The 5 Best Dive Sites in the World

Every diver keeps a "someday" list in their logbook. The five sites in this article are the global classics on that list: each is the pinnacle of a different type of diving, and each demands a different level of experience.

Great Blue Hole (Belize) — a giant eye in the middle of the ocean

The Great Blue Hole is an underwater sinkhole roughly 300 m across and 124 m deep, set in Lighthouse Reef atoll off the coast of Belize. It was a dry cave system during the last ice age and flooded as sea levels rose; since 1996 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System.

The man who made it legendary was Jacques-Yves Cousteau: exploring it with the Calypso in 1971, he ranked it among the best dive sites in the world. The dive itself is a "scenery" dive — at around 40 m you glide between giant stalactites left over from its cave days, with Caribbean reef sharks patrolling the walls. Because of the depth and the need for a disciplined direct ascent, an advanced certification and a careful dive plan are essential. April to June offers the best light and visibility.

SS Thistlegorm (Egypt) — an underwater war museum

The SS Thistlegorm is a 126-metre British merchant ship sunk by German bombers in the Gulf of Suez on 6 October 1941, and today it is considered the most-dived wreck in the world. Her cargo, bound for the North Africa campaign — Bedford trucks, BSA motorcycles, rifles, even two steam locomotives — still sits stacked in her holds.

Cousteau found the wreck first (1955); its position was later lost, and sport divers rediscovered it in the early 1990s. At 16–32 m the depth is accessible to most divers, but the currents and hold penetration demand experience. Entering the holds means an overhead environment: without proper training and solid buddy discipline, stay on the outside tour. Most operators plan two separate dives — one outside, one inside.

Barracuda Point, Sipadan (Malaysia) — the barracuda tornado

Barracuda Point sits on the edge of Sipadan's 600-metre ocean wall, where thousands of chevron barracuda circle in a vast vortex. Hanging inside that "barracuda tornado" is one of the most photographed moments in recreational diving; green and hawksbill turtles and grey reef sharks are near guarantees.

Sipadan is Malaysia's only oceanic island, rising from an extinct volcanic cone in open sea. In his 1989 documentary Cousteau called it "an untouched piece of art." The island is strictly protected: overnight stays are banned and daily dive permits are capped (the Sabah Parks quota), so permits are arranged months ahead. Currents can be strong; you should be comfortable making your safety stop in the blue, facing into the current.

Blue Corner (Palau) — shark watching on a reef hook

Blue Corner is a plateau at 18–22 m jutting into the open ocean in Palau, and one of the world's densest shark encounters on a current dive. Its gift to diving culture is the reef hook: when the current picks up, you hook onto dead rock, add a little air to your BC, and hang in the flow like a flag while grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse and schooling jacks parade past.

Palau protects this spectacle deliberately: the shark sanctuary it declared in 2009 was the first of its kind in the world. Because the direction and strength of the current can shift within the hour, Blue Corner is a guided dive that expects current experience. The dry season from November to May offers the best visibility.

Cape Kri, Raja Ampat (Indonesia) — a world record on a single dive

Cape Kri holds the record for the most fish species counted on a single dive: ichthyologist Dr. Gerald Allen logged 374 species here during a 2012 Conservation International survey. Raja Ampat is the heart of the Coral Triangle; roughly three quarters of all known coral species and more than 1,600 fish species have been recorded in these waters.

At Cape Kri it is not depth that tires you but density: soft-coral gardens, wobbegong sharks, giant trevally schools and macro life stack up on the same profile. Currents are moderate, and profiles between 5 and 35 m suit every level. The region is remote, so a liveaboard is the most efficient plan; the season runs October to April.

How should you prepare for these dives?

What these five sites share is planning discipline: depth, current and permit quotas leave no room for improvisation. Settle three things before you go:

• 1. Certification and experience: Blue Hole and Blue Corner call for an advanced certification and logged deep/current dives; your logbook is the proof of that experience.
• 2. Gas plan: On deep, current-swept profiles, calculate your required gas and turn pressure in advance; on ~30 m profiles like the Thistlegorm, nitrox (enriched air) meaningfully extends bottom time — mind your MOD.
• 3. Season and permits: The Sipadan quota and Raja Ampat liveaboard calendars fill months in advance; pick your season from the table.
• And a bonus: as a Mediterranean site appearing ever more often on world lists, Kaş in Turkey is the perfect training ground for these routes — how diving in Turkey got here is a story we tell in a separate article.

*Source notes: Great Blue Hole dimensions and UNESCO status (Belize Audubon Society / UNESCO, 1996); Thistlegorm sinking date and cargo (British merchant navy records, 6 October 1941); Sipadan permit system (Sabah Parks); Palau shark sanctuary (2009); Cape Kri species record (G. Allen, Conservation International, 2012).*