Best Of

Best Dive Sites to Level Up as a Diver

The dives that made you better were the ones that made you uncomfortable for the right reasons. Ranked by how many transferable skills each site will build — drift, buoyancy, deep profile, cold water, and more.

25 SITES RANKED

Palau

Palau

100CATEGORY
grey reef sharkmanta raynapoleon wrassejellyfish
2

Scapa Flow

United Kingdom

92CATEGORY
common seallobsterballan wrassepollack
3

Cocos Island

Costa Rica

88CATEGORY
scalloped hammerheadwhitetip reef sharksilky sharkwhale shark
4

Fiji

Fiji

88CATEGORY
bull sharktiger sharkmanta rayhawksbill turtle
5

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

88CATEGORY
mimic octopuspygmy seahorsemandarin fishmanta ray
6

Raja Ampat

Indonesia

80CATEGORY
manta raywobbegong sharkpygmy seahorsewalking shark
7

Sipadan Island

Malaysia

76CATEGORY
green turtlehawksbill turtlebarracudawhitetip reef shark
8

Komodo National Park

Indonesia

76CATEGORY
manta raywhitetip reef sharkgiant trevallyNapoleon wrasse
9

Great Barrier Reef

Australia

76CATEGORY
dwarf minke whalepotato codMaori wrassegreen turtle
10

Channel Islands

United States

76CATEGORY
California sea lionharbor sealgiant sea basshorn shark
11

Bunaken

Indonesia

76CATEGORY
manta rayseahorse
12

Wakatobi

Indonesia

76CATEGORY
manta rayseahorse
13

Gozo

Malta

72CATEGORY
octopusmoray eelbarracudaamberjack
14

Vis Island

Croatia

72CATEGORY
octopusmoray eelgroupersea bream
15

Poor Knights Islands

New Zealand

72CATEGORY
octopusstingray
16

Ustica

Italy

72CATEGORY
octopusseahorsenudibranchbarracuda
17

Sardinia

Italy

72CATEGORY
octopusseahorsenudibranchbarracuda
18

Marseille Calanques

France

72CATEGORY
groupermoray eeloctopusscorpionfish
19

Kornati Islands

Croatia

72CATEGORY
octopusmoray eelscorpionfishgrouper
20

Hvar

Croatia

72CATEGORY
octopusmoray eelgrouperscorpionfish
21

British Columbia

Canada

72CATEGORY
giant Pacific octopuswolf eelsea lionlingcod
22

Tubbataha Reef

Philippines

68CATEGORY
hammerhead sharkwhale sharkmanta rayhawksbill turtle
23

Galapagos Islands

Ecuador

68CATEGORY
scalloped hammerheadwhale sharkmarine iguanaGalapagos sea lion
24

Cozumel

Mexico

64CATEGORY
splendid toadfishnurse sharkspotted eagle raygreen moray eel
25

Roatan

Honduras

64CATEGORY
whale sharkspotted eagle rayseahorsenurse shark