If you are wondering where the best places to scuba dive in 2024 are, look no further. Our list of destinations will give you a dive trip to remember for the rest of your life. Not only that, but each and every one of them should be on every diver's bucket list. So read on to find out the best places to scuba dive in 2024.
Best Places to Scuba Dive: The Galapagos
If you could only dive one more place before hanging up your BCD for good, then look no further than the Galapagos. Arguably the most extraordinary dive destination in the world, every serious diver should try to dive here once in their lifetime. And the ultimate destination to pack your mask, underwater camera housing and dive gear!
What makes the Galapagos so good to dive and explore on land is its astonishing biodiversity. Due to its isolated location, the islands have a very unique flora and fauna. Experts estimate that 97% of reptiles and land mammals, 30% of plants, and 80% of land birds found on the Galapagos can be found nowhere else on the planet.
Things are equally impressive in the water, and the waters around the Galapagos are rich and teeming with life, including some serious “big Stuff” action. So, what can you expect to bump into when diving the Galapagos? The list is impressive, and you can encounter whale sharks, manta rays, a wide range of turtles, mola mola, Eagle rays, and the playful and adorable Galapagos sea lion.
The waters of the Galapagos also contain many sharks, including silky sharks, Galapagos sharks, and scalloped hammerheads.
A truly unique experience when diving the Galapagos is found on the west side of Fernandina Island. This easy dive is world-famous for marine iguanas, and you can spend time watching these amazing creatures.
In terms of diving, the Galapagos is best explored via liveaboard, and the diving conditions can be a little challenging and not for the inexperienced. The water is on the cooler side, averaging 66-76F/19-24C year-round. In addition, some sites have strong currents and swell, so make sure you are comfortable in these conditions before heading out there.
Socorro Island
If the Galapagos is the number-one spot in the world, then Socorro Island is a very close second. In fact, the diving around this island is so good that it is more commonly referred to as “the Mexican Galapagos.”
This small island is part of the Revillagigedo Islands, which lie off the west coast of Mexico. The only way to dive Socorro is by liveaboard since it is 370 mi/600km offshore, meaning you are diving well into the open waters of the Pacific.
What makes Socorro so good is the marine life, especially if you like giant creatures since they are plentiful. One of the highlights of diving around Socorro is the shark action. The waters around the island are teeming with them, and you can regularly encounter silky, silvertip, and Galapagos sharks. In addition, huge schools of hammerheads are known to congregate around the island. The shark action does not end there; around November and December, you can find a large number of Whale sharks.
Aside from sharks, the action continues at full throttle. You can encounter large schools of bottlenose dolphins. Not to mention encounters with huge Pacific mantas that congregate in numbers. These playful creatures often get close, allowing you to take some astonishing underwater images and shoot stunning videos.
If you want a truly stunning experience, head to Socorro between January and April. This is the time when you can dive with humpback whales as they migrate. Being in the water with these gentle giants reaching up to 55ft/17m is a life-changing experience. You gain a new appreciation for these majestic animals as you hear their singing and see how they communicate with each other.
Socorro offers diving almost year-round. Determining when to go will depend on what kind of marine life you want to see. That said, going any time of year will still be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Similar to the Galapagos, the conditions around Socorro are more suited to experienced divers. Currents tend to be strong and can be challenging. Fortunately, the waters are a little warmer and vary from 69-82F/21-28C.
Raja Ampat
When it comes to corals, marine life diversity, and stunning creatures, nothing on this planet compares to slipping into the waters of Raja Ampat. Lying in the heart of the Coral Triangle, Raja Ampat has the most diverse and complex marine ecosystems in the world. Raja Ampat lies to the west of Papua New Guinea, and due to its remoteness, it is best dived via liveaboard.
If you are wondering about marine life and corals in Raja Ampat, the simple answer is pretty much everything. The biodiversity hotspot is home to a stunning 75% of all known hard coral species in the world, around 600 species. The hard coral is just the tip of the iceberg; the water of Raja Ampat also features over 1,700 species of reef fish, 6 of the 7 known species of turtles, and a whopping 17 species of marine mammals.
In terms of the actual species, Giant Pacific mantas are one of the highlights of Raja Ampat. These gentle giants can be found in abundance at some sites. Spending dive after dive watching the huge animals with a wingspan up to 23ft/7m glide through the water is utterly thrilling. You can also encounter lots of species of reef sharks, whale sharks, dugongs, and dolphins. You can even encounter several species of whales, including blue and bryde whales.
Being a tropical destination, sadly, you cannot dive to Raja Ampat all year round. The monsoon season runs from the middle of June to the middle of September. During that time most liveaboards do not venture to the south of Raja Ampat due to the conditions. However, they do tend to operate in northern Raja Ampat Itineraries during that period. The best time to dive is October through May. Being on the equator, the water temperature around Raja Ampat is stable throughout the year at around 82F/28C.
The Southern Red Sea
No list of the top diving destinations would be complete without the mention of the south of the Egyptian Red Sea. The south and deep south of the Red Sea are home to some stunning diving and world-famous reefs, including Daedalus, Fury Shoal, and St. John, not to mention the legendary Elphinstone.
What makes exploring the southern area of the Red Sea truly amazing is that every dive site has its unique, special flavor. Some are renowned for stunning hard coral formations, others are famous for vast amounts of soft coral, and others are known for dolphins and sharks. Also, some have a wreck or two, so if you have a lust for rust, you can always explore some cool wreck sites.
In terms of marine life, the Red Sea is teeming with a wide variety of species. You can find over 300 species of coral and more than 1,200 species of reef fish. By all accounts, over 10% of the species of fish can be found nowhere else on the planet.
At certain dive sites, you can also encounter reef sharks and even some pelagic species. Elphinstone, for instance, is known for hammerheads and Oceanic Whitetips. Although encounters with the latter are more common, they are known to get very close to divers, even in a non-baited situation. Lucky divers can also run into whale sharks, mantas, and the odd tiger shark. The southern Red Sea is also home to the dugong, which is a joy to dive and makes for a perfect photo and video subject.
Another reason the Red Sea is such a good destination is that you can dive it year-round. Although the best times to head out are from April to November. However, shark action is more common during the summer months. The water temperature in the Red Sea varies from 70-84F/21-29C depending on the time of year.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is if you manage to dive all of these destinations in 2024, you will have completed scuba diving and won! In reality, if you only dive in one of these destinations, you will have had an excellent diving year and experienced some fantastic dives. Any one of these destinations is fabulous within itself and worth visiting, so even though it is unlikely that you will be able to dive all of them in a year. Planning to dive one each year would be more than enough for most divers. However, the hardest thing to decide is which one to start with first!
