100 Best Scuba Diving Sites, Operators, Destinations and More

Top 100 Readers Choice Awards: Gold List

At the beginning of every year, Scuba Diving magazine sends a survey to our print and digital subscribers to find out where they love to scuba dive — among many other questions. The Top 100 Gold list is the compilation of reader votes for the best dive sites, dive operators, liveaboards, big-animal encounters and more, regardless of location. We are proud to present the list that you — our readers — brought to life!

Underwater Photo Wall Diving

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Best Wall Dives

#1 Palancar Deep, Cozumel, Mexico

#2 Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands

#3 Molokini Crater Back Wall, Maui, Hawaii

#4 Blue Corner, Palau

#5 Half Moon Caye, Lighthouse Reef, Belize

#6 Big Tunnels, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#7 Mary’s Place, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#8 Amphitheater, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

#9 Cane Bay Wall, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Underwater Photo Diver in Devil's Grotto Cayman Islands

Shutterstock

Best Dive Sites

#10 Cathedrals, Lanai, Hawaii

#11 Devil’s Grotto, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#12 Something Special, Bonaire

#13 Cenote Dos Ojos, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

#14 Eagle Ray Pass, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#15 Darwin’s Arch, Galapagos

#16 Cod Hole, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

#17 Great White Wall, Fiji

#18 Farnsworth Bank, Catalina Island, California

Thistlegorm Wreck Red Sea Egypt Trucks Underwater

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Best Wreck Diving

#19 Spiegel Grove, Key Largo, Florida

#20 Kittiwake, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#21 Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

#22 El Aguila, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#23 Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida

#24 Corsair, Oahu, Hawaii

#25 U-352, Morehead City, North Carolina

#26 Thistlegorm, Red Sea, Egypt

#27 Liberty, Bali, Indonesia

scuba diver in kelp forest underwater photo california

Shutterstock

Best Shore Dives

#28 CoCo View Wall, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#29 Alice in Wonderland, Bonaire

#30 Buddy’s Reef, Bonaire

#31 Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Florida

#32 Avalon Underwater Park, Catalina Island, California

#33 La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California

#34 Mala Wharf, Maui, Hawaii

#35 Sharks Cove, Oahu, Hawaii

#36 Lighthouse Point Reef, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Underwater Photo Diver in Cenote in Mexico

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Most Unusual Dive Sites

#37 Great Blue Hole, Belize

#38 Devil’s Throat, Cozumel, Mexico

#39 Christ of the Abyss, Key Largo, Florida

#40 1,000 Steps, Bonaire

#41 Jellyfish Lake, Palau

#42 Cenote Chac Mool, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

#43 Bonne Terre Mine, Missouri

#44 Pelagic Magic, Kona, Hawaii

#45 Washing Machine, Exuma, Bahamas

Underwater Photo Manta Night Dive Kona Hawaii

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Best Night Dives

#46 Manta Ray Night Dive, Kona, Hawaii

#47 Davis Reef, Key Largo, Florida

#48 Bari Reef, Bonaire

#49 Bailey’s Key, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#50 Sunset House Resort Reef, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#51 Frederiksted Pier, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

#52 Shark Ray Alley, Ambergris Caye, Belize

#53 Fluorescent Night Dive, Koh Tao, Thailand

#54 Coral Spawning Dives, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Snorkeler with Whale Shark Underwater Photo

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Best Big Animal Encounters

#55 Whale Sharks, Isla Mujeres, Mexico

#56 Manatees, Crystal River, Florida

#57 Sand Tiger Sharks, North Carolina

#58 Caribbean Reef Sharks, Shark Arena, New Providence, Bahamas

#59 Spinner Dolphins and Humpback Whales, Maui, Hawaii

#60 California Sea Lions, Santa Cruz Island, California

#61 Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos

#62 Frogfish, Bari Reef, Bonaire

#63 Whitetip Reef and Blacktip Reef Sharks, Beqa, Fiji

#64 Pacific Manta Rays, Ulong Channel, Palau

Best Wall Diving Palau

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Best Beaches

#65 Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#66 Ka’anapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii

#67 Tulum, Mexico

#68 Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

#69 Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

#70 The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

#71 West Bay Beach, Roatan, Bay Islands

#72 Destin, Florida

#73 Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia

Belize Aggressor Liveaboard Dive Vacations

Aggressor Fleet & Dancer Fleet

Best Liveaboards

#74 Galapagos Aggressor III

#75 Aqua Cat, Bahamas

#76 Cayman Aggressor IV

#77 Arenui, Indonesia

#78 Belize Aggressor III

#79 Spoilsport, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

#80 Odyssey Adventures/Truk Odyssey, Micronesia

#81 Turks and Caicos Aggressor II

#82 Maldives Aggressor

giant stride at Orange Bowl

David Benz

Best Dive Operators

#83 Buddy Dive Bonaire

#84 Reef Divers, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Cayman Islands

#85 [Jack’s Diving Locker], Kona, Hawaii

#86 Stuart Cove’s, New Providence, Bahamas

#87 Ocean Divers, Key Largo, Florida

#88 Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#89 Sam’s Tours Palau

#90 Amigos Del Mar, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

#91 Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

Best Dive Resorts Sunset House Cayman Islands

Sunset House

Best Dive Resorts

#92 Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#93 Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#94 Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

#95 CoCo View Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#96 Little Cayman Beach Resort, Cayman Islands

#97 Turneffe Island Resort, Belize

#98 Deep Blue Resort, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras

#99 Beqa Lagoon Resort, Fiji

#100 Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire

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PADI Renewal Prize Draw – Winner Announced!

Congratulations to Duncan Pattenden who renewed his PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor membership for 2016 and has been selected as the winner of our 2016 Renewal Prize Draw. Duncan, from South Africa, is the lucky winner of a Suunto D6i … Continue reading

The post PADI Renewal Prize Draw – Winner Announced! appeared first on PADIProsEurope.

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Dive Alongside Volcanic Rock at Ewa Pinnacles in Oahu

scuba diving oahu sea turtle

Dive Oahu

Ewa Pinnacles

Location: Southern O’ahu, Hawaii
Depth: 50-80 ft
Visibility: 100’
Who it’s For: Intermediate and Advanced Divers

What Makes it Special:
This spectacular site is located just off O’ahu’s southern coast, and boasts beautiful lava formations and incredible overhangs. Hard and soft corals blanket the volcanic rock, providing ample shelter for cleaning stations and small reef fish. Divers can spot whitetip reef sharks, puffers, eels, octopi and schools of fish beneath the protrusions. Sea turtles and manta rays occasionally glide by the site’s lava tubes.

With its great visibility—100 feet or more in all directions—Ewa Pinnacles delivers incredible sights. Being a deep reef site, bottom time usually run around 25 minutes.

Dive Oahu offers premier diving charters right from Waikiki. To book a dive to Ewa Pinnacles, visit diveoahu.com/divenew.

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Dive Brennecke’s Ledges in Kauai

scuba diving hawaii harlequin shrimp

Jackie Haeger

Harlequin Shrimp

Location: Makahuena Point, Kauai, Hawaii
Depth: 60-90 ft
Visibility: 15-30’
Who it’s For: Intermediate Divers

What Makes it Special:

If kicking past volcanic rock and massive lava formations make you smile, Brennecke’s Ledges is your next destination dive site. A huge lava shelf gives this site its name, running parallel to Kauai’s southeastern shore for several miles until it finally drops off a 90-foot wall. The ledge is peppered with pink and white cauliflower coral—homes for several hermit crabs and other small crustaceans. Pincushion sea stars and Triton’s trumpet shells also stud the shelf.

seasport divers hawaii

Matthew Haeger

Divers at Brennecke’s Ledge.

The real fun begins when you drop down the wall. Black coral trees wave from the rock face. The shelf’s many overhangs are spackled with vibrant orange cup coral (be sure to bring a flashlight!). Numerous species of nudibranchs, and even the rare orange-banded cowry, nibble on the corals and polyps. Other residents include reef crabs, lobsters, banded angelfish, bluestripe snapper and snoozing reef sharks.

Visit the Brennecke’s Ledges with Seasport Divers, who charters two custom-built, Coast Guard-certified dive boats to this site and others near Kauai.

Visit www.seasportdivers.com to book your dive today.

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