Exotic Destinations

World’s Best Destinations for Diving with Macro Critters

Australia and Pacific, Caribbean And Atlantic, Central America, Exotic Destinations, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, South America, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Top 100, United States And Canada, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Macro Diving category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack & Associates

Bonaire

Best Macro Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

Think you have to book a flight to Indo to see exotic nudis, seahorses and frogfish by the handful? That ticket might be considerably less expensive than you think, for North American divers, if you aim for the island of Bonaire instead. Decades of institutionalized protection and loving management of its pristine reefs have helped to preserve an environment where nearly 400 species have been documented, most of it the small stuff beloved by underwater photographers. Looking to capture a particular subject in a specific situation? Bonaire also offers the ultimate freedom to plan your own dives 24/7, instead of waiting for the dive boat or competing with other photographers looking for the same stuff you are. Many of its resorts’ house reefs are literally alive with critters, so you don’t even have to crank up your rental truck — just fall off the dock and start shooting. — Mary Frances Emmons

Best Overall Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

1. Bonaire

2. Cayman Islands

3. Bay Islands

4. Mexico

5. Curacao

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack and Associates

Bonaire

Macro finds include teardrop craps in this Caribbean Island.

Jennifer Penner

Bonaire

Tiny squat shrimp are often found by sharp-eyed divers in Bonaire.

Wayne MacWilliams

Bonaire

Macro photographers love Bonaire’s critters like this spotted eel.

Barry Brown

Bonaire

These crazy critters are not glow sticks, but bearded fireworms shot under blue light at night.

TimsImagesUnderwater/Alamy

Bonaire

Gobies find shelter in colorful tube sponges.

Eric Madeja

Indonesia

Best Macro Diving in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Sure, Lembeh Strait is the world’s epicenter of macro div- ing, with enough crazy critters — hirsute frogfish, microscopic seahorses, kaleidoscopic nudibranchs and more — to fill a logbook, but don’t overlook the enchanted islands of Komodo, Bali and Wakatobi. With their eagle-eyed guides, you might not need a magnifying glass to find it all, but you will need more logbooks. — David Espinosa

Best Macro Diving in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Jeff Rotman/NPL/Minden Pictures

British Columbia

Best Macro Diving in North America

Decorated warbonnets, grunt sculpins and candystripe shrimp are just a few highlights to spotlight while shooting in Canada’s westernmost province. Browning Passage, a legendary site near Port Hardy, hides so many macro treasures the challenge is not finding cool subjects but deciding which ones to skip and save for the next tank. So many pictures to make, not enough bottom time. — Brandon Cole

Best Macro Diving in North America

1. British Columbia

2. Washington

3. California

4. Florida

5. North Carolina

David Hall

British Columbia

Nudibranchs are a favorite of macro photographers; this Hermissenda is praying on stinging hydroids.

How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

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World’s Best Underwater Photography Sites

Australia and Pacific, Bay Islands, Caribbean And Atlantic, Central America, Exotic Destinations, Marine Life, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Top 100, United States And Canada, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Underwater Photography category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Shutterstock

Cayman Islands

Best Underwater Photography in Caribbean and Atlantic

It’s no coincidence that Grand Cayman is home to several photo pros, and is a favorite classroom for a handful of shutter-snapping instructors. Clear skies with consistent sunlight, plus the Caribbean’s famous visibility, grant a reliable baseline, letting you focus on the good stuff — adjusting settings to capture a tarpon just as the silversides all turn, sparkling. — Brooke Morton

Caribbean and Atlantic

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British Columbia

Best Underwater Photography in North America

Photographers can improve their portfolios in BC’s cool, marine-populated waters. There’s a wealth of colorful photo subjects, and many animals grow to epic proportions: giant plumose anemones, playful Steller sea lions, and the eight-tentacled crowd favorite, Enteroctopus dofleini, aka the giant Pacific octopus. Don a drysuit to ignore the cold, and focus instead on creating award-winning images. — Brandon Cole

North America

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Indonesia

Best Underwater Photography in Pacific and Indian Oceans

The problem isn’t deciding what lenses to pack for your trip to Indo, but which one to bring on each dive. If you take a macro down to shoot pygmy seahorses, you’ll regret not having the fisheye for the massive mantas. You don’t just need a second camera system — you need a buddy/porter to carry a third and fourth. — David Espinosa

Pacific and Indian Oceans

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World’s Best Destinations for Diving with Big Animals

Australia and Pacific, Caribbean And Atlantic, Central America, Exotic Destinations, Featured Travel, Rebreathers, Scuba_News, South America, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Top 100, Turks And Caicos, United States And Canada, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

Underwater Photo Atlantic Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas

Jon Cornforth

Atlantic spotted dolphins are one of the many big animals beloved by divers in the Bahamas

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Big Animal Encounters category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Bill Fisher

Bahamas

Best Big Animal Encounters in the Caribbean and Atlantic

Everyone likes a sure thing. Thus the Bahamas continues to rate so highly for big animals. Unlike ultra-remote locales requiring liveaboards and overnight motors before day one begins, here, hammerheads or Caribbean reef sharks mug for your lens just as soon as you unpack and assemble gear. Plus, the variety of species calling these islands home or waypoint is incredible. The hammerheads of Bimini. Oceanic whitetips of Cat Island. Tigers off Grand Bahama. And the place that helped the nation become synonymous for sharks: Nassau. Hopscotch between a few spots and you’ll quickly amass a portfolio of species — plus learn the behavior not only of the sharks but of the goliath grouper that serve as shark-feed second acts. One more perk: Although not as reliably seen, wild Atlantic spotted dolphins regularly cruise Bimini and the Little Bahama Bank, creating an ideal opportunity for those who’ve been wowed by the main attraction but want the show to continue. — Brooke Morton

Caribbean and Atlantic

1. Bahamas

2. Turks and Caicos

3. Belize

4. Cayman Islands

5. Mexico

Scott Johnson

North Carolina

Best Big Animal Encounters in North America

They’re big, and they’re slow. Sand tigers, the predominant shark species off North Carolina, lack a swim bladder but manage near-perfect neutral buoyancy thanks to an ability to gulp air at the surface. It explains why they’re among the least hurried big animals, good news for photographers or any diver who simply wants to prolong face time with these snaggletoothed scavengers. — Brooke Morton

North America

1. North Carolina

2. Florida

3. California

4. Washington

5. British Columbia

Doug Perrine

Galapagos

Best Big Animal Encounters in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

You could go to Galapagos just to see table-size black-blotched rays, quizzical sea lions, tornadoes of barracuda and jacks, turtles and manta rays galore. But really, you’re deluding your- self if you go for any other reason than sharks — clouds of hammerheads and whitetips, solitary tigers and packs of burly Galapagos. — David Espinosa

Pacific and Indian Oceans

How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

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100 Best Scuba Diving Sites, Operators, Destinations and More

Aggressor Fleet & Dancer Fleet, Anthony's Key Resort, Aqua Cat Cruises, Arenui Liveaboard, Asia and Indian Ocean, Caribbean And Atlantic, Central America, Coco View Resort, Deep Blue Resort, Exotic Destinations, Little Cayman Beach Resort, Ocean Divers - Key Largo, Odyssey Adventures, Rebreathers, Sam's Tours Palau, Scuba_News, South America, standards, Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas, Sunset House / Sunset Divers, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, Top 100, Turneffe Island Resort, United States And Canada, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

Best Wall Dives

#1 Palancar Deep, Cozumel, Mexico

#2 Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands

#3 Molokini Crater Back Wall, Maui, Hawaii

#4 Blue Corner, Palau

#5 Half Moon Caye, Lighthouse Reef, Belize

#6 Big Tunnels, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#7 Mary’s Place, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#8 Amphitheater, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

#9 Cane Bay Wall, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Underwater Photo Diver in Devil's Grotto Cayman Islands

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Best Dive Sites

#10 Cathedrals, Lanai, Hawaii

#11 Devil’s Grotto, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#12 Something Special, Bonaire

#13 Cenote Dos Ojos, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

#14 Eagle Ray Pass, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#15 Darwin’s Arch, Galapagos

#16 Cod Hole, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

#17 Great White Wall, Fiji

#18 Farnsworth Bank, Catalina Island, California

Thistlegorm Wreck Red Sea Egypt Trucks Underwater

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Best Wreck Diving

#19 Spiegel Grove, Key Largo, Florida

#20 Kittiwake, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#21 Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

#22 El Aguila, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#23 Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida

#24 Corsair, Oahu, Hawaii

#25 U-352, Morehead City, North Carolina

#26 Thistlegorm, Red Sea, Egypt

#27 Liberty, Bali, Indonesia

scuba diver in kelp forest underwater photo california

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Best Shore Dives

#28 CoCo View Wall, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#29 Alice in Wonderland, Bonaire

#30 Buddy’s Reef, Bonaire

#31 Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Florida

#32 Avalon Underwater Park, Catalina Island, California

#33 La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California

#34 Mala Wharf, Maui, Hawaii

#35 Sharks Cove, Oahu, Hawaii

#36 Lighthouse Point Reef, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Underwater Photo Diver in Cenote in Mexico

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Most Unusual Dive Sites

#37 Great Blue Hole, Belize

#38 Devil’s Throat, Cozumel, Mexico

#39 Christ of the Abyss, Key Largo, Florida

#40 1,000 Steps, Bonaire

#41 Jellyfish Lake, Palau

#42 Cenote Chac Mool, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

#43 Bonne Terre Mine, Missouri

#44 Pelagic Magic, Kona, Hawaii

#45 Washing Machine, Exuma, Bahamas

Underwater Photo Manta Night Dive Kona Hawaii

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Best Night Dives

#46 Manta Ray Night Dive, Kona, Hawaii

#47 Davis Reef, Key Largo, Florida

#48 Bari Reef, Bonaire

#49 Bailey’s Key, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#50 Sunset House Resort Reef, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#51 Frederiksted Pier, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

#52 Shark Ray Alley, Ambergris Caye, Belize

#53 Fluorescent Night Dive, Koh Tao, Thailand

#54 Coral Spawning Dives, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Snorkeler with Whale Shark Underwater Photo

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Best Big Animal Encounters

#55 Whale Sharks, Isla Mujeres, Mexico

#56 Manatees, Crystal River, Florida

#57 Sand Tiger Sharks, North Carolina

#58 Caribbean Reef Sharks, Shark Arena, New Providence, Bahamas

#59 Spinner Dolphins and Humpback Whales, Maui, Hawaii

#60 California Sea Lions, Santa Cruz Island, California

#61 Hammerhead Sharks, Galapagos

#62 Frogfish, Bari Reef, Bonaire

#63 Whitetip Reef and Blacktip Reef Sharks, Beqa, Fiji

#64 Pacific Manta Rays, Ulong Channel, Palau

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Best Beaches

#65 Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#66 Ka’anapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii

#67 Tulum, Mexico

#68 Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

#69 Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

#70 The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

#71 West Bay Beach, Roatan, Bay Islands

#72 Destin, Florida

#73 Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia

Belize Aggressor Liveaboard Dive Vacations

Aggressor Fleet & Dancer Fleet

Best Liveaboards

#74 Galapagos Aggressor III

#75 Aqua Cat, Bahamas

#76 Cayman Aggressor IV

#77 Arenui, Indonesia

#78 Belize Aggressor III

#79 Spoilsport, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

#80 Odyssey Adventures/Truk Odyssey, Micronesia

#81 Turks and Caicos Aggressor II

#82 Maldives Aggressor

David Benz

Best Dive Operators

#83 Buddy Dive Bonaire

#84 Reef Divers, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Cayman Islands

#85 [Jack’s Diving Locker], Kona, Hawaii

#86 Stuart Cove’s, New Providence, Bahamas

#87 Ocean Divers, Key Largo, Florida

#88 Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#89 Sam’s Tours Palau

#90 Amigos Del Mar, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

#91 Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

Sunset House

Best Dive Resorts

#92 Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

#93 Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#94 Scuba Club Cozumel, Mexico

#95 CoCo View Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

#96 Little Cayman Beach Resort, Cayman Islands

#97 Turneffe Island Resort, Belize

#98 Deep Blue Resort, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras

#99 Beqa Lagoon Resort, Fiji

#100 Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire

100 Best Scuba Diving Sites, Operators, Destinations and More Read More »

World’s Best Destinations for Advanced Diving

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Advanced Diving category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.