Where is the best place in the world to dive?

[Aquatic Mammal]

The Red Sea takes a lot of beating if you like warm water and lots of pretty fishies

[Stesh]

I hear it's that good, people queue for hours to get in.

[neil_richardson]

if you have the money?? Bikini...

If you have less money, Truk (Chuuk)

If you have less money still, Australia (travel down the east coast starting at Fraser island, then head down to Tasmania, then up to Ningaloo... if you can get better diving then that??? )

If your looking for a bit more of an "interesting" place to go, then you could try PNG, its got wrecks, reef, and yeh is definatly different.

Okay, after that, what about the Black sea?? its definatly up there for ship wrecks?? but the Red sea has it for marine life.

Otherwise, purely for marine life, there's the galapogas islands, or pretty much anywhere in the indian ocean,

After that, well, NZ is pretty up there for diversity, about on par with the UK, and then how can i forget the outer islands of Fiji???

So anyhow, theres a few options for you.. Personally, having dived in close to 50 countries now, my favourite place for diversity has been Australia. Cave diving in Mt Gambier, wreck diving in Victoria, reef diving EVERYWHERE.

Other then that, fav place i've dived was in Micronesia.. Island hopping around there is AWESOME.

[Mark Chase]

On a good day the English Chanel wrecks are hard to beet. Passably Malin head for the viz. If theres better diving to be had I haven't dived it yet.

I really want to move away from England due to the crap weather. The one thing that stops me apart from the kids education is the abundance of epic quality diving.

If I lived abroad id book diving holidays to the UK.

My perfect country would be the wrecks of the UK the sea quality of the Med the shallow reefs of Egypt and the inland caves of Mexico.


ATB

Mark

[neil_richardson]

Mark,

Sounds like you'll like Australia then:

Victorian Ships' Graveyard

Scuba Diving Victoria, Vic: Wilsons Promontory, Melbourne, Dive sites, conditions and more

cave diving australia photos - Google Image Search

Divernet | Cave Diving | DREAMTIME IN THE WORLD'S CLEAREST WATER

N

[sussexsubmarine]

Much as I love diving in the UK and The English Channel offers many a wondrous dive, if you are looking to sample a different culture at the same time you can't beat the Pacific.

I've dived Truk, which offers exceptional wreck dives with warm water and good visibility.

If your budget won't stretch to Truk, try the Philippines the viz isn't as good as Truk but the wrecks are excellent and it is much cheaper. I stayed at the Sangat Island Reserve which is owned and run by an British ex-salvage diver Andy and several of the Japanese wrecks are within a 5 minute ride from the beach.

I also liked Croatia and diving in the Great Lakes in Canada, it really depends what you are into.

James

[ray]

Originally Posted by AidanS

Typical I look at going all around the world to find the best diving sites and the best one is 15 miles away from where I live! Where about in the Farne Islands Whirl Rocks?

Hi.
Go out of Seahouses harbor, straight out past the Inner and outer Farnes, the last rock that covers and uncovers on the sea end is Knifstone, and about half a mile further out in the open ocean is a reef called Whirl Rocks, you cant miss it even when the surrounding sea is reasonably calm, when the tide is running a standing wave will suddenly pop up!.

The diving on this rock is out of this world, with depths from 25meters to 60 meters, I have been diving it for over 30 years and I have never had a boring dive. There is a wonderful wreck or should I say wrecks, but the main one is the "Jan Van Ryswick", or that is what I no it as, Ron will be round in a minute to correct me I'm sure, the engine stands about 4 meters high within the wreckage, and there always seems to be a school of kippers swimming round it, sometimes so dense you cant see the wreck!. There is usually a big lobster down the broken off mast . ( Allan Carr got the last one out, if he has the photo I'm sure he will post it)

Then there are the 3 gully's, the first one with a hard bottom with the anchor and winches and a bit of wreckage piled in it, go to the end and there are always a couple of lobster at the end.
Second gully has a pile of round stones piled up with the tide at the sea end, there are lobsters and crabs in the holes as you go up to the end and back down the other side.
The third one is different this is were the seals hang about, and where they crap, the floor in this gully is covered in sea weed probably with the guano!, here the seals play with you pulling your fins, if you see a lobster and you try to get it out don't be surprised if a seal is at the side of you with its nose under the same rock watching you.

Its about this time you get bet by the tide and have to leave, be very careful if you have any deco to do because the tide goes into the gully's and you cant swim back out, the only way is up, and it flows that fast when you start ascending it blows you straight up at 15meters "A second".

If you are in a rib and have anchored and the tide starts you will be unable to get your anchor out and will have to buoy it off and leave it or get it out on the next tide.

You will get about 10mins to no slack on Spring tides (Undiveable probably the fastest tides on the East coast), and about 40mins to 65mins on very small Neaps. Not for Shandy drinking Southerners, as most Bank holidays if the tides are a bit fierce we end up picking divers from the Southern UNI clubs, scattered all over the sea.

[Daniel Taylor]

I think that it is going to depend very much on what you like looking at when you dive. The chances of having one place that has the metal (for the wreckies), a cave (for the cavers) and superb big and small life is pretty much nil. If you like your fishes and things then Indo is going to be up there but their are plenty of people that would far rather look at a triple expansion engine.

[Ahoy]

I've dived a bit around the globe and the two places i've not been to are that Galapagos and Indonesia. For me, who likes to look at invertebrate life, then anywhere in a triangle formed by Indonesia, Papua New Guine and the Phillipines, to the north, would be ideal as that is the most bio-diverse area on the planet.

S.

[mikecsmith]

Aidan mate, go to SE Asia - the diving is nice and you'll have the time of your life, I highly recommend starting in Cambodia and working your way down through Thailand then flying off to somewhere like Indonesia or crossing the border into Malaysia.

Cambodia is one of the best places in the world to travel in my opinion, I didn't dive there but I know there is some on the southern coast.