2012 Top 100 Readers' Choice Awards
Alex Mustard
Since 1994, we’ve turned to our readers to rate dozens of destinations to determine Scuba Diving’s exclusive Top 100 Readers’ Choice Awards and Gold List. For our 19th annual Top 100, thousands of you took trips to your favorite destinations to reveal what you think is the best the dive world has to offer today. Here, we delve into the best places on the planet to find pulse-pounding big animals, deep walls, massive wrecks and more. (Ed.'s Note: For variety, we sometimes chose the No. 2 or No. 3 rated destination to write about.)
Best Destination Overall (diving, topside adventure, nightlife, etc.)
Atlantic & Caribbean Region
Top Five
1. TIE: Bonaire and Cayman Islands
3. TIE: Cozumel and Turks and Caicos
5. Bay Islands
[No. 1] Bonaire
Bonaire's greatest asset is the nearly continuous coral reef that in many places begins only yards from shore. Bonaire's dive sites are marked by yellow stones on the coastal road along the leeward coast. All you have to do is find one, pull off the road and wade in. As great as the shore diving is, you're not limited to it. You can take a boat to many of the sites or to uninhabited Klein Bonaire (both islands fall under the protection of the Bonaire National Marine Park). Want more? Bonaire offers an array of outdoor adventures. These qualities earned Bonaire a tie with Cayman Islands for Best Destination Overall — as well as No. 1 rankings in Best Shore Diving (for the 19th consecutive year), Marine Life, Macro, Snorkeling and Value — in this year's Top 100.
[No. 1] Cayman Islands
For the past 19 years, the Cayman Islands have placed at or near the top in several categories in the Top 100. This year, the triumvirate of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman grabbed top-five awards in eight categories; even better, the Cayman Islands were ranked Best Destination Overall, an award that shows just how readers value the quality of overall experience in these three islands. And why not? Whether you’re diving Little Cayman’s Bloody Bay Wall or Grand Cayman’s 251-foot Kittiwake wreck (purpose sunk in 2010), sunbathing on Seven Mile Beach or exploring a forest reserve, this popular Caribbean destination proves time and again that life is good if you’re in the Cayman Islands.
North America Region
Top Five
1. Florida Keys
2. South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
3. British Columbia, Canada
4. Monterey, California
5. Channel Islands, California
[No. 1] Florida Keys
Drive the famed Overseas Highway — the 112-mile road that links the myriad keys, expansive sky and blue water that comprise this coral chain — and you’ll find scores of dive flags fluttering from the dive shops that can put you on the reefs here. From Key Largo to Key West, the reefs are famed for their healthy fish populations, stands of corals and deep wrecks like the Spiegel Grove, Vandenberg and Eagle. Spend a day of diving in warm, clear water and then find a place to kick off your flip-flops, drink a cold beer or frothy margarita and watch the sun seep into the water from a comfortable vantage point. You’ll soon understand why the unabashedly red, white and blue Conch Republic, from Key Largo to Key West, is one of the best places in the world to dive.
Pacific and Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Hawaii
2. Indonesia
3. TIE: Philippines and Thailand
5. Galapagos*
[No. 1] Hawaii
Hawaii is a playground not just for pasty-white mainland tourists who come to soak up the sun but also for divers who travel from around the world to explore the islands’ unique underwater treasures. Massive bommies, arches, craters and lava tubes are the backdrop for intact plane- and shipwrecks and an equally magical world of marine life — the world’s most famous night dive (manta rays that dance under the stars), friendly turtles, cryptic frogfish, schooling sharks and a number of species indigenous to Hawaiian waters before returning home every night to sip Mai Tais at a hula, hiking a volcano, learning to surf or simply beachcombing tomorrow.
Best Destination Overall For Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Turks and Caicos
2. Bonaire
3. Cozumel
4. Cayman Islands
5. Mexico**
[No. 1] Turks and Caicos
If you spent the rest of your life exploring the underwater realms of the destinations in the Top 100, you’d die a happy diver. For many divers, a lifetime is what you’ll need to fully explore the Turks and Caicos, two island chains that sit atop a pair of limestone banks separated by the 6,000-foot-deep Turks Island Passage. Renowned for their beaches and surrounded by gorgeous water, the islands’ dive sites are clustered off protected lee coasts where healthy coral gardens lead to sheer vertical walls that plunge beyond recreational depths. Visit here between January and May to see migrating humpback whales, and year-round for flybys with eagle rays, manta rays and a healthy population of sharks.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. TIE: Philippines and Malaysia
3. Galapagos
4. Indonesia
5. French Polynesia
[No. 1] Malaysia
While there’s good (and inexpensive) diving off Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia’s reputation for world-class diving is justifiably linked to the satellite islands off the coast of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. In the west, Layang Layang is famous for hammerhead sharks and massive walls draped in corals and sea fans; in the east, it’s a quartet of islands that are the envy of every diver who’s never been. The mecca for divers is Sipadan, an epicenter of big-animal encounters, and home to a turtle tomb and tornadoes of barracuda. While Sipadan closed its doors to resorts a decade ago, it’s still accessible from macro paradises Mabul, Kapalai and Lankayan islands, just a short boat ride away.
North America Region
Top Five
1. British Columbia, Canada
2. Florida Keys
3. North Carolina
4. Channel Islands, California
5. Monterey, California
[No. 1] British Columbia, Canada
Yes, it’s cold, the vis can be limited and tidal currents can rip. But with 17,000 miles of Pacific coastline, British Columbia delivers an impressive dive resume that has consistently placed it at or near the top of this category for the better part of two decades. Check out our Top 5 lists to see why: B.C. is found on nearly every one, and is No. 1 on the Best Marine Life, Healthiest Marine Environment, Best Macro and Best Wall categories. From exciting wreck dives and animal encounters with sea lions, harbor seals and wolf eels to gorgeous kelp forests and a plethora of photogenic encrusting invertebrates, B.C.’s rich offerings have deservedly earned Canada’s westernmost province its designation as North America’s Best Destination for Diving.
Best Marine Life
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Bonaire
2. Cozumel
3. Turks and Caicos
4. Cayman Islands
5. Belize
[No. 1] Bonaire
Bonaire’s unique position just north of Venezuela and just south of the Caribbean’s hurricane belt accounts for the island’s spectacularly diverse marine life. Fish and coral embryos travel on the ocean’s surface for hundreds of miles from South America and settle on the reef here. Bonaire’s reefs are so jammed with life that it’s easy even for beginners to notice behavior on the reef. In the morning, the reef bustles with early risers like foureye butterflyfish, blue tangs, yellowtail snappers, sergeant majors and fairy basslets intent on looking for food, finding a mate or protecting nests. At night, divers use lights to illuminate feeding corals, their tentacles extended to snare zooplankton. The lights also attract monster tarpon looking to score an easy meal.
[No. 2] Cozumel
If you’re the type of diver wowed by dramatic underwater topography, Cozumel is sure to please with its colorful walls and towering coral spires that define the dive sites found off its hugely popular southwest coast. But fish geeks also find a lot to love here — a profusion of fish life that’s the envy of other Caribbean destinations. Whether you’re deep at sites like Palancar and Tormentos or in the coral gardens and sand flats at sites like Colombia Shallows, Cozumel’s reefs explode with a diversity of fish species from tiny pikeblennys to all manner of angelfish, grunts and snappers to the elusive and endemic splendid toadfish.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. TIE: Maldives and Malaysia
3. Philippines
4. Thailand
5. Indonesia
[No. 1] Maldives
What’s the recipe for a quintessential dive experience? Warm, clear water (with visibility exceeding 150 feet), sunny skies (for better photography, naturally), and lots and lots of fish. And while the Maldives has the first two, it’s the rich third ingredient that earned it a tie for top honors in Best Marine Life. Ignore the fact that every atoll has a manta cleaning station or that only five years ago, scientists discovered a site (since closed to divers) packed with schooling mantas and whale sharks. No worries. Head to North Male Atoll’s Banana Reef and South Male’s Cocoa Thila where the reefs are thick with sharks, rays and schooling fish. The only problem? Trying to see it all amid the action.
North America Region
Top Five
1. British Columbia, Canada
2. Channel Islands, California
3. Florida Keys
4. Washington
5. Monterey, California
[No. 2] Channel Islands, California
The greatest quality of California’s Channel Islands is you get the best of northern and southern California diving in an area that’s less than two hours’ drive from Los Angeles. The five islands that make up the Channel Islands National Park are home to bright orange garibaldi, hordes of playful sea lions, thick kelp forests home to vibrantly colored sea stars and anemones, the occasional pelagic like sunfish and sharks, and pinnacles bathed in water so clear you’d think you were in the Indo-Pacific.
Healthiest Marine Environment
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Turks and Caicos
2. Bonaire
3. Cayman Islands
4. Belize
5. British Virgin Islands
[No. 2] Bonaire
Every living creature in Bonaire’s waters has been protected for nearly three decades by the island’s pioneering marine park authority, Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA). The first time you wade in off the island’s west coast, you’ll appreciate what this powerful authority with the unwieldy name has accomplished. Bonaire’s reefs are so jammed with life that it’s easy even for beginners to notice behavior on the reef. Just south of the Caribbean’s hurricane belt, the island’s unique position just north of Venezuela also helps account for its spectacularly healthy marine environment. Fish and coral embryos travel on the ocean’s surface for hundreds of miles from South America and settle on the reef. Though you’ll end up in the same place, lucky for you your journey to this little Caribbean gem will be a bit easier.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. TIE: Australia and Galapagos
3. Micronesia
4. Philippines
5. Malaysia
[No. 1] Australia
With nearly two-dozen marine parks, sanctuaries and reserves, you’re constantly reminded that Australia is crazy for its underwater treasures; as a result, Australia has some of the healthiest, most divable reefs in the Pacific. In Western Australia, divers can jump in on the heavily encrusted Navy Pier, and with whale sharks from April through July in Ningaloo Marine Park. In the south, there are great white sharks and sea dragons in numbers. In the east, Queensland is home to one of the world’s largest marine parks — the remarkable Great Barrier Reef Marine Park — home to 2,900 separate coral reefs, 1,500 species of fish and a whopping 350 species of hard corals.
North America Region
Top Five
1. British Columbia, Canada
2. Florida Keys
3. Channel Islands, California
4. Monterey, California
5. Flower Garden Banks, Texas
[No. 1] British Columbia, Canada
From north to south, B.C. boasts a diverse collection of kelp forests, marine mammals, fish life and spectacularly adorned reefs that thrive in the current-swept, nutrient-laden waters. We don’t have enough space to describe everything this Pacific province delivers, but for starters, divers can find soft corals, decorated warbonnets and candystriped shrimp on Browning Wall, strawberry anemones at Quadra Island, cloud sponges at Agamemnon Channel, rockfish and bull kelp at Hunt Rock, gooseneck barnacles at Nakwakto Rapids, sixgill sharks in Barkley Sound, sea anemones, sea stars, hydroids, giant barnacles and encrusting sponges at Sechelt Rocks and at Race Rocks, a group of rugged islets off Vancouver Island, hundreds of California and Steller sea lions in the fall and several hundred harbor seals year-round.
Best Big Animals
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Bahamas
2. Bay Islands
3. Belize
4. Bahamas Out Islands
5. Turks and Caicos
[No. 1] Bahamas
Hear that? It’s not just the sound of your heart pounding against your chest, but the thud of sharks hitting your shoulders as they muscle past to get to the chunks of fish swirling in the water column. Operators on New Providence, Grand Bahama and Andros islands, as well as live-aboards plying the waters off the Exuma Cays and Eleuthera, offer shark-feeding encounters guaranteed to put you in the water with Caribbean reef sharks. Ready to amp up the excitement? Try a tiger and lemon shark-encounter off Grand Bahama’s West End. If the shark-feeding experiences don’t appeal, you’ve got a decent shot of seeing sharks in the wild off every island in this chain, as well as wild spotted dolphins on Little Bahama Bank.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Cocos Island, Costa Rica
2. Galapagos
3. Maldives
4. French Polynesia
5. Hawaii
[No. 1] Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Narrowly edging Galapagos for top spot in this category, Cocos proves that when it comes to big-animal diving, all we really want to see is sharks. The highlights of this seamount, which is 36 hours by boat from port, are the massive schools of hammerheads that blot out the sky, at some of the most acclaimed dive sites in the world: Alcyone, Dirty Rock, Manuelita. It’s easy to be captivated by the hammerhead cleaning stations, but linger too long, and you might miss the whale sharks (during the rainy season), and night dives with pack-hunting whitetip, Galapagos and silky sharks.
North America Region
Top Five
1. Channel Islands, California
2. North Carolina
3. Flower Garden Banks, Texas
4. South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
5. Florida Keys
[No. 3] Flower Garden Banks, Texas
Divers flock to far-flung destinations such as Belize, Galapagos, Yap and the Maldives to encounter some of the world’s biggest animals — whale sharks, manta rays and hammerheads — so it’s surprising that North American divers are unaware that all these animals and more are found in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary off Texas’s Gulf Coast. Manta rays are found on the reefs here year-round, and from December to May, scalloped hammerheads and spotted eagle rays are found in decent numbers cruising the warmer Gulf Stream waters that wash over the banks. Young silky sharks prowl here starting in the fall, especially around the gas platforms that dot this seascape.
Best Macro
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Bonaire
2. Dominica
3. Curaçao
4. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
5. Bay Islands
[No. 1] Bonaire
It stands to reason that Bonaire — which ranked or tied for No. 1 in five categories of this year's Top 100 survey — would top the Macro category. With walk-in reefs so close to shore crammed with fish life and marine creatures, macro photographers especially love this island's dive offerings. And Bonaire's marine park works hard to ensure the island's waters stay healthy. From flamingo tongues nestled on sea fans and coral branches to sergeant majors guarding their eggs on such diverse sites as the Hilma Hooker and Pink Sand Beach, you'll want to pack the macro lens for this diver-friendly island.
[No. 2] Dominica
The cataclysmic volcanic origins of Dominica gave rise to cloud-piercing mountains, lush rainforests, bubbling sulphur springs and underwater formations including an extinct coral-covered crater and a delightfully fizzy site called Champagne. The entire Eastern Caribbean region is famed for its striking natural beauty, but island dive operators and underwater photographers were the first to notice Dominica’s macro life. All along the island’s western lee shore, you’ll find creatures worthy of your camera’s macro lens, from comical batfish to bumblebee shrimp. Sites worth checking out include Pole to Pole in the northwest, Castaways Reef off the central western coast, and the volcanic mazes and tunnels of Swiss Cheese off the southwest shore.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Indonesia
2. Philippines
3. Papua New Guinea
4. Malaysia
5. Micronesia
[No. 1 Indonesia]
For the second year in a row, Indonesia takes the top spot in this category — likely on the strength of several really good destinations (Bali, Komodo, Manado, Raja Ampat) and one killer one: Lembeh Strait, the nerve center of macro diving in Indonesia. Make a list of all your must-see macro subjects — not pretty nudibranchs, but the hard-to-find ones like lacey scorpionfish, flamboyant cuttlefish and hairy ghost pipefish — and you’ll see them in Lembeh. Maybe on the same dive.
North America Region
Top Five
1. British Columbia, Canada
2. Monterey, California
3. South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
4. Washington
5. Florida Keys
[No. 1] South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
Just about anywhere you dip a fin into a shallow-water site off Florida’s famed Gold Coast, you’ll find creatures that are worth packing your macro lens. That’s because this offshore reef tract of South Florida — Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties, which stretches from Jupiter in the north to Biscayne Bay in the south — sits atop an ancient beach ridge that was submerged during the last Ice Age. You don’t have to understand the geology to appreciate the diving, though. At sites like Breakers Reef off West Palm, Fisher’s Pedestal off Fort Lauderdale, Emerald Reef off Miami and Blue Heron Bridge — an excellent shore dive off West Palm — you’ll find octopuses, peacock flounder, pincushion starfish, stonefish and green moray eels.
Best Wreck Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Grenada
2. Bermuda
3. New Providence, Bahamas
4. British Virgin Islands
5. Aruba
[No. 1] Grenada
Lots of destinations are known for their wrecks, but the Eastern Caribbean island of Grenada should be high on any wreck lover’s list. The island’s signature wreck is the Bianca C, a former Italian luxury liner. The Bianca C sank about a mile from Grand Anse beach, creating an awesome opportunity for divers. The vessel sits upright on a sand bottom in 165 feet of water, but its bow and superstructure is at 90 to 120 feet. While the Bianca C is the marquee wreck in Grenada, the island boasts a roster of worthy sunken vessels. Another wreck popular with advanced divers is the Shakem, a 180-foot cement freighter that is encrusted with telesto soft corals. It’s in 100 feet of water off Grand Anse beach. On the Atlantic side off Grenada’s south coast, are three advanced-diver wrecks, the Hema I, an interisland freighter that sank in 90 feet of water in 2005 and rests on its port side; the King Mitch, a former minesweeper in 120 feet of water, and the San Juan, a former fishing vessel in 90 feet of water. Because of their location these wrecks require blue-water descents, but if you’ve got the experience and you’re visiting during the summer when operators make the run out to these sites, these dives often pay off with encounters with big pelagics.
[No. 2] Bermuda
Listed as one of the best places for wreck diving in the Caribbean for as long as we’ve been tabulating Top 100 results, Bermuda is where thousands of vessels — from 16th-century Spanish galleons to purpose-sunk freighters — met their fate. Scores of diveable wrecks include the 165-foot U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender Hermes, arguably Bermuda’s most popular wreck site. You can venture down into the engine room and even visit the captain’s bathroom. Get a two-for-one dive on the Constellation and Montana, the former Civil War blockade-runner that inspired the film The Deep. At 500 feet, the luxury liner Cristobal Colon is Bermuda’s biggest wreck — and worth the hour-long boat ride from Hamilton.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Truk, Micronesia
2. Oahu, Hawaii
3. Palau
4. Red Sea (Egypt)
5. Philippines
[No. 1] Micronesia
For the second consecutive year, Micronesia takes the top spot for Best Wreck Diving in the Pacific. And while you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking it’s solely due to the dozens of magnificent WWII wrecks resting at the bottom of Truk Lagoon — including the popular Rio de Janeiro Maru, Nippo Maru and Fujikawa Maru — don’t overlook the hundreds of tons of rusted metal at the bottom of nearby Palau (which isn’t technically Micronesia, but is on the same plane route) as well. Dubbed “The Lost Fleet of the Rock Islands,” these WWII wrecks include an intact Jake seaplane and the Helmet Wreck, named for its trove of spooky artifacts lying inside and scattered about the decks.
North America Region
Top Five
1. Great Lakes
2. North Carolina
3. Florida Keys
4. New York/New Jersey
5. San Diego, California
[No. 1] Great Lakes
If you’re diving in the Great Lakes, it’s a fair bet you’re looking for shipwrecks (and that you’re not afraid of the cold). Because while there aren’t any colorful reefs or schools of sharks in these frigid lakes, there’s a treasure of sunken ships from as far back as the 1700s, including schooners and transport ships and everything in between. It’s enough rusted metal, on famous ships like the Cedarville in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan’s purpose-sunk Straits of Mackinac to unseat reigning champion North Carolina, the Graveyard of the Atlantic, for the honor of North America’s Best Wreck Diving.
Best Wall Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Cozumel
2. Cayman Islands
3. Turks and Caicos
4. New Providence, Bahamas
5. Bay Islands
[No. 1] Cozumel
A favorite of readers for everything from its monster margaritas and authentic tacos to its fast-paced drift dives and budget prices, Cozumel was named the best place to get vertical in the Caribbean/Atlantic region. Sites like Palancar Reef and Colombia Deep are renowned for soaring coral buttresses lining the edge of the drop-off that plunges into the deep blue of the western Caribbean’s Cozumel Channel. Punta Sur, near the southern end of the island, is deeper than most of the island’s other wall dives; the best known of the tunnels that penetrate the wall here is Devil’s Throat. You’ll need moxie and an advanced open-water C-card to dive this deep and dark passageway that offers no immediate access to the surface.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Palau
2. Malaysia
3. Thailand
4. French Polynesia
5. Red Sea (Egypt)
[No. 1] Palau
It doesn’t really matter how deep a wall dive is, because chances are you’ll rarely dive past 100 feet anyway. No, what divers crave, along with breathtaking vertical topography, is something else to feast the eyes on. Palau’s most iconic sites like Blue Corner, Siaes Tunnel and Peleliu feature sheer walls and killer marine-life action that might make you forget it’s another 500 feet to the bottom. Need more proof that Palau’s got the best walls? Look no further than one of the country’s more underrated sites — Big Drop-Off — which, you guessed it, features vertiginous drop-offs that start at two feet and fall more than 600. (P.S. Don’t drop your light.)
North America Region
Top Five
1. British Columbia, Canada
2. Monterey, California
3. Washington
[No. 3] Washington
Better known for Mt. Rainier, the Space Needle and orcas, Washington scored well in the Wall Diving category this year, for which we admittedly had to do our research. Shame on us. It turns out the Evergreen State has a number of spectacular walls that dry-suited divers like to get vertical on. The San Juan island chain alone has a plethora of sheer walls, including Frost Island, Lime Kiln Point and Rosario Wall. Puget Sound features Day Island Wall, Dead Man’s Wall and China Wall, and in Hood Canal, divers go deep on Arrowhead and Sund Rock to find giant Pacific octopuses, wolf eels, harbor seals, lingcod, colorful anemones and sponges.
Best Shore Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Bonaire
2. Bay Islands
3. Curaçao
4. U.S. Virgin Islands
5. Cayman Islands
[No. 1] Bonaire
In a perfect world, every reef, wreck and wall would lie just a few fin kicks from shore. At any time of the day or night, you could drive to the beach, suit up, wade in and drop down on a great dive site. Maybe Bonaire is a perfect world — the island has topped the Caribbean/Atlantic’s shore diving list for 19 years and counting. The yellow-painted stones lining Bonaire’s coastal road mark the entry points for more than 60 shore-accessible sites. A list of the island’s standout sites includes Karpata, 1,000 Steps, Alice in Wonderland, Invisibles, La Dania’s Leap, the Hilma Hooker, Pink Beach and White Slave Huts, plus stellar diving on house reefs located in the “backyard” of many of the island’s luxe dive resorts.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Red Sea (Egypt)
2. Philippines
3. Hawaii
4. Papua New Guinea
5. Indonesia
[No. 2] Philippines
Though some of the Philippines’ most famous destinations are accessible only by live-aboard — we’re looking at you, Sulu Sea — there are a number of excellent shore-diving destinations as well. The house reef at Alona Beach — a half-mile stretch of white sand on Bohol — is popular with beginner divers. Puerto Galera’s Sabang wrecks are renowned for muck diving and night dives. And Cebu’s Moalboal has a handful of miniwalls that offer some of the best diving in the country. While many of these sites are within 50 yards of the beach, you’ll find some aren’t done as a shore dive in the strictest sense — in a fun twist, many operators prefer sending you out on a little outrigger and letting you swim back.
North America Region
Top Five
1. Monterey, California
2. British Columbia, Canada
3. South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
4. Washington
[No. 1] Monterey, California
It stands to reason that the U.S. state with the third-largest ocean coastline (behind only Alaska and Florida) has some fantastic shore-diving opportunities. In fact, from the sunny shores of San Diego north to Mendocino, there’s more than 800 miles of coast to explore. The highlight is Monterey, which is almost all shore diving. Whether it’s Point Lobos State Nature Reserve, Monastery Beach, Lovers Point or the Breakwater — smack dab in the middle of Cannery Row — you’ll dive among massive kelp forests finding colorful invertebrates. And if the weather acts up, canceling your diving day? You’ve got the world’s best aquarium only minutes away.
Best Beginner Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. U.S. Virgin Islands
2. Belize
3. Bahamas (New Providence and Grand Bahama)
4. Aruba
5. Bay Islands**
[No. 1] U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands are perfect for new divers just because they’re so easy to get to. And then there’s the diving. Off St. Thomas, in 45 feet of water, Cow & Calf Rocks are an underwater playground, with caves, ledges and colorful swim-throughs, including the whimsical “Champagne Cork” where the surge expels divers from the interior reef in a shower of bubbles. Inside the protected waters of Pillsbury Sound off St. John, along the south shore of Grass Cay and Mingo Cay, are two enormous fringing reefs. The top of the reef is 10 to 20 feet deep and is the preferred hangout for loads of fish that flit between the boulder, brain and finger corals — an excellent introduction not just to diving in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but to diving itself.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Maui, Hawaii
2. Red Sea (Egypt)
3. TIE: Australia, French Polynesia and Hawaii
[No. 1] Maui, Hawaii
Blessed with excellent water clarity and temperate to warm water temps, Maui is perfect for divers just getting their fins wet. Top-notch shore diving is found along the island's leeward western coast. Both sides of sheltered Honolua Bay, on the island’s westernmost tip, feature well-developed coral reefs that are separated by a sand bottom. Molokini Crater, the signature crescent crater three miles off the leeward shore, is Maui's (and probably the state's) most popular dive site. Beginning divers can easily explore the sheltered coral rubble and sandy terraces inside the crater.
Go Now — scubadiving.com/hawaii
[No. 2] Red Sea
To understand why the Red Sea ranked so high, you have to appreciate the main qualities that define a good beginner destination: excellent visibility and warm water. The Red Sea features sites that often exceed 150 feet of visibility, and as long as you don’t venture south to the Sudan (where the water is exceedingly chilly, considering topside temps regularly reach 110 degrees F), you won’t have to bundle up in layers of neoprene. It’s affordable too — Europeans are always on the lookout for a bargain, and Red Sea diving delivers. Of course, what good is all this without great diving? Fabulous WWII wrecks, big-fish sites and surprising macro all make the Red Sea a great spot for divers, whether you’re an expert or just beginning.
North America Region
Top Five
1. Florida Keys
2. Florida Panhandle
3. South Florida (Palm, Broward, Dade)
4. Monterey, California
5. San Diego, California
[No. 1] Florida Panhandle
Gorgeous white-sand beaches and a seascape of wrecks, towers and ledges, all brimming with supersized fish, is what Florida’s Panhandle is known for, and some of the diving, including the Oriskany, the massive aircraft carrier in 212 feet of water off Pensacola, is for advanced divers. But Florida’s Emerald Coast also offers superb easy diving for beginners, including Destin Jetties and St. Andrews Jetties off Panama City Beach. When conditions are right (water clarity is best in summer when it often tops 100 feet), you’ll find easy beach entries and a number of fish species such as cocoa damselfish, angelfish and yellow tang sheltering in the shallows.
Best Advanced Diving
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Grenada
2. Cayman Islands
3. Tobago
4. TIE: Belize and Cozumel
[No. 1] Grenada
Grenada is a magnet for divers who prefer to explore sites that are high on the difficulty meter. When you combine unpredictable, muscular currents, fast-moving reef drifts, blue-water descents and deep wrecks like the Hema I (90 feet), Shakem (100 feet) and the 600-foot former Italian luxury liner Bianca C (165 feet), and you’ve just mixed the perfect recipe for advanced diving. Add to the excitement by making the 90-minute ferry ride from St. Georges to Carriacou, one of the three islands that comprise this country, and exploring the fish-swarmed pinnacles and sunken vessels just offshore.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Papua New Guinea
2. Galapagos
3. French Polynesia
4. Maldives
5. Indonesia
[No. 1] Papua New Guinea
Unlike the next three destinations on the list, each better known for schools of sharks and swift currents, Papua New Guinea offers a more subtle advanced experience for divers. Probably because it’s such a large country, with tons of outstanding sites spread evenly from north to south. Sure, PNG has its share of sharky dives like Albatross Channel and Planet Channel in New Ireland to the north, and current-heavy, deep pinnacles like Crackafat in Kimbe Bay, but it’s the wealth of ghostly WWII wrecks, like the “Blackjack,” a B-17F Flying Fortress bomber that sits at 150 feet near Tufi Resort, or the intact Zero fighter plane in Rabaul, that sets PNG apart.
North America Region
Top Five
1. North Carolina
2. British Columbia, Canada
3. Channel Islands, California
4. Great Lakes
5. New York/New Jersey
[No. 1] North Carolina
While the Tar Heel State didn’t win Best Wreck Diving, its fans can take consolation that the diving didn’t go entirely unnoticed. By unseating the 2011 winner in the Best Advanced Diving category, the Great Lakes, readers once again paid tribute to a destination better known by its nickname: Graveyard of the Atlantic. Among the 2,000 wrecks located offshore, there’s a number of excellent (and fairly advanced) World War II ships including the German submarine U-352, USCGC Spar and the Papoose — home to hordes of toothy (but relatively harmless) sand tiger sharks, photos of which will firmly establish your bravery as an advanced diver to your nondiving friends back home.
Best Underwater Photography
Caribbean/Atlantic Region
Top Five
1. Cayman Islands
2. Belize
3. Cozumel
4. Bahamas
5. South Africa
[No. 1] Cayman Islands
Testimony to the attraction these islands — Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman — hold for underwater photographers is found in the pages of Scuba Diving for the past 19 years. From iconic images taken of the Capt. Keith M. Tibbetts off Cayman Brac, the one-year-old stunner Kittiwake off Grand Cayman, and the islands' famed walls, photographers as renowned as Cathy Church, Stephen Frink and Alexander Mustard have captured all that divers have come to love about the Cayman Islands. All we can say is bring your camera and pack both wide-angle and macro lenses for the trip.
[No. 2] Belize
Tucked along Central America’s Caribbean coast just south of Mexico, tiny Belize is a haven for underwater photographers. Just offshore is the Western Hemisphere’s longest barrier reef, which snakes for roughly 190 miles southward from popular Ambergris Caye to the legendary atolls to Placencia and Gladden Spit. Each region boasts top-notch diving, which means excellent photo ops for underwater shutterbugs. Off Ambergris, photographers can get close-ups of sharks and rays in Shark Ray Alley. Belize’s signature site, Lighthouse Reef Atoll’s Blue Hole, is not the only place in the atolls to get captivating images; Lighthouse, Turneffe and Glovers are famed for schooling fish in unspoiled habitats. And every spring, whale sharks congregate in Gladden Spit, providing the photo op of a lifetime.
Pacific & Indian Ocean Region
Top Five
1. Indonesia
2. Maldives
3. Malaysia
4. Papua New Guinea
5. Thailand
[No. 1] Indonesia
It stands to reason that the best underwater photo ops — whether you’re looking for macro weirdness, big animals or colorful reefs — are where the best diving is. A top-five vote-getter in seven of the 15 categories, Indonesia is indisputably one of the best destinations in the world. It’s not tough to imagine why: With more than 13,000 islands, Indonesia has an incredible diversity of photo opportunities for pro shooters and those just getting the bug: great macro in Lembeh Strait, breathtaking reefs in Raja Ampat, big animals in Manado, and even knock-your-fins-off rusted metal like Bali’s Liberty wreck.
North America Region
Top 5
1. Florida Keys
2. British Columbia
3. Channel Islands, California
4. Monterey, California
5. Flower Garden Banks, Texas
[ No. 3] Channel Islands, California
It’s almost impossible to have a bad dive in California’s Channel Islands, a Top 5 finisher in nine of the 15 categories this year. And that’s because the waters surrounding the five islands of the successful Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary are home to diverse, healthy seascapes and marine life relatively unmolested by man. (The photogenic sea lions are free to bother you, of course.) All this great diving means great photographic opportunities on majestic kelp forests dappled with shafts of sun, coral banks overgrown with purples and pinks and reds, deep pinnacles swarmed by schools of fish and nudibranchs.
How We Got the Numbers for Top 100 Readers' Choice Awards
Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and web users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale of one to five. Final scores represent the percentage of fours (very good) and fives (excellent) awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.
The 2012 Top 100 Gold List
The Top 100 Gold List of operators, resorts, live-aboards, experiences (such as best wall, shore and artificial-reef sites), beach bars, topside attractions and more was determined on a “popularity contest” basis. Rankings are based on the total number of responses regardless of category.
1 Best Dive Site: Anywhere on Bonaire
2 Best Dive Site: Columbia Reef, Cozumel
3 Best Animal Encounter: Shark Dives, Bahamas
4 Best Shore Dive: 1,000 Steps, Bonaire
5 Best 24/7 Dive Destination: Bonaire
6 Best Wreck Dive: M/V Capt. Keith M. Tibbetts, Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands
7 Most Family-Friendly Dive Destination: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
8 Best Wreck Dive: Spiegel Grove, Key Largo, Florida Keys
9 Best Dive Site: Darwin’s Arch, Galapagos
10 Best Dive Site: Blue Corner, Palau
11 Best Animal Encounter: Stingray City, Grand Cayman
12 Best Dive Site: Palancar Reef, Cozumel
13 Best Dive Operation: Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, New Providence, Bahamas
14 Best Animal Encounter: Hammerheads, Galapagos
15 Best Dive Site: Mary’s Place, Roatán, Bay Islands
16 Best Night Life: Cozumel
17 Best Wreck Dive: U-352, North Carolina
18 Best Night Dive: Paradise Reef, Cozumel
19 Best Dive Site: Molokini Crater, Maui, Hawaii
20 Best Dive Site: Shark Arena, New Providence, Bahamas
21 Best Animal Encounter: Kona Mantas, Hawaii
22 Best Marine Park: STINAPA, Bonaire
23 Best Bar: End of the World, North Bimini, Bahamas
24 Best Dive Operation: Ocean Frontiers, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
25 Best Live-Aboard: Any Aggressor Fleet vessel
26 Best Dive Operation: Ocean Encounters, Curaçao
27 Best Wall Dive: Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands
28 Best Dive Site: Blue Hole, Belize
29 Best Wreck Dive: USS Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida
30 Best Beach: Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
31 Best Night Dive: Kona Mantas, Hawaii
32 Most Family-Friendly Dive Destination: Roatán, Bay Islands
33 Best 24/7 Dive Destination: Roatán, Bay Islands
34 Best Marine Park: Florida Keys NMS, Florida
35 Best Beach: Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
36 Best Topside: Hawaii
37 Best Dive Operation: Flamingo Divers, Bonaire
38 Best Dive Resort: Buddy Dive Resort, Bonaire
39 Best Live-Aboard: Palau Aggressor II
40 Best Night Life: Key West, Florida Keys
41 Best Topside: Dominica
42 Best Beach: Any beach in the Maldives
43 Best Wreck Dive: Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Key West, Florida Keys
44 Best Dive Site: Devil’s Throat, Cozumel
45 Best Wreck Dive: SS Thistlegorm, Red Sea
46 Best Dive Operation: Scuba Shack, Maui, Hawaii
47 Best Dive Resort: CoCo View Resort, Roatán, Bay Islands
48 Most Romantic Destination: Anywhere in Hawaii
49 Best Beach Kaanapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii
50 Best Wall Dive: Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel
51 Best Marine Park: Bunaken National Marine Park, Indonesia
52 Best Dive Resort: Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatán, Bay Islands
53 Best Dive Site: The Mixing Bowl, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands
54 Best Wreck Dive: RMS Rhone, Salt Island, British Virgin Islands
55 Best Dive Resort: Scuba Club, Cozumel
56 Best Live-Aboard: Sun Dancer II, Belize
58 Best Dive Site Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida Keys
59 Best Night Life: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
60 Best Animal Encounter: Lemon Sharks, Jupiter, Florida
61 Best Shore Dive: Wakatobi House Reef, Indonesia
62 Most Romantic Destination: St. Lucia
63 Best Shore Dive: Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Florida
64 Best Wall Dive: Ngemelis Wall, Palau
65 Best Shore Dive: CoCo View Wall, Roatán, Bay Islands
66 Most Diver-Friendly Airline: Are You Kidding?/Get Real/None
67 Best Wall Dive: Barracuda Point, Sipadan, Malaysia
68 Best Dive Site: Mushroom Forest, Curaçao
69 Best Topside: Bali, Indonesia
70 Best Live-Aboard: Truk Odyssey, Chuuk
71 Best Wall Dive: Half Moon Caye Wall, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize
72 Best Wall Dive: Cane Bay Wall, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
73 Best Wall Dive: Great White Wall, Fiji
74 Best Night Dive: Fredericksted Pier, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
75 Best Dive Resort: Beqa Lagoon Resort, Fiji
76 Best Dive Resort: Fantasy Island Beach Resort, Roatán, Bay Islands
77 Best Marine Park: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, California
78 Best Dive Resort: Compass Point Dive Resort, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
79 Best Wreck Dive: Fujikawa Maru, Chuuk
80 Best Dive Resort: Little Cayman Beach Resort, Cayman Islands
81 Best Animal Encounter: Humpback Whales, Hawaii
82 Best Wall Dive: West End Wall, Roatán, Bay Islands
83 Best Shore Dive: La Jolla Cove, California
84 Best Live-Aboard: Indo Siren, Indonesia
85 Best Night Dive: Nudi Falls, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia
86 Best Animal Encounter: Whale Sharks, Maldives
87 Best Dive Site: Richeliu Rocks, Similan Islands, Thailand
88 Best Wall Dive: The Crack, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
89 Best Bar: Hog’s Breath Saloon, Key West, Florida Keys
90 Best Dive Resort: Atlantis Beach Resort, Dumaguete, Philippines
91 Best Live-Aboard: Truth Aquatics, Channel Islands, California
92 Best Dive Operation: Olympus Divers, Morehead City, North Carolina
93 Best Dive Resort: Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
94 Most Unusual Thing I’ve Done Underwater: Got Engaged
95 Best Wall Dive: Browning Pass Wall, British Columbia
96 Best Shore Dive: SS President Coolidge, Vanuatu
97 Best Dive Operation: Jack’s Diving Locker, Big Island, Hawaii
98 Best Live-Aboard: Undersea Hunter, Cocos
99 Best Dive Operation: Oasis Divers, Grand Turk
100 Best Bar: My Bar, Sunset House, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
