Best Dive Sites for Intermediate Divers
Required Certification
Advanced Open Water Diver (AOWD) or equivalent
Designed for divers with some experience who are comfortable with depths up to 30 meters. These locations may feature mild currents, wall drift dives, deeper wrecks, and boat entries. Divers should have good buoyancy control and comfort in slightly more challenging open water environments.
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Albania
1
Antigua and Barbuda
1
Australia
7
caveChristmas Island - Thundercliff Cave
Flying Fish Cove · Indian Ocean Territories · Australia
A cathedral-sized sea cave on Australia's most remote island, where ethereal blue light filters through the entrance and whale sharks cruise the outer reef each winter.
reefMontague Island
Narooma · New South Wales · Australia
A temperate island reserve off the NSW south coast where grey nurse sharks, fur seals, and weedy sea dragons inhabit rich kelp forests.
Montague Island Grey Nurse Shark Gutters
Narooma · New South Wales · Australia
Surge channels and rocky gutters on Montague Island's western face where critically endangered grey nurse sharks aggregate in dense groups year-round, hovering motionless among boulders alongside wobbegong sharks and enormous bull rays.
reefSolitary Islands Marine Park
Coffs Harbour · New South Wales · Australia
A marine park off Coffs Harbour where tropical and temperate ocean currents collide, creating one of Australia's most biodiverse underwater environments with an extraordinary mix of grey nurse sharks, manta rays, tropical fish, and temperate species.
wreckHMAS Brisbane Wreck
Mooloolaba · Queensland · Australia
Australia's premier artificial reef, a 133-metre guided-missile destroyer sitting upright on the seabed teeming with fish life just off the Sunshine Coast.
Ribbon Reefs - Steve's Bommie
Cairns · Queensland · Australia
A legendary coral pinnacle on Ribbon Reef No. 3, where dense soft corals, nudibranchs, and swirling fish schools create arguably the Great Barrier Reef's finest single dive.
wreckSS Yongala
Ayr · Queensland · Australia
Passenger ship sunk in 1911 cyclone. Intact hull encrusted with marine life. One of the world's top wreck dives.
Bahamas
3Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Staniel Cay · Exuma · Bahamas
The Caribbean's first no-take marine reserve, where 40 years of protection have created reef fish populations five times denser than surrounding waters and Nassau grouper aggregations found nowhere else.
reefTiger Beach
Freeport · Grand Bahama · Bahamas
The world's premier tiger shark diving destination, offering face-to-face encounters on a shallow sandy bottom.
Dean's Blue Hole
Clarence Town · Long Island · Bahamas
The world's deepest known saltwater blue hole at 202 metres, set in a turquoise bay surrounded by cliffs.
Bangladesh
1Belgium
1Belize
2Half Moon Caye Wall
Belize City · Lighthouse Reef Atoll · Belize
A vertical wall plunging into the abyss with pristine corals, swim-throughs, and eagle rays in crystalline visibility.
Glover's Reef Atoll
Dangriga · Stann Creek District · Belize
The southernmost and most remote of Belize's three atolls, a UNESCO World Heritage site where pristine wall diving plunges from shallow coral gardens into the abyss along a ring of reef encircling a turquoise lagoon.
Bermuda
1Bonaire
2Salt Pier
Kralendijk · Bonaire · Bonaire
An iconic shore dive beneath a working salt-loading jetty, where massive pier pilings create an artificial reef teeming with cryptic marine life.
Hilma Hooker
Kralendijk · Kralendijk · Bonaire
A mysterious 72-metre cargo ship resting on its side in warm clear water, encrusted with corals and surrounded by reef life.
Brazil
3Abrolhos Marine National Park
Caravelas · Bahia · Brazil
Brazil's first marine national park protecting the largest coral reef system in the South Atlantic, home to endemic mushroom-shaped coral formations called chapeiroes and seasonal humpback whale breeding grounds.
Buraco da Raquel
Vila dos Remedios · Fernando de Noronha · Brazil
A dramatic volcanic rock formation with natural tidal pools teeming with octopuses and reef fish in UNESCO-protected Fernando de Noronha.
Recife Shipwreck Corridor
Recife · Pernambuco · Brazil
A dense concentration of over 100 shipwrecks spanning four centuries along the Pernambuco coast, where warm tropical waters and aggressive marine colonisation transform sunken vessels into thriving artificial reefs.
British Virgin Islands
1Bulgaria
1Cambodia
2Koh Prins Reef
Sihanoukville · Sihanoukville Province · Cambodia
A remote rocky island south of Sihanoukville where bamboo sharks, seahorses, and recovering coral gardens offer Cambodia's best macro diving far from the tourist crowds of Koh Rong.
Koh Tang
Sihanoukville · Sihanoukville Province · Cambodia
A remote Cambodian military island with pristine, rarely-dived reefs teeming with healthy coral, reef sharks, and large schools of fish in crystal waters.
Canada
4Browning Wall
Port Hardy · British Columbia · Canada
A world-famous cold-water wall dive in British Columbia renowned for its explosion of colourful invertebrate life — giant plumose anemones, cloud sponges, and rockfish.
HMCS Saskatchewan Wreck
Nanaimo · British Columbia · Canada
A deliberately sunk Canadian naval destroyer escort resting off Nanaimo, now an artificial reef teeming with giant Pacific octopus, lingcod, and plumose anemones.
Halifax Harbour Shipwrecks
Halifax · Nova Scotia · Canada
The harbour and approaches of Halifax, Nova Scotia harbour centuries of maritime history with dozens of accessible shipwrecks from both World Wars, colonial-era vessels, and merchant ships scattered across the harbour floor and nearby coastline.
Fathom Five National Marine Park
Tobermory · Ontario · Canada
Canada's first national marine conservation area in Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, where crystal-clear freshwater preserves over twenty historic shipwrecks from the 19th century amid dramatic limestone cliffs and cold-water biodiversity.
Cayman Islands
2Bloody Bay Wall
Blossom Village · Little Cayman · Cayman Islands
One of the Caribbean's most dramatic vertical walls, plunging from 6 metres to over 1,800 metres into infinite blue.
Bloody Bay Wall (West End)
Blossom Village · Little Cayman · Cayman Islands
The western extension of Little Cayman's legendary Bloody Bay Wall system, where the reef crest at five metres plunges vertically to 1,800 metres in one of the Caribbean's most dramatic underwater cliffs.
Chile
1Colombia
4Gorgona Island
Guapi · Colombian Pacific · Colombia
A former prison island turned national park in Colombia's Pacific, where vibrant coral reefs host whitetip sharks, turtles, and seasonal humpback whale encounters.
Tayrona National Park
Santa Marta · Magdalena · Colombia
Colombia's most biodiverse marine park where the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta plunges into the Caribbean, sheltering coral reefs, sea turtles, and reef sharks among granite boulders and tropical jungle backdrop.
Providencia Island
Santa Isabel · San Andres and Providencia Archipelago · Colombia
A remote Colombian Caribbean island surrounded by the world's third-largest barrier reef, offering pristine wall dives, untouched coral gardens, and the legendary sea of seven colours.
Blue Wall (Pared Azul)
San Andrés · San Andrés Archipelago · Colombia
A dramatic vertical wall on San Andrés Island's western coast dropping from the world's third-largest barrier reef into deep Caribbean blue, renowned for its spectacular sponge diversity and eagle ray encounters.
Cook Islands
1Costa Rica
2Catalina Islands
Playas del Coco · Guanacaste · Costa Rica
A cluster of rocky volcanic islands off the Guanacaste coast famous for seasonal giant manta ray aggregations, bull shark encounters, and nutrient-rich Pacific diving in the biological corridor to Cocos Island.
Cano Island
Drake Bay · Osa Peninsula · Costa Rica
A biological reserve island off Costa Rica's wild Osa Peninsula, where warm Pacific currents deliver hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, and massive schools of fish to rocky reefs of exceptional health.
Croatia
6Blue Cave (Bisevo Island)
Komiza · Central Dalmatia · Croatia
A legendary sea cave on Bisevo Island where sunlight refracts through an underwater entrance, illuminating everything in ethereal blue.
Kornati Islands
Murter · Dalmatia · Croatia
Croatia's most spectacular national park archipelago with dramatic cliff walls plunging into deep Adriatic waters, hosting gorgonian forests and rich marine life.
Mljet Island
Dubrovnik · Dubrovnik-Neretva County · Croatia
Croatia's greenest island with a forested national park and dramatic underwater cliffs along its southern coast, where walls plunge into the deep Adriatic channel revealing red coral, gorgonian gardens, and Mediterranean lobster.
Red Rocks Brela
Brela · Makarska Riviera, Dalmatia · Croatia
A vibrant reef site along the dramatic Makarska coastline where iron-rich red rock formations host dense Mediterranean marine life beneath the towering Biokovo mountains.
Vis Submarine Shelter
Vis · Vis Island, Dalmatia · Croatia
A Cold War Yugoslav military submarine shelter carved into the cliffs of Vis Island, now a haunting and atmospheric cavern dive through an abandoned underground naval base.
Brbinjscica Bay
Zadar · Zadar County · Croatia
A pristine bay on the eastern coast of Dugi Otok island in the Zadar archipelago, where dramatic underwater cliffs, Posidonia meadows, and rocky reef support diverse Adriatic marine life in exceptional visibility.
Cuba
2Jardines de la Reina
Jucaro · Ciego de Avila · Cuba
Cuba's pristine marine reserve comprising 250 coral islands and mangrove cays, where decades of strict protection have created Caribbean diving with shark populations and reef health unseen elsewhere in the region.
María la Gorda
Sandino · Pinar del Río · Cuba
Cuba's westernmost dive destination on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, where pristine walls plunge into the Caribbean beside black coral forests and vast sponge gardens far from any development.
Curacao
2Blue Room Cave
Willemstad · Banda Abou · Curacao
A stunning sea cave on Curacao's northwest coast where sunlight enters through a submerged opening and refracts into an electric blue glow, creating one of the Caribbean's most photogenic underwater experiences in a compact, accessible cavern.
Mushroom Forest
Sint Willibrordus · Sint Willibrordus · Curacao
An underwater forest of mushroom-shaped hard coral formations creating an alien landscape unique in the Caribbean.
Cyprus
1Denmark
1Djibouti
1Dominica
2Soufriere Pinnacle
Roseau · Saint Mark · Dominica
A volcanic pinnacle rising from deep water in Dominica's Soufriere-Scotts Head Marine Reserve, with geothermal vents, pristine coral walls, and the Caribbean's healthiest reef ecosystem thriving in nutrient-rich volcanic waters.
Soufriere Scotts Head Marine Reserve
Soufriere · Soufriere · Dominica
A volcanic crater turned marine reserve with dramatic pinnacles, sheer walls, and geothermal vents in Dominica's richest underwater ecosystem.
Dominican Republic
2Bayahibe Wall
Bayahibe · La Altagracia Province · Dominican Republic
A series of coral-encrusted walls and ledges along the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, where the Caribbean shelf drops steeply and healthy reef supports dense populations of sponges, groupers, and pelagics.
Catalina Island Wall
La Romana · La Romana · Dominican Republic
A dramatic Caribbean wall dive off the uninhabited Isla Catalina featuring a sheer coral drop-off descending hundreds of metres, vibrant sponge gardens, and frequent encounters with hawksbill turtles and Caribbean reef sharks.
Ecuador
3Galera San Francisco Marine Reserve
Muisne · Esmeraldas Province · Ecuador
Ecuador's largest continental marine reserve, where warm Choco currents nurture vibrant coral reefs, whale sharks, and humpback whales along a wild Pacific coastline.
Isabela Island Los Tuneles
Puerto Villamil · Galapagos Islands · Ecuador
A surreal landscape of collapsed lava tunnels off Isabela Island where sea turtles, white-tip reef sharks, and seahorses inhabit a labyrinth of volcanic arches, bridges, and channels in the Galapagos marine reserve.
Isla de la Plata
Puerto Lopez · Machalilla National Park · Ecuador
Ecuador's 'Poor Man's Galapagos' harbours the world's largest manta ray population, humpback whales in season, and the country's best-preserved coastal coral reef.
Egypt
27St. John's Caves
Marsa Alam · Fury Shoal · Egypt
A mesmerizing reef system in the deep south of the Egyptian Red Sea featuring a labyrinth of swim-throughs, caverns, and light-filled chambers carved into massive coral formations.
Ras Za'atar
Hurghada · Hurghada · Egypt
A current-swept promontory reef north of Hurghada where a dramatic coral wall attracts schooling pelagics, eagle rays, and occasional reef sharks in crystal-clear Red Sea water.
Carnatic Wreck
Hurghada · Red Sea · Egypt
British mail ship sunk in 1869. Oldest diveable wreck in the Red Sea with beautiful coral growth.
Giannis D Wreck
Hurghada · Red Sea · Egypt
Greek cargo ship sunk in 1983 on Abu Nuhas reef. Intact stern section with engine room penetration.
Jackson Reef
Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt
Northernmost reef of Tiran Strait. Shallow coral plateau with walls dropping into blue water. Strong currents.
Ras Mohammed
Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt
National park headland with dramatic wall drops and strong currents. Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef combined.
SS Thistlegorm
Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt
WWII British cargo ship sunk in 1941. Intact motorcycles, trucks, and locomotives inside the holds.
Sha'ab Samadai South Plateau
Marsa Alam · Red Sea · Egypt
The exposed southern plateau of the famous Dolphin House reef, where strong currents sweep a coral-encrusted slope bringing grey reef sharks, eagle rays, and pelagic fish to a site most visitors never reach.
Shaab Abu Nuhas
Hurghada · Red Sea · Egypt
Reef with four shipwrecks. Carnatic, Giannis D, Chrisoula K, and Kimon M. A wreck diver's paradise.
Tiran Island
Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt
Four reef system in the Tiran Strait. Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse, and Jackson reefs offer diverse topography.
Yolanda Reef
Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt
Famous for scattered cargo from the sunken vessel Yolanda — bathtubs and toilets on the reef floor.
Abu Nuhas - Giannis D Wreck
Hurghada · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A Greek cargo ship that sank in 1983 on the notorious Abu Nuhas reef, now broken in two with a dramatic bow section rising from the reef slope and an engine room open for penetration.
Careless Reef
Hurghada · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
An offshore reef pinnacle rising from deep water east of Hurghada, famous for its resident grey reef shark population, dense soft coral coverage, and dramatic topography of ergs and pillars in crystal-clear Red Sea water.
Hamata Southern Reefs
Marsa Alam · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
Egypt's southernmost mainland dive destination, where remote offshore reef systems in pristine condition host spinner dolphin pods, resident sea turtles, and coral formations untouched by the mass tourism of the northern Red Sea.
Middle Reef Safaga
Safaga · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A submerged coral pinnacle in the centre of Safaga Bay where three reef blocks rise from a sandy seabed, creating a concentrated ecosystem where octopuses, morays, and large schools of glassfish congregate around coral towers in excellent visibility.
Panorama Reef
Safaga · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A massive offshore reef south of Safaga with stunning wall diving, vibrant soft coral plateaus, and regular visits from sharks, dolphins, and large pelagics.
Ras Ghozlani
Hurghada · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A current-swept headland reef south of Hurghada where converging currents attract dense schools of glassfish, hunting lionfish, and large Napoleon wrasse along a colorful coral wall.
Sataya Reef (Dolphin House South)
Marsa Alam · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A horseshoe-shaped offshore reef system in the southern Red Sea where resident spinner dolphins rest in a protected lagoon and the outer walls boast pristine coral growth with shark and turtle encounters.
Zabargad Island
Marsa Alam · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt
A remote volcanic island in Egypt's Deep South where pristine coral walls, untouched seagrass beds, and the historical legacy of ancient peridot mines create one of the most exotic and least-dived destinations in the Red Sea.
Gabr el-Bint
Dahab · Sinai · Egypt
Remote wall dive south of Dahab accessible by camel or boat. Pristine corals and pelagic encounters.
The Canyon
Dahab · Sinai · Egypt
Narrow fissure in the reef with a dramatic swim-through canyon open to the blue. Popular training site.
Ras Nasrani
Sharm El Sheikh · Sinai Peninsula · Egypt
A vibrant coral headland at the northern tip of Sharm El Sheikh where nutrient-rich currents attract large pelagics, dense fish schools, and provide a spectacular drift dive along a pristine wall.
Shark Reef & Yolanda Reef
Sharm El Sheikh · Sinai Peninsula · Egypt
The crown jewel of Ras Mohammed National Park, where two adjacent reefs create a legendary drift dive past sharks, giant pelagics, and the scattered cargo of the sunken Yolanda freighter.
Small Crack
Dahab · South Sinai · Egypt
A narrow fissure in the reef flat north of Dahab where divers squeeze through a dramatic canyon barely a metre wide, emerging onto a pristine coral wall with exceptional macro life and glassfish-filled caverns.
Gordon Reef
Sharm el-Sheikh · South Sinai Governorate · Egypt
The southernmost and most accessible Tiran reef, featuring a sandy plateau teeming with garden eels, the rusting Loullia wreck on the surface, and reliable encounters with turtles and rays.
Shaab Claudio
Marsa Alam · Southern Red Sea · Egypt
A spectacular offshore reef system south of Marsa Alam featuring a massive coral amphitheatre, pristine hard coral gardens, and reliable encounters with hawksbill turtles and schooling pelagics.
Umm Halhala
Marsa Alam · Southern Red Sea · Egypt
A pristine and rarely visited coral pinnacle in Egypt's deep south offering untouched hard coral gardens, resident green turtles, and extraordinary visibility in complete solitude.
El Salvador
1Estonia
1Fiji
8Shark Reef Marine Reserve
Pacific Harbour · Beqa Island · Fiji
Fiji's premier shark dive where up to eight species of sharks gather at a single site, including bull sharks at arm's length on an adrenaline-charged feed.
Mount Mutiny
Rakiraki · Bligh Water · Fiji
A spectacular seamount rising from the deep waters of Bligh Passage, blanketed in rainbow-coloured soft corals and surrounded by schools of barracuda and trevally in nutrient-rich upwelling currents.
Namotu Left
Nadi · Mamanuca Islands · Fiji
A vibrant shallow reef system at the base of Fiji's famous surf break where healthy coral gardens, reef sharks, and sea turtles thrive in the turbulent waters of the Mamanuca island chain.
Namotu Wall
Nadi · Mamanuca Islands · Fiji
A dramatic coral wall on the outer edge of Namotu Island's reef platform, dropping from five metres to over forty into deep blue Fijian water, with dense soft coral coverage, sea fans, and regular encounters with grey reef sharks and manta rays.
Namena Marine Reserve
Savusavu · Namena Barrier Reef · Fiji
Fiji's largest marine protected area where pristine coral pinnacles, schooling hammerheads, and vibrant soft coral gardens create world-class reef diving.
Rainbow Reef
Waiyevo · Taveuni · Fiji
Fiji's most celebrated soft coral reef in the Somosomo Strait where nutrient-rich currents nourish psychedelic soft coral gardens in every colour imaginable, earning its reputation as the soft coral capital of the world.
Beqa Lagoon Shark Dive
Pacific Harbour · Viti Levu · Fiji
The world's premier multi-species shark dive, offering face-to-face encounters with up to eight shark species including bulls and tigers.
Manta Ray Island
Nadi · Yasawa Islands · Fiji
A world-renowned manta ray cleaning station in a shallow channel between Yasawa islands, where reef mantas gather in numbers to be cleaned by wrasses during the dry season.
France
3Lavezzi Islands
Bonifacio · Corsica · France
A granite archipelago in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia, where powerful currents deliver exceptional visibility and support dense grouper populations in a strictly protected marine reserve.
Scandola Nature Reserve
Porto · Corsica · France
A UNESCO World Heritage volcanic peninsula where red gorgonian forests and huge groupers thrive in crystal-clear Corsican waters.
Le Sec Jaune
Saint-Leu · Reunion · France
The legendary dive of Reunion Island, a volcanic pinnacle rising from the deep with extraordinary fish mimicry, green turtles, and seasonal humpback whale encounters.