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Top 100 Readers' Choice Survey

By Scuba Diving Partner | Published On December 4, 2008
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Top 100 Readers' Choice Survey


Each year, we ask the most knowledgeable and well-traveled group of divers we know--our readers--to rate their favorite destinations as part of our ongoing Top 100 Readers' Choice survey. Throughout the past 12 months we invited readers to fill out surveys on the destination they experienced. The surveys that are the basis of this report ask divers to rate the quality of the dive experience in several categories--ranging from health of the reef to their overall impression of the diving--using a 1-to-5 scale (5=excellent; 4=very good; 3=good; 2=fair; 1=poor). For this report, we take the destinations that received a statistically valid number of surveys and rank them in order by the percentage of Excellent and Very Good ratings. We couldn't fit the results for Advanced Diving in the magazine so we've included them here. After you read these results, we hope you'll take the time to help us compile the next Top 100 report. Our Top 100 survey is available to you 24/7, 365 days of the year at scubadiving.com/top_100. Fill it out after your next dive trip or for one you've taken in the last three years.

Top Destinations For Advanced Diving

Caribbean & Atlantic Ocean

1. Little Cayman, Cayman Islands 94.6
2. Southern Belize (Hopkins, Dangriga, Placencia & Punta Gorda) 94.4
3. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 92.4
4. Cozumel, Mexico 91.7
5. Saba 91.2
6. Exumas, Bahamas 90.9
7. Bonaire 90.3
8. Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos 89.7
9. Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras 86.8
10. Belize Atolls 86.6
11. Ambergris Caye, Belize 86.3
12. Curaçao 85.1
13. Providenciales, Turks & Caicos 83.8
14. Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands 83.6
15. Bahamas Out Islands 81.8
16. Southern Eastern Caribbean (Tobago, Grenada & St. Vincent & Grenadines) 78.1
17. Bimini & Cat Cay, Bahamas 77.4
18. Dominica 73.5
19. Barbados 72.4
20. Puerto Rico 71.4
(tie) St. Croix, U.S.V.I.s 71.4
21. Northern Eastern Caribbean (Statia, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe & Antigua & Barbuda) 71
22. British Virgin Islands 70
(tie) St. Thomas & St. John, U.S.V.I.s 70
23. Riviera Maya, Mexico 69.8
24. St. Lucia 69.6
25. Providenciales, Turks & Caicos 65.6

Pacific & Indian Oceans

1. Galapagos 100
(tie) Palau 100
(tie) Yap, Micronesia 100
2. Wakatobi, Indonesia 96.6
3. Philippines 96.4
4. Chuuk, Micronesia 95.7
5. Malaysia 93.9
6. North Sulawesi & Lembeh Strait, Indonesia 92.7
7. Bali & Komodo, Indonesia 91.1
8. Great Barrier Reef, Australia 90.6
9. Red Sea (Egypt) 88.5
10. Tahiti & Its Islands 88.1
11. Fiji 88
12. Papua New Guinea 87.5
13. Baja California & Socorro Islands 87.2
14. Thailand 85
15. Maui, Hawaii 81.1
16. Costa Rica & Cocos Island 80.6
17. Kaui, Hawaii 77.1
18. Big Island, Hawaii 73.6

North America

1. British Columbia, Canada 96.4
2. North Carolina 92
3. Monterey, Calif. 90.6
4. Great Lakes 88.9
5. Key Largo, Fla. Keys 85.2
6. Florida Springs 82.5
7. Channel Islands, Calif. 82.1
8. North Atlantic (N.Y., N.J., Mass. & R.I.) 80.8
9. Islamorada & Tavernier, Fla. Keys 80
10. Marathon, Fla. Keys 76

Each year, we ask the most knowledgeable and well-traveled group of divers we know--our readers--to rate their favorite destinations as part of our ongoing Top 100 Readers' Choice survey. Throughout the past 12 months we invited readers to fill out surveys on the destination they experienced. The surveys that are the basis of this report ask divers to rate the quality of the dive experience in several categories--ranging from health of the reef to their overall impression of the diving--using a 1-to-5 scale (5=excellent; 4=very good; 3=good; 2=fair; 1=poor). For this report, we take the destinations that received a statistically valid number of surveys and rank them in order by the percentage of Excellent and Very Good ratings. We couldn't fit the results for Advanced Diving in the magazine so we've included them here. After you read these results, we hope you'll take the time to help us compile the next Top 100 report. Our Top 100 survey is available to you 24/7, 365 days of the year at scubadiving.com/top_100. Fill it out after your next dive trip or for one you've taken in the last three years.

Top Destinations For Advanced Diving

Caribbean & Atlantic Ocean

|||| |---|---|---| | 1.| Little Cayman, Cayman Islands| 94.6| | 2.| Southern Belize (Hopkins, Dangriga, Placencia & Punta Gorda)| 94.4| | 3.| Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands| 92.4| | 4.| Cozumel, Mexico| 91.7| | 5.| Saba| 91.2| | 6.| Exumas, Bahamas| 90.9| | 7.| Bonaire| 90.3| | 8.| Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos| 89.7| | 9.| Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras| 86.8| | 10.| Belize Atolls| 86.6| | 11.| Ambergris Caye, Belize| 86.3| | 12.| Curaçao| 85.1| | 13.| Providenciales, Turks & Caicos| 83.8| | 14.| Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands| 83.6| | 15.| Bahamas Out Islands| 81.8| | 16.| Southern Eastern Caribbean (Tobago, Grenada & St. Vincent & Grenadines)| 78.1| | 17.| Bimini & Cat Cay, Bahamas| 77.4| | 18.| Dominica| 73.5| | 19.| Barbados| 72.4| | 20.| Puerto Rico| 71.4| | (tie)| St. Croix, U.S.V.I.s| 71.4| | 21.| Northern Eastern Caribbean (Statia, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe & Antigua & Barbuda)| 71| | 22.| British Virgin Islands| 70| | (tie)| St. Thomas & St. John, U.S.V.I.s| 70| | 23.| Riviera Maya, Mexico| 69.8| | 24.| St. Lucia| 69.6| | 25.| Providenciales, Turks & Caicos| 65.6|

Pacific & Indian Oceans

|||| |---|---|---| | 1.| Galapagos| 100| | (tie)| Palau| 100| | (tie)| Yap, Micronesia| 100| | 2.| Wakatobi, Indonesia| 96.6| | 3.| Philippines| 96.4| | 4.| Chuuk, Micronesia| 95.7| | 5.| Malaysia| 93.9| | 6.| North Sulawesi & Lembeh Strait, Indonesia| 92.7| | 7.| Bali & Komodo, Indonesia| 91.1| | 8.| Great Barrier Reef, Australia| 90.6| | 9.| Red Sea (Egypt)| 88.5| | 10.| Tahiti & Its Islands| 88.1| | 11.| Fiji| 88| | 12.| Papua New Guinea| 87.5| | 13.| Baja California & Socorro Islands| 87.2| | 14.| Thailand| 85| | 15.| Maui, Hawaii| 81.1| | 16.| Costa Rica & Cocos Island| 80.6| | 17.| Kaui, Hawaii| 77.1| | 18.| Big Island, Hawaii| 73.6|

North America

|||| |---|---|---| | 1.| British Columbia, Canada| 96.4| | 2.| North Carolina| 92| | 3.| Monterey, Calif.| 90.6| | 4.| Great Lakes| 88.9| | 5.| Key Largo, Fla. Keys| 85.2| | 6.| Florida Springs| 82.5| | 7.| Channel Islands, Calif.| 82.1| | 8.| North Atlantic (N.Y., N.J., Mass. & R.I.)| 80.8| | 9.| Islamorada & Tavernier, Fla. Keys| 80| | 10.| Marathon, Fla. Keys| 76|