Healthiest Coral Reefs for Diving

Raja Ampat sits at the epicenter of the Coral Triangle, harboring over 600 coral species and 1,700 reef fish species — more biodiversity per hectare than anywhe...

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of the Sulu Sea, is accessible only by liveaboard during a narrow March-to-June season....

Aldabra is the world's largest raised coral atoll and a UNESCO World Heritage Site hosting 100,000 giant tortoises above water and pristine coral ecosystems bel...

The Rowley Shoals are three coral atolls rising from 400-metre depths in the open Indian Ocean, 300 km west of Broome. Tidal exchanges of up to four metres flus...

Jacques Cousteau declared Sipadan 'an untouched piece of art,' and the island's vertical walls dropping 2,000 feet remain among diving's most iconic experiences...

Kosrae is arguably the least-dived island in Micronesia, where near-100% hard coral coverage creates underwater gardens of staggering beauty. No bleaching event...

Palau's underwater realm is a greatest-hits compilation of diving experiences: the legendary Blue Corner wall with its shark-filled currents, the ethereal Jelly...

Fiji has earned the title 'Soft Coral Capital of the World' — its reefs explode in electric pinks, purples, and oranges that create some of diving's most photog...

Papua New Guinea sits within the Coral Triangle and combines extraordinary biodiversity with a treasure trove of WWII wrecks from the Pacific theater. Milne Bay...

Kimbe Bay's volcanic seamounts rise from deep water creating nutrient-rich upwellings that support over 860 species of reef fish and 350 coral species. Hammerhe...

Jardines de la Reina is one of the Caribbean's last great marine wilderness areas, protected as a no-take zone since 1996. Dozens of Caribbean reef sharks circl...

The Banda Islands are Indonesia's original Spice Islands, where vertical walls plummet into deep blue water with some of the Coral Triangle's healthiest hard co...

Komodo National Park delivers adrenaline-fueled diving in nutrient-rich currents that attract massive manta rays and dense schools of pelagics. Above water, the...

Sanganeb is the Red Sea's only atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site rising from deep water 25 km offshore of Port Sudan. Schooling hammerheads, grey reef sharks,...

St. John's Reef marks the southernmost point most Red Sea liveaboards reach, and the effort pays off with some of Egypt's most pristine coral and biggest sharks...

Sha'ab Rumi is a legendary reef in the Sudanese Red Sea, home to Cousteau's Conshelf II underwater habitat and the famous 'shark arena' where dozens of grey ree...

Layang-Layang is a remote oceanic atoll rising from 2,000m depths in the South China Sea. Sheer walls drop into the abyss, and scalloped hammerhead sharks schoo...

Tioman sits in the western corner of the Coral Triangle, with hundreds of recorded fish species and warm, clear waters from March to November. Tiger Reef's shar...

Mabul is Sipadan's macro-obsessed neighbor. While Sipadan delivers walls and pelagics, Mabul's sandy slopes harbor one of the world's richest concentrations of...

Utila is the Bay Islands' budget option — $35 two-tank dives on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the world's second largest. From March to May and August to Octob...

Milne Bay is a macro photographer's dream where bizarre critters — hairy frogfish, mimic octopus, ornate ghost pipefish — hide in volcanic black sand against a...

The Suakin Archipelago lies near the ruined Ottoman port city of Suakin, one of the most atmospheric ghost towns in the world. Underwater, the reefs are virtual...

Alor is one of the Coral Triangle's last true frontiers, where volcanic black-sand slopes harbor an absurd density of macro critters alongside schooling hammerh...

Manado is the gateway to two world-class dive areas: Bunaken Marine Park, famous for sheer walls dropping 300 meters, and nearby Lembeh Strait, the muck diving...

The Togean Islands are a Coral Triangle sleeper hit, home to a non-stinging jellyfish lake (like Palau's but virtually unknown) and a sunken WWII B-24 bomber. G...