Candice LandauLast Updated on May 4, 2025 by Candice Landau
Okay, maybe this is an “unpopular opinion” but how can anyone genuinely claim to know where the best diving in the world is?
They can’t. At least not objectively.
Articles that begin like this don’t just bore me, they annoy me. Usually they’re written with a few goals in mind:
- Branding yourself or your company.
- Ranking for a particular keyword or key phrase.
- Appealing to or appeasing advertisers or PR firms.
They’re also often filtered through an alarmingly narrow lens, usually avoiding places that involve cold water diving (not appealing to the masses), or more advanced diving skills (think tech).
Most “Best Of” articles are deeply biased as well. Sometimes it’s because a tourism board or resort paid for a press trip. Other times, it’s because a publication is trying to rank for a high-volume keyword. Or maybe the writer has only been to a handful of places and is drawing conclusions based on a limited sample size.
I’ve written these kinds of stories myself (best wrecks of the BVI for example) and even then, I was aware of their limitations, well-intentioned as I might have been.
Here’s the thing: if you ask me where the best diving in Baja is, all I can honestly say is Loreto because that’s the only place in Baja I’ve dived. I can’t tell you whether La Paz or Cabo Pulmo blows it out of the water because I haven’t been—though most people will say La Paz (again, usually not having been to Loreto). And yet, even knowing there are huge gaps in our knowledge, we dive writers often do exactly that—make sweeping judgments based on narrow slices of experience (or lack thereof).
Okay, yes, maybe this will become another of my “Rants That Rank” just like my article on how the sea bunny became an SEO goldmine.
The problem runs deeper still. Many regions don’t get coverage simply because they’re not convenient or easy to get to. There are fewer PR budgets promoting them, fewer dive shops marketing to North American tourists, and fewer western publications bothering to dig deeper. Africa, South America, even much of Asia outside the “usual suspects”—these regions are wildly underrepresented. Mozambique, Madagascar, Chile, Guyana, Uruguay—who’s to say some of the world’s most untouched, thriving reefs aren’t hidden here?
And what about data? Try finding hard numbers on fish biomass, coral health, or diver satisfaction across regions. You’ll quickly realize that we’re working in a vacuum. The dive industry is notoriously lacking in transparent, global statistics. Agencies and training organizations are biased toward reporting on their own dive shops and clients too so a list of “Best Of” published by any of them is bound to be suspect, likely featuring only clients of their own affiliation. Tell me who doesn’t do this?!
What we do have is anecdote. Sometimes, powerful anecdote but anecdote all the same.
If you want to talk about the best diving in the world, all you can really do is this: Offer up the best diving you’ve personally experienced and qualify your sources for anything you haven’t dived. The reality is, it’s going to be “The Best Diving According to You or the People You Interviewed” not “The Best Diving in the World.”
Here’s my own list of “The Best Diving According to Candice Landau”:
- Palau, Micronesia
- Been there: mind-blowing coral, sharks, WWII wrecks.
- Photographer’s paradise and great cultural sites to visit on islands that are easy to drive around.
- Read my article on Scuba Diving magazine here.
- Raja Ampat, Indonesia
- Not been, but universally raved about, with incredible biodiversity data and photo reportage to back it up.
- Photographer’s make this look like a must-see, especially for macro life and nudibranchs.
- Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia
- Been there: unmatched and historical wreck diving. Never dived more interesting wrecks in my life and I’ve dived a lot of wrecks.
- Easy to rent doubles here too as they’re standard. Most guides dive them as well.
- That said, not much to see on the island and hard to get around. Only really one unpaved road.
- Read my article on Scuba Diving magazine here.
- Galápagos, Ecuador
- Been there: raw, current-ripped, wild, more sharks than I’ve ever seen in my life.
- Take freediving fins if you go so you can keep up with marine life.
- Wish I’d worn my drysuit here. 7mm was fine but I would have been more comfortable dry.
- Read my article on Scuba Diving magazine here.
- British Columbia, Canada
- Not yet, but top of my cold-water list based on countless divers’ praise. Most divers from Oregon and Washington State know this but warm water divers are often lacking in this knowledge.
- Life here abounds and colors are unmatched, often with great visibility. Wear a drysuit.
- The Red Sea, Egypt
- Been there: historic wrecks, stunning visibility, healthy reefs with abundant life.
- Dived out of Hurghada on Aggressor Liveaboards and dived at two of Red Sea Diving Safari’s locations near Marsa Alam, closer to the south.
- Driving was fast and dangerous here and lots of scary police stops I never understood. Lots of culture but expect to be hassled for money. Was historically fascinating but deeply uncomfortable for being hassled.
- Read my article on Scuba Diving magazine here.
- Maldives
- Been there: mantas, great reefs and healthy coral.
- Not much to experience outside of resorts on islands.
- Liveaboard route a great way to go here.
- Read my article on Scuba Diving magazine here.
Other places didn’t make the cut—not because I had a bad time—but because I didn’t see the kind of marine life or reef quality that, to me, defines the best. This is unfortunate as other destinations made for a better holiday in general. For example, Hawaii’s big island was an absolutely fantastic place to visit because there was so much to see and do (botanical garden in Hilo to die for, the volcanic national park, fruit stands, so many beaches, good food and fruit, cultural sites, hikes, etc). The problem was, the diving itself was mediocre, perhaps partially to blame for a recent coral die off. Some signature dives blew my mind: the blackwater night dive and the manta dive but, in general, it didn’t overwhelm me.
Of course you have to take into account the fact that my standard of “good” is shaped by when I learned to dive—2016, a time when reefs were already under serious stress. Ask someone who learned in 2000 or 1990, and they’ll describe oceans that were more alive, more colorful, and far less crowded. Baselines shift.
I still remember telling a friend I was headed to Cozumel. She was unimpressed. She said, “It was great 20 years ago but today it’s been ruined by cruise ships.” Of course, I hadn’t seen it 20 years ago (I was finishing high school) so I still enjoyed it.
Even so, places I rave about today might not make the list in ten years. Climate change, coral bleaching, overfishing, and unsustainable tourism are changing the seascape rapidly. Some sites are already shadows of their former selves.
>> Related Reading: Plant-Based Seafood Alternatives: Delicious Recipes for Divers & Ocean Lovers
So instead of pretending there’s a definitive list of “the best diving in the world,” let’s acknowledge this: The best diving isn’t universal. It’s personal and it’s always evolving.
Stop writing articles like this and stop reading them. They’re lazy listicles. Go do some real research.
My choices are as they are because I am open to cold water diving, I love marine life and animal behavior, and I am a huge wreck diving fanatic. I’m also a scuba diving instructor and baby technical diver/cave diver so comfortable doing dives in places others might find tough (Chuuk Lagoon or Galápagos, for example). You can’t not take these things into account when reviewing my list. My best dive destination might be your worst, after all!
What types of articles and generalizations annoy you?! Leave a comment. I want to know. Chances are we’re on the same page.
