Best Spots To Scuba Dive And Snorkel Across The World – Part II

Our oceans and seas are home to some of the most beautiful life forms on earth. For decades now, scuba divers and snorkeling enthusiasts throng to the seas not just to witness those colourful life forms but also to experience the most serene surroundings on our planet. Continuing with the list of best snorkeling and scuba diving spots across the world, here are another ten beautiful location shared by some amazing travelers.

Sea Of Cortez – Michael, The Round The World Guys

The abundance of life divers see in the Sea of Cortez is often compared to the Galapagos Islands. Two years ago, a friend of ours who had been to both places told us that the Sea of Cortez is like the Galapagos without the $5000 price tag! After spending a week there on the Rocio del Mar live-aboard, we completely understand. Sea lions, whale sharks, dolphins, nudibranchs, and tons of krill – the Sea of Cortez teems with life. The highlight of our trip was when we went out looking for dolphins and ended up in the water next to a juvenile sperm whale. While the water is quite clear for the most part, there was a day when the krill was so thick we had to hold each other’s arms to ensure we didn’t get separated. But lots of krill means big animals – we snorkeled an entire half-day with a bay full of whale sharks! We recommend a live-aboard in the Sea of Cortez – either the Rocio Del Mar or the Quino el Guardian. Both offer amazing food, incredible staff, and diving that will change the way you look at diving in North America.

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Bonaire – Patricia Pagenel, Ze Wandering Frogs

Culebra, Puerto Rico – Luke and Meagan, Two Restless Homebodies

If you’re choosing to snorkel in the Caribbean, it’s hard to go wrong. But one of Puerto Rico’s best kept secrets is the island of Culebra, off the east coast of the main island and full to bursting with breathtaking scenery and protected wildlife. Fly in from San Juan, or drive and take a ferry to get to the island, where you can enjoy tours led by local, registered guides. They’ll bring you to a sheltered lagoon where you can snorkel crystal-clear waters with green sea turtles and jellyfish. Some tour companies will make sure each participant gets a photo somewhat close to a turtle, as a perfect souvenir of your visit. Then, they’ll lead you by kayak over to a nearby reef, where you can get back into the water with your guides, who will dive down and show you all the local wildlife you’d miss otherwise – one of our guides even brought up starfish and urchins for us to hold. Cap off your day with empanadas, rum coconuts, and gorgeous views from Flamenco Beach, and you’ve just experienced one of the best snorkeling excursions in the Caribbean.

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Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii – Dana Sikand, Adventures With Children

Galapagos, Claire Archer – Past The Potholes

World renowned for its biodiversity, the Galapagos Islands are an amazing location for snorkelling. With crystal clear waters it is often not necessary to go below the surface to see a vast array of wildlife. You don’t need to book an expensive tour to see amazing underwater life. We encountered turtles, marine iguanas, sea lions, rays and even sharks just walking in from beaches and rocks. If you are looking for a tour, the 360º Tour on San Cristobal took us to 3 different snorkelling locations including the highly regarded Kicker Rock. Through this tour alone we snorkelled with turtles, sea lions, manta rays, sting rays and sharks! Don’t worry though, they say the sharks in the Galapagos are vegetarian; they have so much food they aren’t interested in humans. On Isla Isabela, tours to Los Tuneles or Las Tintoreras give you the opportunity to snorkel with many of the same creatures as well as a chance to see Galapagos penguins.
TIP: Despite the islands’ equatorial location, the water is surprisingly frigid.  Rent a wetsuit so you can fully enjoy the experience.

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Akumal, Mexico – Josie Peden, Where Jo Goes

Akumal is a small beachside town on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, famous for turtles grazing on the sea grass off shore. Akumal must be one of the easiest places in the world to snorkel. You don’t need a boat and you don’t need to go far out to sea or to find a reef. You simply don snorkel and flippers and walk into the water. This makes it perfect for beginners. If you haven’t got your own equipment you can hire it from the beach. Not water confident? Got kids with you? Not done much snorkelling before? Akumal is a great place to start. I took my young children – we hired a snorkel guide who towed a lifebuoy that my children held on to. This let them snorkel with us under the safe guidance of an expert. We followed the guide to the best turtle spots. Within an hour we’d seen a dozen sea turtles, huge rays and plenty of fish including barracuda. Snorkelling alone I saw a similar array of marine life. Clear warm waters, plentiful sea life and easy snorkelling make this a great place to start your snorkelling adventures.

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Chuuk, Micronesia – Mar Pages, Once in a lifetime journey

Ayia Napa Sea Caves, Cyprus – Justine Cross, Wanderer of the World

One of the best places I’ve gone snorkelling was in the Ayia Napa sea caves in Cyprus. The water was the most crystal clear I’ve seen throughout Europe and there is a large variety of marine life to see when looking beneath the water. I’ve even heard of other travellers seeing octopuses there! As the water flows into an alcove, it’s very calm, so floating there in search of marine life is really easy to do. The only downside is how you plan on getting into the water. Adrenaline seekers choose to jump from the top of the cliffs. But for those of you who (like me) prefer a more relaxed pace, you’ll need to climb down the rocks, which is quite steep, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes when doing so. But once you’re in the water, you’ll love it!!

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Sipadan Island, Malaysia – Stingy Nomads

Diving Sipadan island close to Borneo, Malaysia is one of a handful of places that appear on every list of ‘top dive spots in the world’. This amazing island became known to the world after famous ocean explorer; Jacques Cousteau said it is one of the planet’s best places to dive. Just a couple of metres off-shore a wall of coral drops 300m into the abyss. Strong currents around the island pull you over the reef for an incredible ride, one of the most spectacular wall dives in the world. You can expect to see just about anything diving here, but the most common sites are huge green turtles, big schools of massive bumphead parrot fish, thousands of trevalleys and being surrounded by reef sharks. Sipadan is most well-known for the enormous schools of barracudas swimming around the island, if you are lucky these fish spiral around you to form a large ‘barracuda tornado’. The Malaysian government set a fantastic environmental example by banning all resorts from Sipadan Island in 2004. All resorts were relocated to nearby islands. Access is strictly controlled and only 200 divers a day are allowed to dive around the island so book in time to dive at one of the most fantastic dive sites in the world.

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Hol Chan, Belize – Stephanie Craig, Sofia Adventures