Top Five Places to Dive Before I Die

Duane over at Precision Diving posted an article a few weeks ago on the top 5 places to dive before you dive---I thought I'd play along.

Most of my scuba diving experience has been around the Caribbean, so I tried to balance my list to not be entirely comprised of south Pacific destinations.

  1. Tonga - Reading Tony Wu's Underwater Photography Blog has given me Tonga fever. Sprawling islands with many dive sites, some untouched, makes this a diving paradise. I'd love to spend 1-2 weeks on a live-aboard out that way.
  2. Thailand - Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and many other places in Thailand are huge diving destinations. They are particularly popular for diving internships. I want to go and rent a bungalow for a month while seeing some of the most pristine diving in the world.
  3. Belize - I wanted to balance the list out with some destinations close to home. Belize's Blue Hole is very well-known. Whether or not it's overrated, I'd like to see it.
  4. Poor Knights Islands - I spent a little over three months in New Zealand, and even did a little diving, but I never made it up north to the Poor Knights Islands. The islands have been famous since Jacques Cousteau declared them one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
  5. The Galapagos - Probably my most in-demand destination that's close to home, The Galapagos Islands are another prime candidate for a live-aboard. The Galapagos are famous for their diversity. As a bonus, they're relatively close while being in the Pacific, which gives me a little variety from the usual Caribbean critters.

That's my list that I'd like to revisit from time to time.

Your turn. Tell everybody in the comments where you want to scuba dive before your time comes.