mariacallas

Please rate for me your favorite dive spots in the world from 1-10.

why

For whom are you working this time?

mariacallas

Some say the Red Sea should be on this list. I've never been there. Any divers here? My goal is to dive the top ten in the next ten years.

Diver

I haven't dived everywhere so I can't rate it sorry. Red Sea was pretty nice, but people say its over dived and the Coral is breaking. Poor Knights Island in NZ is great. Mozambique is suppose to be amazing - haven't been yet.

Maurice

Red Sea in Egypt, definitely! Coral is still beautiful and an amazing amount of fish. I would not say it is overdived. Try to stay away from the tourist spots. Dahab and Safaga are still quiet but for how long????
Been to the Maldives this February: terrible coral bleaching, was really awful. Don't intend to go there ever again.
Will be trying the French Caribbean next spring.

Ginger

In the mid 80's the Red Sea was excellent diving and if you hadn't known it in the past you'd still think it was superb today, however desalination projects, war and pollution have taken their toll. New divers still think it excellent diving though. Outside of Jeddah there are dozens of wrecks which make for excellent wreck diving. Yanbu is also an excellent dive area. However, to get to these areas you're going to have to wait for the country to open to tourism (it's happening slowly), or get a job there.

The other location I rate well is the Maldives, but you do have to be careful of the currents there.

navyflyer

The ruins at Kalithea, Rhodes, Greece. The water is so clear you can see for almost 200 ft in any direction. There are also left overs of some ancient artifacts if you have the equipment to go deeper.

fishman

Palau, Truk Lagoon, Yap. By way of a live-aboard. Unbelievable. Have been there twice. Now I am spoiled!

puzzled

I am naive. Why is Why and Mad mad at the question posted ?

Lynda

My favorite place in Bunaken off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. There's a great place to stay and dive from called Murex.

Salena

I haven't been to The Great Barrier Reef, Grand Caymans, or the Red Sea ( which I think would be in the top 3 based on what I've been told. Dominica in the Carribbean between Guadeloupe and Martinique is better than anyhting I've seen in Florida, Hawaii, Virgin Islands or Mexico. Incredible 2,000 ft drops and every color of plant you can imagine. There are also all sorts of water "insects" spiders, worms, etc. that I haven't seen or heard anywhere else. There are a number of dives off of a thermal hotspring right off the coast beautiful!

Marge

*NOTHING* compares with the dives on the outer reef of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is one of the wonders of the world and if you are lucky to get there you will see why.
For that matter too Australia is a very inexpensive destination with top first class accommodation and the best food ever, not to mention that the Aussies are the friendliest bunch you could ever find.
I have dived most everywhere in the world as I am a professional dive instructor and if you go anywhere else you are just doing it second rate.

sam

i can't believe navyflier thinks kallithea bay in rhodes was great. we just returned from there and it was easily the worst dive we've ever done. maximum depth = 50 feet. the coral is mostly dead. garbage litters the sea floor and the biggest fish we saw was about 4 inches long, and we didn't see many of those. navyflyer must have some connections because dive boats are not allowed near any ruins.

Sarabeth

I loved the Red Sea....Ras Mohammed was amazing..lots of sea life. Cozumel, Mexico is beautiful as well. Turks and Caicos was nice but a bit disappointing.

Gamba

An Excellent site for scuba diving is Mauritius Island in the Indian Ocean
If you want to see some nice pictures of underwater life, go to url
http://homepage.mac.com/akpavi/PhotoAlbum17.html

ellen

When the Sea of Cortez is good, it is outstanding, you never know what will swim by. Truk Lagoon and Palau rank right up there and the Seychelles are pretty fine.

mariacallas

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. I truly appreciate your input. To Marge who mentioned the great Barrier reef, I'd love to know the dived agenda you recommend, stationing where and diving with whom. Fish man - which liveaboard operation in Palau do you recommend?
Thanks MC.

NoFlyZone

I've dived pretty much all over the Caribbean and most places in the world with notable exceptions being the Great Barrier Reef, Palau/Truk/Yap and Indonesia.

I would rate PNG, Fiji, the wreck of the Coolidge in Vanuatu and Aldabra (Seychelles) at the top of the list. Followed by the Red Sea and Malpelo.

In the Caribbean area, Curacao, Dominica and Turks & Caicos would be at the top of the list, with other scattered sites reall good, too (such as Bloody Bay Wall).