If you’re working on a technical certification and longing to explore depths beyond recreational limits, these 10 awesome dives will get you started — or make you the envy of your friends.
SS Yongala, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Sunk by a cyclone in 1911, the SS Yongala near Townsville, Australia sits in about 90 feet of water on her starboard side. The impressive variety of marine life, such as Queensland grouper, cobia, barracuda, turtles, sea snakes, rays and clownfish make this well-preserved ship one of the world’s top wreck dives. Bottles and other personal items are still scattered around the wreck, and while you’re looking at those treasures you may spot some of the plentiful and colorful nudibranchs. When you’re done peeping at the petite stuff, look up and around to witness a gathering of large pelagics, including the bull and tiger sharks that call this wreck home. If rays are your thing, then there are plenty here to strike your fancy: bull rays, eagle rays, shovel-nosed rays and manta rays all make an appearance.
Andrea Doria, Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States
They don’t call this one the ‘Mount Everest of scuba diving’ for nothing. Years of technical training are required to dive this Italian passenger ship, which sank in 1956 and sits in over 200 feet of water off the coast of Massachusetts. The depth of the wreck, dangerously strong currents, 40 to 48 degree water, low visibility and its remote location all combine to put this deep wreck well beyond the scope of recreational diving. If you are trimix certified and well-experienced with challenging, deep wrecks, the 700-foot-long Andrea Doria still offers a lot to explore even though parts of it are now collapsing. Divers still find treasures on this wreck, and the now-legendary third bell has yet to be recovered. This is another wreck steeped with history, and the accomplishment of completing a dive here will give you bragging rights forever.
SS Thistlegorm, Red Sea, Egypt
This World War II British vessel is the one Cousteau wrote about in his book on the Red Sea. [r1] Not for novice divers, the Thistlegorm sits in nearly 100 feet of water, and as a freighter, it was carrying a lot of large cargo when it went down in 1941. Divers can see trucks, motorcycles, armored cars, ammunition and more in the three cargo holds, and despite currents, treasure hunters and dive boats tying off on its railings, the wreck is still in great condition and worth several dives. Not only is this an impressive wreck, it’s one steeped in history and mystery — it’s been lost and found twice, and is so large it would take several dives just to see it all. The Thistlegorm is truly the Red Sea’s crowning glory and worth several tanks of exploration.
Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman
Dubbed one of the Seven Underwater Wonders by visiting divers[r2] , the Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman is actually a series of a dozen different dive sites, which begin in 20 feet and drop off into the abyss thousands of feet below. Your depth on these dives is entirely up to your training and your comfort level. Visibility exceeding 200 feet allows for breathtaking drop-offs, which can make a diver feel like she’s floating in space, utterly dwarfed by the massive wall. Large, colorful sponges are the stars here, with a vibrancy you won’t see elsewhere. Nassau groupers come in for close ups; triggerfish posture in defense; sea fans sway with the gentle currents; and all around are turtles, shrimp, lobster, sea cucumbers, jacks, sharks and rays. These are dive sites you will never forget, and will want to revisit time and again.
The Blue Hole, Belize
Diving the Great Blue Hole of Belize from Jason Heaton on Vimeo.
It’s a bucket-list site for many Caribbean divers — the Great Blue Hole sits about 60 miles off the Belize coast. In the center of Lighthouse Reef, the near-perfect circle drops to depths of nearly 500 feet. This depth, in comparison to the relatively shallow reef water surrounding it, makes the Blue Hole striking from above. The hole is actually an opening to a cave system, which penetrates deep into an undersea mountain that was above sea level at one point. Waters are a temperate 76 Fahrenheit at 130 feet, and sheer walls give way to stalactite formations, which create an overhang just over 100 feet down. The hole is nearly devoid of marine life at depth, save for the occasional blacktip reef shark or passing hammerhead. Closer to the top of the hole, divers will see anemones, gobies, angelfish and butterflyfish hanging out among purple sea fans and elkhorn coral.
Elphinstone Reef, Red Sea, Egypt
Dive spots in the Marsa Alam area: Elphinstone reef from Luca Sgualdini on Vimeo.
This spectacular finger reef in the Red Sea plummets to 230 feet, and has large submerged plateaus perfect for starting out your deep dive before you drop over the cliff. Hammerheads and whitetips are not uncommon, among the many pelagics in the area, and log time circling the dense hard and soft corals of this robust reef. Different sites feature caverns, caves, and the famous arch — and then there’s the Eastern wall. Here you’ll find strong currents, making a drift dive the best way to go. Plateaus are covered with soft corals, sea fans, sea whips, gorgonians, and that dramatic drop-off into the abyss.
Dahab Blue Hole, Egypt
Choppers and Bear at 100m in the Blue Hole, Dahab. from Team Blue Immersion on Vimeo.
Dubbed “The world’s most dangerous dive site,” this famous blue hole plunges to over 400 feet in depth and is not a site for novice divers. Although it’s a shore dive, only those with technical training and experience should attempt to dive this deceptively easy site. The site’s infamous arch, a tunnel at 170 feet, connects the Blue Hole to the open sea. It’s an overhead environment that has virtually no bottom as a reference. Inside this 85-foot-long tunnel, the current usually moves shoreward, making the swim even harder and more time consuming than it first appears. It’s in this tunnel where some divers go deeper than they intended and do not surface: if you don’t have the technical training, please dive only the shallows. .
Sipadan, Malaysian Borneo
This is Sipadan from Lare Lekman on Vimeo.
If you’re enjoying 100-foot visibility, 3,000 species of fish, countless barracuda forming tornados above you, massive schools of jacks, graceful mantas, eagle rays, hammerheads, gobies, eels, whale sharks and a wall that plummets 1,000 feet to the seabed, then you’re probably in Sipadan. Time and time again, Sipadan is voted either the world’s top dive spot or near to it. As the top of an extinct volcano, Sipadan Island boasts a unique geography, surrounded by steep reef walls that drop directly to the seabed and not the continental shelf. The waters bustle with life on all of the dozen dive sites around the island. At Turtle Cavern, divers are treated to dozens of turtles — both living and dead — as the cave is also an eerie gravesite. Because of the steep drop-off, dives can go as deep as you’re trained for and capable of doing.
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Puerto Galera - Philippines from Nautic Life on Vimeo.
The Puerto Galera area of the Philippines consists of 30 different dive sites, all impressive and full of biodiversity; a few in particular are well suited to deep diving. Verde Island has depths over 200 feet and tons of fish to keep you busy while you’re drifting or fighting the occasional extreme currents. The Drop Off is seriously impressive, with lush coral, a busy reef and swaying anemones. If you head to the Fishbowl and Horsehead Reef, you’ll be treated to canyons and crevices filled with large marine life like sharks, turtles and rays, down to 250 feet. Monkey Wreck is an upside-down boat in 150 feet of water. Its skeleton is now the living quarters of hundreds of snapper, sweetlips, batfish and more. Below the wreck, down to 230 feet, are small caves where grouper, stingrays and reef sharks congregate. Even the macro-lover will find something here among the seahorses, slugs and shrimp.
Eagle’s Nest Sinkhole, Florida
It doesn’t look like much from the surface. A little pond, covered with scum, out in the middle of Nowhere, Florida. But if you don your gear and jump in, you’ll find one of the more extreme cave dives in the world. Up to 300 feet deep in some places, Eagle’s Nest is a sinkhole with upstream and downstream tunnels. Full cave and Trimix certifications are the minimum training requirements for this Eagle’s Nest, home of some of the most intricate and challenging dive-able cave systems out there. Visibility under normal conditions is as far as the eye can see, within ballroom-sized chambers in between the narrow, long tunnels. Even if you’ve got the certifications, go with someone who knows the site before attempting to explore on your own.