The 5 best places to try diving around the world

Diving has long been a popular activity between travellers, and for good reason – there are some incredible worlds to be discovered beneath the surface of nearly every country. Some are indisputably better than others, though, below are the five places to try diving around the world.

Great Blue Hole, Belize

It’s perhaps the most popular dive site in the entire world. The Great Blue Hole is perhaps Belize’s most beautiful sight, the deep blue spot situated in the midst of the Caribbean Sea. Divers flock here in their droves throughout the year.

Try and hit the site on a clear, sunny day – your visibility will be dramatically improved, and the wildlife will be teeming. Descending into the hole itself, great caverns and overhangs lend themselves to creating an otherworldly experience unparalleled by perhaps any other site in the entire world.

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

It’s approximately three hundred miles off the coast of Costa Rica – not exactly a day trip – but Cocos Island is absolutely worth the journey. The volcanic island juts out of the Pacific Ocean dramatically and calls itself home to an abundance of wondrous wildlife, including large schools of sharks.

Diving here is on the top of the bucket lists of many people, understandably. Explorer Enric Sala states that there’s no other diving site in the world where you’d discover so many sea creatures per hectare. The sheer variety of animals living under the surface makes for a truly magical experience.

Silfra, Iceland

If you want to be able to say you’ve dived in between two continents, Silfra’s the place to go. This Icelandic region is the only place where you can dive directly in between two immense tectonic plates. It’s a geographical wonder you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

Diving between North America and Eurasia, you’ll be diving into some of the purest blue waters on the planet. It truly is an unbelievable destination, feeling almost otherworldly in its scenery and natural features. There may not be too much wildlife to be found here, but it’s a worthy dive nonetheless.

Sipadan Island, Malaysia

It’s said to be one of the world’s top five most popular diving destinations, so head to Sipadan Island if you want to tick it off your bucket list. With turtles bigger than cars being just one of the many astounding creatures to be found beneath the surface here, it’s easy to see that the island is in the center of the richest marine habitat in the world.

There are twelve different dive sites here to choose from, some of which sometimes off-limits due to strong currents and treacherous conditions. If you’ve been warned against it, don’t so it, as medical costs in Southeast Asia are sometimes extortionate. Regardless of the site you choose, you’re bound to be overcome by the world within Sipadan’s waters.

Koh Tao, Thailand

Barracuda, angelfish, triggerfish, turtles, and rays are just some of the vast wildlife to be discovered at Koh Tao in Thailand. It’s a relatively easy dive site, which also means it’s popular. If you’re travelling in the country, be sure to stop here for a day and head underneath the surface to discover a different world.

The waters here are clear and beautiful, and the coral on the seabed paints a beautiful backdrop as fish, rays, and eels swim peacefully. Night dives here are spectacular too, with octopus, squid and even flatworms coming out and exploring once the sun sets.

If diving is your thing and you’re looking to rack up some time on your logbook, then the above five are the best places to try diving around the world. Also, it goes without saying that The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, which I have personally tried myself is like no other diving experience. Being the world’s largest coral reef system, and the only living structure on earth that can be viewed from space, it’s a truly magical underwater experience.