Top dive siteAlorKal's Dream
Alor's high-voltage seamount: strong current, schooling jacks, barracuda and passing hammerheads.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–40 m
- Theme
- Seamount / Wall
Dive sites by country and region
From the Red Sea to the Coral Triangle, 34 diving countries and more than 2,000 sites waiting for you. Find the right experience level, dive type, marine life and liveaboard route for your next adventure.
How this country and region index is organised
Browse every diving country in the atlas, from Egypt and Indonesia to the Caribbean and the Pacific. Each country tile links to its dive sites, regions, marine life, best seasons and the liveaboards that run there. Use the map, region filters and search to plan your next dive trip.
The dive sites everyone talks about
From the SS Thistlegorm to Darwin’s Arch, these are the places that come up in every dive-bar conversation and live on every diver’s bucket list. Swipe through the carousel and find the signature site that put each diving country on the map.
Top dive siteAlor
Top dive siteAntarcticaDeception Island - Whaler's Bay
Diving inside the flooded volcanic caldera of Deception Island, past the old whaling station.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–30 m
- Theme
- Ice
Top dive siteAustraliaSS Yongala
Regularly voted Australia's best dive: a 1911 wreck loaded with bull rays, sea snakes and giant grouper.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 14–30 m
- Theme
- Wreck
Top dive siteBahamasTiger Beach
The planet's most reliable tiger shark encounter, in bright 6–8 m sand shallows.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 6–20 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteBaliManta Point
Nusa Penida's reef manta cleaning station, Bali's number-one big-animal dive.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–25 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteBanda SeaManuk Ridge
Volcanic 'Snake Island' ridge, the classic Banda Sea highlight with dozens of sea snakes on one dive.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–40 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteBelizeGreat Blue Hole
The 124 m deep sinkhole with prehistoric stalactites, part of the Belize Barrier Reef UNESCO site.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–40 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Wall
Top dive siteBelizeHalf Moon Caye Wall
Lighthouse Reef wall dive with garden eels, spur-and-groove coral and 40 m visibility.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 9–40 m
- Theme
- Wall
Top dive siteCayman IslandsBloody Bay Wall
Little Cayman's sheer drop-off from 6 m to over 300 m, a benchmark for wall diving worldwide.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 6–2000 m
- Theme
- Wall
Top dive siteCosta RicaBajo Alcyone
Cocos Island seamount where scalloped hammerhead schools stack up in the current.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 25–40 m
- Theme
- Drift / Seamount
Top dive siteCubaMaria la Gorda
Cuba's protected western reef, packed with 40 m coral pillars, black coral and healthy Caribbean fish life.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–1000 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Wall
Top dive siteDjiboutiLes Sept Frères (Seven Brothers Islands)
Seven Brothers Islands in the Bab-el-Mandeb: untouched hard coral and strong ocean currents.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–40 m
- Theme
- Drift / Reef
Top dive siteDominican RepublicSilver Bank
One of only a few places worldwide licensed for in-water humpback whale encounters.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Ripping
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 1–15 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteEgyptSS Thistlegorm
The world's most-dived wreck: a 1941 WWII freighter with trucks, motorbikes and locomotives still in its holds.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 18–30 m
- Theme
- Wreck
Top dive siteEgyptElphinstone Reef
Offshore Red Sea plateau reef, famous for oceanic whitetip sharks in autumn.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Ripping
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 1–100 m
- Theme
- Reef / Wall
Top dive siteEgyptBlue Hole Dahab
Dahab's mythical 100 m blue hole with its arch, the Red Sea's most talked-about shore dive.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Shore / dayboat
- Depth
- 1–190 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Wall
Top dive siteFijiGreat White Wall
Somosomo Strait wall draped in white soft coral, the icon of the 'soft coral capital of the world'.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 12–60 m
- Theme
- Wall
Top dive siteFijiRainbow Reef
Somosomo Strait reef system with the soft-coral gardens that made Fiji famous.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–30 m
- Theme
- Drift / Reef
Top dive siteFrench PolynesiaSouth Pass - Fakarava
Fakarava's Tumakohua pass and its legendary 'wall of sharks', hundreds of grey reef sharks in one pass.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 22–24 m
- Theme
- Channel / Drift
Top dive siteGalápagosDarwin's Arch
The world's most famous hammerhead and whale shark station in the far north of the archipelago.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 13–28 m
- Theme
- Pinnacle / Wall
Top dive siteGalápagosWolf Island
The far-north sister of Darwin: hammerhead walls, Galápagos sharks and whale sharks in season.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 10–40 m
- Theme
- Wall
Top dive siteHondurasMary's Place
Roatán's signature volcanic crevice dive: narrow canyons cut through the Mesoamerican reef wall.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–40 m
- Theme
- Drift / Reef
Top dive siteIndonesiaBunaken Wall
Bunaken's vertical coral wall in the Coral Triangle, with more fish species than the entire Caribbean.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 3–40 m
- Theme
- Drift / Wall
Top dive siteKomodo, IndonesiaBatu Bolong
Current-swept pinnacle inside Komodo National Park with wall-to-wall reef fish and pelagics.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–30 m
- Theme
- Drift / Pinnacle
Top dive siteMadagascarNosy Tanikely Marine Reserve
Nosy Tanikely marine reserve: turtle-rich shallow reef and the country's best-protected coral.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Shore / dayboat
- Depth
- 15–30 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteMaldivesHanifaru Bay
UNESCO biosphere bay where hundreds of reef mantas and whale sharks cyclone-feed on plankton.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 3–5 m
- Theme
- Reef
Top dive siteMexicoSocorro Island - The Boiler
Socorro's cleaning-station pinnacle, famous for curious giant oceanic manta rays and dolphins.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Shore / dayboat
- Depth
- 15–30 m
- Theme
- Pinnacle
Top dive siteMexicoCabo Pulmo National Park
The Sea of Cortez marine park whose fish biomass recovered by over 400%, schools you can swim into.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–25 m
- Theme
- Drift
Top dive siteMexicoCenote Dos Ojos
Yucatán's iconic cavern system: freshwater halocline, light beams and mirror-clear visibility.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- No current
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–10 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Cenote
Top dive siteMicronesiaFujikawa Maru
Truk Lagoon's best-loved WWII wreck, with Zero fighter parts still stacked in the holds.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–37 m
- Theme
- Wreck
Top dive siteMicronesiaBlue Corner
Palau's legendary hook-in wall: grey reef sharks, jacks and barracuda stacked in the current.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 15–30 m
- Theme
- Drift / Wall
Top dive sitePapua New GuineaKimbe Island
Kimbe Bay pinnacle in one of the most biodiverse bays on earth, over 860 recorded fish species.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–33 m
- Theme
- Reef / Seamount
Top dive sitePapua New GuineaBarracuda Point
Drop-off drift where tornado-sized barracuda schools meet resident reef sharks.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–30 m
- Theme
- Wall / Reef
Top dive sitePhilippinesTubbataha Reef
UNESCO World Heritage atoll in the Sulu Sea, reachable only by liveaboard between March and June.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Ripping
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–40 m
- Theme
- Reef / Wall
Top dive sitePortugalPrincess Alice Bank (Azores)
Azorean seamount 45 miles offshore where schools of mobula rays circle in mid-blue.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 2–40 m
- Theme
- Pinnacle / Seamount
Top dive siteRaja Ampat, IndonesiaCape Kri
Holds the world record for most fish species counted on a single dive (374).
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Ripping
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–40 m
- Theme
- Drift / Reef
Top dive siteRaja Ampat, IndonesiaMagic Mountain
Seamount cleaning station in Misool, one of the most reliable oceanic manta dives on earth.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard only
- Depth
- 5–30 m
- Theme
- Drift / Pinnacle
Top dive siteSaudi ArabiaFarasan Banks
Southern Red Sea reef complex, barely dived and still in near-pristine condition.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–35 m
- Theme
- Reef / Wall
Top dive siteSeychellesAldabra Atoll
Remote UNESCO atoll, one of the least-dived and best-preserved reef systems in the Indian Ocean.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 5–40 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Drift
Top dive siteSolomon IslandsBonegi I & II
Guadalcanal's shore-accessible WWII transports, coral-covered from 3 m to 55 m.
- Suitable for
- Intermediate
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Shore / dayboat
- Depth
- 3–55 m
- Theme
- Wreck
Top dive siteSt. MaartenHMS Proselyte
1801 British frigate wreck off Philipsburg, the island's historic signature dive.
- Suitable for
- Beginner
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 12–18 m
- Theme
- Wall
Top dive siteThailandRichelieu Rock
Andaman Sea limestone pinnacle, Thailand's top-rated site and its best whale shark chance.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Shore / dayboat
- Depth
- 5–35 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Pinnacle
Top dive siteTurkeyCanyon Dive (Kaş)
Kaş canyon dive on the Lycian coast: clear Mediterranean water, drop-offs and amphora-era history.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 12–42 m
- Theme
- Cave & cavern / Wall
Top dive siteTurks & CaicosNorthwest Point
Providenciales' vertical wall starting at 12 m, with reef sharks, eagle rays and 30 m visibility.
- Suitable for
- Advanced
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Liveaboard or dayboat
- Depth
- 10–40 m
- Theme
- Wall
Diving countries on the world map
Explore every diving country in the Blue Rides atlas on an interactive world map. Each highlighted country links to its dedicated page with dive sites, best seasons, liveaboard routes and practical travel information. Zoom and pan to compare destinations across the Coral Triangle, the Red Sea, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.
Most documented destinations
Top 10 diving countries
The ten strongest diving countries in the atlas, ranked by the number of documented sites, from Egypt and Indonesia to the Maldives, Mexico and the Philippines. Each tile opens a country page with dive sites, best season, departure ports and the liveaboards that actually run there.
Indonesia
Highlights: Reef, Barracuda, Wall
Mexico
Highlights: Reef, Drift, Barracuda
Australia
Highlights: Reef, Drift, Wall
Honduras
Highlights: Reef, Barracuda, Angelfish
Bahamas
Highlights: Reef, Barracuda, Caribbean Reef Shark
Maldives
Highlights: Drift, Reef, Barracuda
Turkey
Highlights: Reef, Wall, Barracuda
Cuba
Highlights: Reef, Wall, Barracuda
Egypt
Highlights: Reef, Wall, Barracuda
Philippines
Highlights: Wall, Reef, Barracuda
Browse by ocean
Dive by region
Ocean regions group neighbouring diving countries that share water temperature, season and marine life, from the Coral Triangle and the Red Sea to the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Open a region to see its countries, signature dive sites and the liveaboard routes that cross them.
Choosing a diving country: common questions
Which diving country suits which travel season?
The Red Sea and the Maldives dive well from October to May, Indonesia's Raja Ampat from October to April, Komodo and the Philippines from March to November, and Galápagos or Socorro peak between December and May for big animals. Every country page lists the best months per dive site, so you can match your holiday window to the conditions instead of the other way round.
Which countries can only be reached by liveaboard?
Antarctica, Socorro in Mexico, the Galápagos outer islands, Sudan, the Banda Sea and most of Raja Ampat's outer reefs have no shore-based infrastructure, the dive sites are only reachable on a liveaboard itinerary. The country pages mark those sites as liveaboard-only so you can see at a glance whether a resort trip is even possible.
Where do I need permits or park fees?
Raja Ampat charges a marine park fee, Komodo National Park and the Galápagos National Park require park permits, Palau collects a reef tax and Sipadan works with a daily permit quota. Operators normally handle the paperwork, but the fee is rarely included in the trip price, plan a few hundred dollars extra for permit-heavy destinations.
Some dive areas only a liveaboard can reach, others welcome day boats too
Every geo-located dive site in the atlas on one map. Orange dots mark areas you can realistically only reach on a liveaboard, blue dots mark sites that day boats or shore dives also cover. Click a dot to open the dive site. Click the map once to activate it, then zoom in and out with the scroll wheel or the +/− buttons; without that click the page simply keeps scrolling.
Liveaboard-onlyAlso reachable by day boat / shore0 sites on map
Decompression chambers by diving country
Knowing where the nearest hyperbaric chamber sits is part of planning any dive trip, and on remote liveaboard routes it can be hours away.
Below are the diving countries in our atlas with verified recompression facilities, the towns they are based in and the dive areas they realistically cover. Use it as orientation only: always dive insured, follow your operator's emergency plan and call DAN or the local hotline first in a real incident.
| Country | #Chambers | helpDistance to help |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 7 | No distance data |
| Australia | 5 | No distance data |
| Maldives | 5 | No distance data |
| Mexico | 5 | No distance data |
| Egypt | 4 | No distance data |
| Philippines | 3 | No distance data |
| Thailand | 3 | No distance data |
| Bali | 2 | No distance data |
| Dominican Republic | 2 | No distance data |
| Fiji | 2 | No distance data |
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