During a recent trip to Mexico, Liz & I had our first experience scuba diving. It was a really cool experience & we can definitely see how people can get into this activity. So we wanted to ask some expert travelers and scuba divers where we can find the best scuba diving in the world!
Meet Beth & Gaz from Enjoy the Journey Travel Blog.
Hi, we’re Gaz and Beth from Enjoy The Journey. We learned to Scuba Diving two years ago on a bit of a whim, and it turned out to be one of the greatest things we’ve ever done. The sensation of breathing under water and being part of the marine life is like nothing else and it’s been a great way to meet fellow travelers on our escapades around the world.
Here are our top five destinations for the best scuba diving in the world.
1. Roatan, Honduras
Our top pick so far has to be… Roatan, a small island 30 miles from the coast of Honduras. We learnt to dive here, became certified to advanced level and saw some incredible sites. While learning, the instructors explained that the diving here is hard to beat, not only is it the second largest coral reef in the world but the conditions are perfect nearly all year round and the entire island is surrounded by spectacular dive sites.
2. Little Corn, Nicaragua
Little Corn is another small island that offers great dive sites, and there’s the chance to see larger marine life than on Roatan. The crystal clear Caribbean waters offer great visibility and this was the first place we came face to face with a shark. A 7 foot nurse shark was sleeping under a rock, it was only later we realised he didn’t have teeth (being a nurse shark), but during the dive we thought this was a very real shark, with very real teeth!
3. Koh Rong, Cambodia
It’s a little different to the crystal clear water we’d become accustomed to in the Caribbean. There are some good dive sites and the opportunity to go further afield for 30m visibility. Overall the island is a great place to spend some time and meet some great characters, some of them have a real Robinson Crusoe swagger. Our tip would be to make sure you dive in season as conditions can vary.
4. Unawatuna, Sri lanka
Sri Lanka has two dive seasons, both lasting about 5 months. One on the east coast followed by one on the west coast. Unawatuna is a small town on the south coast, which really captured out hearts. It’s got a great backpacker atmosphere and has been voted ‘Best Beach’ by the Discovery Channel and The Rough Guide! There are plenty of wreck dives off the coast and if you head a few hours north to Hikkaduwa you can find some nice coral reefs. Make sure you dive between December and March, or the sea can get very choppy… as we found out!
5. Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia
The purpose of our current trip was to find amazing dive spots, and so far we’ve only managed two dive sites in 5 months! But they certainly didn’t disappoint! Nusa Lembongan has been an amazing find. If you’re looking for ‘tropical paradise’ this is the place, it’s full of mystery and adventure as well as some great dive spots. (Although some of them are drift dives so we recommend only advance level divers tackle these.) There’s plenty of coral reef to indulge in and a the aptly named Manta Point and Manta Bay are the perfect spots to spy the Manta Rays.
Make sure you follow Beth & Gaz around the world as they continue to add to their list of top Scuba Diving sestinas around the world. The world is a beautiful place and most think only of what on land and not in the sea.
Thank you to Enjoy the Journey for sharing their list of the best scuba diving in the world.
** All photos were kindly provided by Beth and Gaz from Enjoy the Journey Travel Blog.
