#101 / 06
9.8/ 10Palau
Sharks, mantas and healthy reefs in one trip.
Grey reef sharks · Reef mantas · Spawning dives
Read the dive guide FIELD NOTES · 2026
20 destinations · 2026
Where would you
dive next?
Sharks, mantas and healthy reefs.
Twenty trips ranked by the diving, with the best time to dive each.
See the calendar →The full list
The destinations
Ranked for peak-season diving. Scores favour big animals and healthy reefs.
#1
#201 / 06
9.7/ 10Fakarava + Rangiroa
Grey reef sharks in the passes.
Shark wall · Grouper spawn · Pass dives
Read the dive guide 
#301 / 06
9.6/ 10Socorro
Close encounters with oceanic mantas.
Oceanic mantas · Bottlenose dolphins · Humpbacks
Read the dive guide 
#401 / 06
9.5/ 10Cocos Island
Schooling hammerheads, far offshore.
Hammerhead schools · Whale sharks · Marble rays
Read the dive guide 
#501 / 06
9.4/ 10Tubbataha
Protected reefs with sharks and schooling fish.
Coral walls · Grey reef sharks · Dogtooth tuna
Read the dive guide 
#601 / 06
9.3/ 10Malpelo
A demanding trip for schooling sharks.
Hammerhead schools · Galápagos sharks · Silkies
Read the dive guide 
#701 / 06
9.2/ 10Raja Ampat
Coral, mantas and reefs full of fish.
Diverse coral reefs · Mantas · Wobbegongs
Read the dive guide 
#801 / 06
9.0/ 10Banda Sea
Remote Indonesian reefs and a chance of hammerheads.
Hammerheads · Volcanic seamounts · Sea snakes
Read the dive guide 
#901 / 06
8.9/ 10Komodo
Mantas and fast drifts over busy reefs.
Reef mantas · Drift dives · Sharks and tuna
Read the dive guide 
#1001 / 06
8.8/ 10Galápagos
Hammerheads and whale sharks in cold currents.
Hammerheads · Whale sharks · Galápagos sharks
Read the dive guide 
#1101 / 06
8.7/ 10Fuvahmulah + Huvadhoo
Tiger sharks, then the southern atoll channels.
Tiger sharks · Threshers · Oceanic mantas
Read the dive guide 
#1201 / 06
8.7/ 10Alor
Coral walls and cold-water visitors.
Hammerheads · Threshers · Mola
Read the dive guide 
#1301 / 06
8.6/ 10Aliwal Shoal + Protea Banks
Shark dives off an exposed coast.
Bull sharks · Tiger sharks · Hammerheads
Read the dive guide 
#1401 / 06
8.5/ 10Princess Alice Bank
Devil rays above an Atlantic seamount.
Schools of devil rays · Tuna · Blue-water seamount
Read the dive guide 
#1501 / 06
8.4/ 10Atauro Island
Coral walls with few other dive boats.
Steep reef walls · Many coral species · Whale migration
Read the dive guide 
#1601 / 06
8.4/ 10Solomon Islands
Quiet reefs, schooling fish and wartime wrecks.
Schooling jacks · Barracuda · Healthy walls
Read the dive guide 
#1701 / 06
8.2/ 10Wakatobi
Long dives on coral-covered walls.
Coral walls · Turtles · Macro life
Read the dive guide 
#1801 / 06
8.1/ 10Cabo Pulmo + La Paz
Jack schools, sea lions and whale-shark snorkels.
Bull sharks · Whale sharks · Sea lions
Read the dive guide 
#1901 / 06
8.0/ 10Jardines de la Reina
Caribbean reef sharks and large groupers.
Caribbean reef sharks · Silkies · Goliath grouper
Read the dive guide 
#2001 / 06
7.9/ 10Sipadan
Sharks, turtles and dense schools of fish.
Reef sharks · Barracuda and jacks · Bumphead parrotfish
Read the dive guide