Where to dive

DIVING DESTINATIONS

In-depth guides to the places worth the trip, and an Adventure Score for every US town: 0 to 100 for how much quality outdoor sport is close by.

447
In-depth guides
180
Places for diving
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IN-DEPTH GUIDES

Spots, seasons, travel and budget for diving. Highest Adventure Score first.

★ Guide66

Honolulu & Waikīkī

HI, US · Water

Learn to surf the gentle waves of Waikīkī, then hike a volcanic crater, snorkel a marine preserve and dive wrecks, all inside a major city.

  • Diving 100
  • Surfing 99

Known for: Hawaii, Canoes (Waikiki), Canoes Waikiki

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★ Guide

Fiordland (Te Anau & Milford Sound)

Southland, New Zealand · Water

Glacier-carved fiords, three Great Walks and the road to Milford Sound at the bottom of the South Island.

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★ Guide

Bohuslän Coast

Västra Götaland, Sweden · Water

Granite islands, deep fjords and Sweden's first marine national park: sea kayaking and bouldering on the Swedish west coast.

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★ Guide

Bonaire

Caribbean Netherlands, BQ · Water

The shore-diving capital of the world: a protected reef you can walk into from a pickup truck, plus trade-wind windsurfing and desert hiking.

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★ Guide

Boracay

Aklan, PH · Water

Small Philippine island with a long white beach on one side and Asia's best-known kiteboarding bay on the other, plus reef and wall diving a short boat ride away.

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★ Guide

Cabo San Lucas (Socorro liveaboards)

Baja California Sur, Mexico · Water

The departure port for Mexico's Socorro (Revillagigedo) liveaboards, with giant oceanic mantas, schooling sharks and humpback whales a day and a half out to sea.

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★ Guide

Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef

Queensland, Australia · Water

Tropical Queensland gateway to the Great Barrier Reef: day-trip reefs, Ribbon Reef liveaboards, rainforest mountain biking and World Heritage hiking.

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★ Guide

Truk Lagoon (Chuuk)

Chuuk, FM · Water

The world's biggest ship graveyard: dozens of Japanese WWII wrecks, aircraft and tanks, many within recreational depth, in a warm Micronesian lagoon.

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★ Guide

Corsica

Corsica, France · Forest

A Mediterranean mountain island: the GR20 trek, granite crags and canyons in the interior, and clear-water diving and kite spots on the coast.

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★ Guide

Cozumel

Quintana Roo, Mexico · Water

Mexico's Caribbean dive island: drift dives past Palancar's walls, eagle rays and 30 m visibility in a national marine park

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★ Guide

Crete

Crete, Greece · Forest

Greece's largest island: gorge hikes, sea-kayak coastlines, limestone sport crags and meltemi-fuelled wind sports on one Mediterranean island.

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★ Guide

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik-Neretva, HR · Water

Walled Adriatic old town with sea kayaking, island hopping, wreck diving and a cable-car hike above the city

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★ Guide

El Gouna

Red Sea, EG · Water

A purpose-built Red Sea lagoon town where shallow, warm, side-shore kitesurfing meets reef and wreck diving 30 minutes from Hurghada airport.

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★ Guide

Ambergris Caye (Great Blue Hole)

Belize District, BZ · Water

Belize's dive island: Hol Chan on the doorstep and the Great Blue Hole a day trip away

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★ Guide

Galápagos Islands

Galápagos, Ecuador · Water

A volcanic archipelago on the equator where you dive with hammerheads, sea lions and marine iguanas, from day boats or week-long liveaboards.

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★ Guide

Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks)

Queensland, Australia · Water

Home of the Superbank: a sand-built point-break run of about 2 km from Snapper Rocks to Kirra, with some of Australia's most crowded and best-shaped waves.

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The directory

EVERY PLACE

Every guide and every US place we score, highest Adventure Score first for diving. Switch to “Guides first” to see the in-depth guides on top.

180 places