanifaru Bay)

Maldives

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

20 m28 °C

Up to 200 reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) at once · the largest known aggregation in the world; whale shark

Aldabra Atoll

Seychelles

Hasta 30 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m27 °C

Mangroves · seagrass meadows · fringing reef; the world's largest population of giant tortoise

Heron Island

Australia

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

20 m25 °C

Nesting green and hawksbill turtles · manta rays · reef sharks

Brothers Islands (El Akhawein)

Egypt

Hasta 80 m · Advanced, drift diving

30 m26 °C

Hammerhead · oceanic whitetip · thresher and grey reef sharks

Cod Hole

Australia

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Large potato cod · thoroughly used to divers · Napoleon wrasse

Rocky Island

Egypt

Hasta 60 m · Advanced, drift diving

30 m27 °C

Oceanic · hammerhead and pelagic thresher sharks

Chumbe Island

Tanzania

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

20 m27 °C

Napoleon wrasse · green turtles · pristine corals

Agincourt Reefs

Australia

Hasta 40 m · Open Water

30 m26 °C

Whitetip reef sharks · groupers · more than 16 distinct dive sites

Norman Reef

Australia

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Reef sharks · turtles · clownfish

Flynn Reef

Australia

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Reef sharks · giant groupers · turtles

Zabargad Island

Egypt

Hasta 50 m · Advanced, technical

30 m27 °C

Oceanic whitetip shark · grey reef shark · hammerheads

St John's Reef

Egypt

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

Hammerheads · grey reef shark · oceanic whitetip

Wadi Gimal

Egypt

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Dugongs · turtles · whitetip reef sharks

Pecio HMS Hermes

Sri Lanka

Hasta 55 m · Technical (mandatory decompression)

Large tuna · big grouper · trevally; the absence of fishing and of diving pressure has left an exceptional density of fish

Tiger Beach

Bahamas

Hasta 10 m · Advanced (shark diving)

28 m25 °C

Tiger shark · lemon shark · nurse shark

Daedalus Reef (Abu el Kizan)

Egypt

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, drift diving

Hammerhead sharks · oceanic whitetip · thresher shark

Ras Mohammed National Park

Egypt

Hasta 40 m · Open Water

30 m26 °C

Barracuda · trevally · batfish

Sanganeb Atoll

Sudan

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

Hammerhead sharks · grey reef sharks · barracuda

Molasses Reef

United States

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Nurse sharks · barracuda · turtles

Flower Garden Banks

United States

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m24 °C

Almost 300 species of fish and more than 20 of coral; manta rays · sharks · turtles

Looe Key

United States

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Nurse sharks · lobsters · reef fish

Blue Corner

Palau

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, strong currents

25 m28 °C

Grey reef sharks in groups of 10 to 30 · huge Napoleon wrasse · barracuda in tornado formation

German Channel

Palau

Hasta 25 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m28 °C

Reef manta rays at cleaning stations · reef sharks · rays

Peleliu Wall

Palau

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, drift diving

30 m28 °C

Grey reef sharks · hammerhead sharks · barracuda tornadoes

Ulong Channel

Palau

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

25 m28 °C

Whitetip reef sharks · turtles · hard corals

Turneffe Atoll

Belize

Hasta 35 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Bull sharks · groupers · turtles

Jardines de la Reina

Cuba

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

35 m27 °C

Grey reef · silky · nurse

Christ of the Abyss (Key Largo)

United States

Hasta 8 m · Open Water / Snorkel

20 m26 °C

Reef fish · the bronze statue of Christ

Bimini (gran tiburón martillo)

Bahamas

Hasta 12 m · Advanced (shark diving)

Great hammerhead · bull shark · Caribbean reef shark

French Reef (Key Largo)

United States

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

20 m26 °C

Moray eels · large snapper · groupers

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

Belize

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Nurse sharks · eagle rays · groupers

Rainbow Reef (Key Largo)

United States

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

20 m26 °C

Reef fish · lobsters · soft corals

USS Spiegel Grove

United States

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

20 m27 °C

More than 130 species of fish; algae · sponges

Jellyfish Lake

Palau

Hasta 5 m · Snorkel (scuba diving prohibited)

5 m32 °C

Golden jellyfish (Mastigias papua) and moon jellyfish · neither with an effective sting

SS Benwood (Key Largo)

United States

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

25 m26 °C

Sharks · turtles · occasional dolphins

Duane Wreck (Key Largo)

United States

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m26 °C

Barracuda · goliath groupers · occasional bull sharks

Channel Islands National Park

United States

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

15 m15 °C

Giant kelp forests · sea lions · garibaldi

Chuuk Lagoon (Truk Lagoon)

Micronesia

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

20 m29 °C

Hard and soft coral over every hull · lionfish · moray eels

Fujikawa Maru (Chuuk)

Micronesia

Hasta 34 m · Advanced Open Water / technical

20 m29 °C

Intact anti-aircraft guns · Zero aircraft engines in the hold

Cozumel (Santa Rosa Wall)

Mexico

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

35 m27 °C

Groupers · nurse sharks · giant lobsters

Chankanaab Reef (Cozumel)

Mexico

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Reef fish · turtles · submerged statues

Palancar Reef

Mexico

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

35 m27 °C

Nurse sharks · turtles · groupers

Glover's Reef

Belize

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

Reef sharks · groupers · lobsters

Fernando de Noronha

Brazil

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

35 m27 °C

Resident spinner dolphin · turtles · reef and lemon sharks

Silver Bank (ballenas jorobadas)

Dominican Republic

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

20 m26 °C

Humpback whale mothers and calves

Great Blue Hole

Belize

Hasta 124 m · Advanced

30 m27 °C

the appeal is geological. Reef and nurse sharks at the entrance

Half Moon Caye Wall

Belize

Hasta 40 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

A wall dropping more than 1 · 000 m; green · hawksbill and loggerhead turtles; sponges and sea fans

Stingray City

Cayman Islands

Hasta 4 m · Open Water

15 m27 °C

Southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) in large groups

Devil's Grotto (Grand Cayman)

Cayman Islands

Hasta 15 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Silversides · groupers · moray eels

USS Kittiwake wreck

Cayman Islands

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

28 m27 °C

Parrotfish · barracuda · moray eels

Cayman Brac (Pecio MV Captain Keith Tibbetts)

Cayman Islands

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

30 m27 °C

Reef fish · nurse sharks

North Wall (Gran Caimán)

Cayman Islands

Hasta 300 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

Black coral · barrel sponges · sea fans

Bloody Bay Wall

Cayman Islands

Hasta 300 m · Advanced Open Water

35 m27 °C

Hammerhead sharks · giant groupers · turtles

Fakarava (Muro de Tiburones)

French Polynesia

Hasta 35 m · Advanced Open Water

30 m27 °C

More than three hundred grey reef sharks forming the 'wall'; lemon · blacktip · whitetip

Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park

Grenada

Hasta 10 m · Open Water

15 m27 °C

Reef fish colonising the sculptures

RMS Rhone

British Virgin Islands

Hasta 30 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Hard and soft coral over the hull · lobsters · moray eels

Buck Island Reef National Monument

U.S. Virgin Islands

Hasta 20 m · Open Water

25 m27 °C

Hawksbill turtles · blacktip reef sharks · eagle rays

Salt River Canyon

U.S. Virgin Islands

Hasta 50 m · Advanced Open Water

25 m27 °C

Reef sharks · manta rays · black corals

Darwin Island

Ecuador

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, drift diving

20 m24 °C

Enormous shoals of scalloped hammerhead · whale shark (June-November) · Galápagos shark

Wolf Island

Ecuador

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, drift diving

20 m24 °C

Schooling scalloped hammerheads · whale shark · Galápagos shark

Cocos Island

Costa Rica

Hasta 45 m · Advanced, drift diving

25 m27 °C

Shoals of scalloped hammerhead · whitetip reef shark in enormous numbers · whale shark

Coral Reserve de Eilat

Israel

Hasta 25 m · Open Water

18 m23 °C

Clownfish · lionfish · octopus

Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro)

Mexico

Hasta 40 m · Advanced, drift diving

25 m25 °C

Giant manta ray · bottlenose dolphin · hammerhead shark