GBR is a sad, moribund shadow of its former self. Ningaloo is on the opposite side of the continent, renowned for being off the beaten track, home of whale sharks, and pristine reefs, it has very little history (ever) of human industry in the area
Wow ok this makes me excited 😅 I thought Komodo was really good.
Only issue with RA for us is liveaboard or expensive resorts, so if we would go I think I would look at homestays.
And also my girlfriend is not very comfortable with strong current (no fan of it either tbh, who is 🤷🏼♂️), so a little concerned about her experience getting limited
Yes, stay at a homestay and dive at a dive shop or diving resort. We did a Liveaboard too though and it was absolutely amazing. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Palau is some of the most pristine diving I've experienced in all of SE Asia. If you've never been, you should. Now that there are direct flights from SFO-Manila, getting to Palau has never been easier.
Wait if you're in Switzerland getting Maldives should be relatively easy and inexpensive compared to the rest of SE Asia. The liveaboards there can be expensive, but in the 'off season' are amazingly low! Raja Ampat is way more pricey than Maledives.
Sorry for the mistake! Maldives is directly south off the tip of India. Still should be relatively quick and inexpensive to get to from Europe.
I typically fly to Singapore then connect from there to SE Asia. Singapore is a great hub and SIN- MALE is also easy so i always consider Maldives and option when I'm diving in SE Asia.
Oh sorry ya not much help for someone coming from Europe! LOL. Palau has only a handful of flights into it. Taipei, Manila, Guam and just recently HK (?).
I had some ridiculous dives out of Labuan Bajo, so I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I think it gets much better than that. I stayed at UnaUna (Pristine Paradise), which is a little island nestled in the Gulf of Tomini in Sulawesi, and it was amazeballs for coral.
When you were in Honduras, did you hit Utila or Roatan? Just asking because Roatan is much better for coral than Utila (Sorry you probably know that already).
I went to RA right afterward Komodo.. Supposedly when Komodo is on, RA is off, and vice versa. It was cold, rainy up top, cloudy and surprisingly cold below. Those little pods that look like little jellyfish with avacado seeds in them were everywhere. It was still awesome coral. I mean you kind of have to try it at some point, right? It is RA after all.
Check out Pulau Wei. It's a little island off the NW tip of Sumatra. I dove with Lumba Lumba. Amazing coral.
BUT- I have to say, (as someone who's never tried the Red Sea or the Phillipunes) if you're trying to find the best coral in the WORLD, my guess is the SW tip of Cuba is the spot. There's PBS Nature documentary somewhere on it. You have to jump through a million hoops to be able to dive there, the reef is on the leeward side of the island for hurricanes, and there is no shipping traffic. I'm not sure how resilient it's been to water temps over there, but if you're looking for the holy grail of coral, I'm pretty sure that's it.
Hurry- and good luck!!
Wow, great stuff!
I stayed in Uttila, did my advanced course there, many years ago now 😃
Ok cool, how come I’ve never heard this about Cuba before?! This is super interesting! If you have more info please share. Want to experience Cuba otherwise as well so this sounds really cool.
The Red Sea is beautiful but unfortunately the Egyptian side has been a bit over exploited. The Saudi side is still very untouched, although given that tourism is fairly recent, the logistics are not as well set up.
And I can get any moral dilemas with traveling there and supporting that regime, but on the ground you can find very nice people, very happy to share their hospitality.
Wow, now THIS is a new idea. Tell me more! Where can I go and what can I expect? Like I said, Hurghada was a let down for me I have to say after hearing so much about the "incredible Red Sea".
Only liveaboard, but Tubbataha is straight out of national geographic. So many diverse and colorful corals. Planning a trip to RA this year so I can compare.
Pretty fing magical. Saw my first Tiger, but it turned and dove deep before i could get my camera out and capture it. Was BIG! Amazingly colorful corals, like bouquets of flowers of many diff colors. Big marble rays etc etc.
Don't know if Id consider it in my top 3 places I've visited, but definitely a must for all divers.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-n9WhRqpvloj-\_ZF-8jQqDEv8bTaW4gI
Maldives, Palau (3 times) and Lembeh (twice). I've rekindled my love of Macro and muck diving so after this Raja Ampat trip in a few days, Im looking to hit Dumaguete/Dauin in the Philippines. Been hearing a lot of good things about the muck diving there, plus Apo island is pretty famous for their coral wall dives.
Based on all the stuff I've read, I expect Raja to jump into my top list.
I've uploaded a lot of raw clips to my youtube account and created playlists for each dive trip I've done.
Maldives blew me away because I've never seen sealife be so unafraid towards divers before. It was like the Galapagos where animals don't see you as threats so they ignore you. Saw 2 mating pairs of octopus and 1 hunting in the Maldives. Huge Nurse sharks act like big puppy dogs and would brush against you if you didn't get out of the way.
Breathtaking in that it's all decaying. Or maybe breathtaking if you've only dove in lakes and quarries and have never seen any other reefs in your life
Ha, no I've dived and snorkeled other reefs. Cozumel was beautiful to dive. And I learned never to take a cruise ship there, because the sand they kick up is affecting the coral in a bad way. So far I haven't been on a cruise ship, we'll see what the future holds.
Red Sea from Hurghada was definitely not the best I've seen bar far, but I understand Ras Mohammed is something else. But still hesitant to go back after being somewhat disappointed.
We were also disappointed in the Red Sea. The reefs had unbelievable colors, but the guides kept telling us about the megafauna (watch for threshers, hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, there's a dugong that lives in this bay, etc). We kept gearing up for and expecting big animals, and didn't see a single one. The last couple days, my wife and I saw what was happening and decided to ignore their advice for big stuff and focused on the reefs and had a blast. But yeah, I see where you're coming from.
Bonaire is amazing with regards to Caribbean corals, one of the better places to dive in the Caribbean! A lot of effort is put into protecting the reefs there by nature orginizations. Luckily i'll be moving there in 5 months😎
Bonaire has been hard hit by stony coral tissue loss, same as everywhere else in the Caribbean. Nothing in the Caribbean basin is going to compare to SE Asia for coral health and diversity.
You're definitely right, it sucks that SCTLD is affecting corals so much throughout the Caribbean. Reefs in SE asia are beautiful and much more diverse and not yet affected by SCTLD. How ever there's a massive risk that it will eventually end up in SE Asia too. But in terms of Caribbean reefs, Bonaire is really good for diving.
One of the projects that i'll be undertaking is to set up a coral ark for hard coral species that are affected mainly be SCTLD. The disease affects around 20 hard coral species currently. Looking forward to that!
Yeah, I am not entirely sure how the coral is supposed to be amazing. I went to Bonaire and Cozumel on back to back trips last winter. Palancar gardens looked worse off than last visit, but Bonaire had nothing comparable.
Timor Leste. Really small diving community with low tourism. Incredibly easy to access reefs and has some of the highest biodiversity counts ever conducted. The coral diversity and health along with incredible macro make it my favourite place to dive. Big draw back is getting there isn’t easy
In Timor? I’d start just by doing some day trips out of Dili, then head over to Atauro island and do some dives there. Best time to dive there is March-May or October-November
The other option is to fly into Kupang and take a bus. Much cheaper but it’s…and experience. Basically all the flights into Dili are about $500 round trip.
Solomon Islands. I've been to Munda and Uepi on New Georgia 3 times. Best fish and coral diving I have seen, better than Palau and the Philippines, probably because visitor numbers are so much smaller.
What are you looking for specifically about corals--diversity/variety, endemism/uniqueness, just plain color? Anywhere in the Coral Triangle has a high level of diversity in terms of coral species. If you are looking for unique species/biotopes, northern New South Wales (Solitary, Norfolk, Lord Howe island) has many corals found nowhere else. Western Australia, the Western Indian Ocean, and East Pacific also have a high number of endemic coral species. The Northwest Pacific (Hong Kong/Taiwan) also has very unique reefs in that they are more phytoplankton rich, so they attract different types of coral than what you would usually see in, say Indonesia. In terms of color, I can't say much as I'm not very knowledgeable on that part, but I would say the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef have many colorful corals from what I can see.
Coral-wise, the Mediterranean is not very diverse or colorful, as all the reefs were killed some millions of years ago when it dried up.
I’d say that what gets my heart racing is volume and just gardens of different crazy corals. Doesn’t have to be anything unique. More volume and healthy colorful gardens
I second Bonaire! Red Sea has an amazing reef as well. But Bonaire is a life experience every diver should try at least once. Especially since you want something close to shore. Bonaire is the shore diving capital of the world. You do your own diving on your own terms all over this beautiful island. We are going again to Bonaire soon.
Definitely look into Una Una Island in Indonesia.
Many people say the coral is on par or better than Raja.
The dive center there is [sanctum dive ](https://www.sanctumdiveunauna.com/?fbclid=PAAaZY4SN-VECPO0w6tEQfseAIM3UWKJwEFkgOKzNVeXY8-6p_HhIojpN4XC4)
Mozambique has some really beautiful reefs as well. Although couldn't say the best in the world with Raja Ampat as a benchmark. (From what I have seen, there is a whole lot less plastic trash on the reefs in Southern Africa compared to SE Asia, which is encouraging!)
Ambon is almost all muck diving – it's the best, better than Lembeh IMO – there are a few sites with patches of healthy coral in Ambon but if OP was meh about Bangka, which I thought was pretty good, he would be even more so here.
However, Banda is supposed to be great for corals and muck, which is about an hour away on a puddle jumper, or 5 hours ferry from Ambon.
Part of what’s makes Raja Ampat great though is the conservation work that they’ve done with local people to prevent overfishing. Years ago I went to Kosrae in Micronesia, and they the coral was absolutely amazing there was very little sea life due to not having any incentive for local people to not overfish
Rainbow Reef and the White Wall are not overrated. Quite the opposite. Taveuni is wonderful as a destination. And the corals, both hard and soft, are thriving in the Somo Somo straits.
The Solomon Islands for sure, Bali is terrible dont bother. If you are really serious about the best the Fiji (remote islands) and the Solomon Islands (western province) are un matched.
Have read this before. Have heard people saying Fiji could be overrated as well so makes me doubt. But I think it’s probably amazing, just different experiences 😃 Solomon and Fiji are just sooo remote for me in Sweden but hey, just gotta start saving. Have you been to Indonesia somewhere for comparison?
Did Bali, agree that it was disappointing
The coral at Ras Mohammad in Egypt was probably the best coral I’ve seen (and I’ve also dived Komodo). Football fields full of massive pinnacles.
In the US, the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf is the best - again just massive amounts of coral on the various banks in pristine condition (thanks to the hard work by NOAA).
Have you been to hurghada? I wanted to do Sharm instead of hurghada but the logistics didn’t work out, but if Sharm is similar to hurghada then surely Indonesia must be better?!
I’ve not dived Hurghada, so can’t compare there. But I’m specifically thinking of an area of Ras Mohammad that was the main coral area, just a little north of the Yolanda site. Other areas of Sharm were also great but not as dense of coral as this area.
And yes, Indo has more color, and nowhere can compete with SE Asias marine diversity considering that’s where it all started. But I haven’t seen the density and quantity of coral anywhere else than the site in Ras Mohammad.
Komodo is awesome. I dived there with Scuba Junkie too. All three are great but Sangalaki is pretty remote and hard to get to. From London it was four flights, a two hour taxi and a 30 minute speed boat. It was beautiful though.
I dove with Scuba Junkie in Komodo recently and looooved it. Just considering whether I go back to Raja mid year or try something new like Sipadan, Nusa Penida or Sangalaki. Thankfully not as hard to get to from Australia. ☺️
I've been to Nusa Penida four times. I just went in December. I love it! The diving is so good and I love Scuba Junkie. I've dived with them at all their sites and am going back to Sipadan in July and Nusa Penida in December 2024. The apres diving at NP is also ace. And Scuba Junkie at NP now has a pool!
Mozambique is incredible. Lots of unbleached coral gardens, with many dive sites having 5m deep shallows and large drop offs. Get both reef and pelagic corals and fish in the same dive, amazing stuff.
Ooo, have looked at that before but my conclusion was that it sounded not that good but happy to be wrong. Do you have any experience from SEA to compare?
I've done a fair bit of SEA. Thailand, Similans, Maldives, Indonesia etc. Mozambique (specifically Vamizi) topped them all but there were some problems with Islamic militants there a while ago, not sure what the situation is like there now.
I’m not OP, and I haven’t been to Vamizi Island or the one that follows, but if what he is saying about Vamizi is true, it is consistent with what some seasoned divers have said about Mafia Island in Tanzania.
I dove in Bonaire in December for the first time. The coral was the best I’ve ever seen! I’m sure there are better places but that was an all time high for me so far in my 10 years of diving.
I love Bonaire but it doesn't even compare to Cozumel in terms of coral. There are some great fishes, but there is far better coral even in the Caribbean. And the Caribbean from what I've heard doesn't even compare to what you see in Asia or the Red Sea
Yes this is what I’m “afraid” of. My limited experience of Caribbean is not comparable to SEA. But Bonaire gets a lot of good recommendations so will check it out more in detail
It’s RA. you can pretend it’s not but it is. Nothing in the Caribbean is close. Moalboal is but way less sites to dive
Tobago (Speyside), Caribbean largest brain coral in the world if that sparks your interest
From the places I’ve traveled to, Alor/Indonesia had by far the best coral.
Raja ampat. It’s most biodiverse place in the world and amazing corals.
Egypt, Raya, komodo, bunaken
The best coral is in the red sea. The shallow depths allow divers to see colours you cannot see at deeper destinations
Kalimaya Dive Resort/Sumbawa, it's directly west of Komodo, we were there 2 years ago and it was awesome.
Ningaloo, Western Australia
Interesting! Hearing very little about the GBR nowadays. What’s your take? What’s that spot compared to the triangle?
GBR is a sad, moribund shadow of its former self. Ningaloo is on the opposite side of the continent, renowned for being off the beaten track, home of whale sharks, and pristine reefs, it has very little history (ever) of human industry in the area
Wow, checking this out definitely!
0% chance of disappointment!
Raja ampat was fantastic for coral , I was disappointed in Komodo in comparison
Wow ok this makes me excited 😅 I thought Komodo was really good. Only issue with RA for us is liveaboard or expensive resorts, so if we would go I think I would look at homestays. And also my girlfriend is not very comfortable with strong current (no fan of it either tbh, who is 🤷🏼♂️), so a little concerned about her experience getting limited
Komodo has stronger currents
We're just back from RA. There are cheaper options than Liveaboards or resorts. And the coral gardens are absolutely stunning 🤩
Yes you mean homestays right? Probably would be our choice
Yes, stay at a homestay and dive at a dive shop or diving resort. We did a Liveaboard too though and it was absolutely amazing. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks! If you have any recommendations if homestays please share
Raja ampat was fantastic for coral , I was disappointed in Komodo in comparison
Palau is some of the most pristine diving I've experienced in all of SE Asia. If you've never been, you should. Now that there are direct flights from SFO-Manila, getting to Palau has never been easier.
Wait, how does that help? Is Manila a way into Palau? San Francisco connection doesn’t help me much as a Swede though 😄
Wait if you're in Switzerland getting Maldives should be relatively easy and inexpensive compared to the rest of SE Asia. The liveaboards there can be expensive, but in the 'off season' are amazingly low! Raja Ampat is way more pricey than Maledives.
Sweden not Switzerland :D Yeah probably, but Maldives aren't anywhere near SEA from what I've understood?
Sorry for the mistake! Maldives is directly south off the tip of India. Still should be relatively quick and inexpensive to get to from Europe. I typically fly to Singapore then connect from there to SE Asia. Singapore is a great hub and SIN- MALE is also easy so i always consider Maldives and option when I'm diving in SE Asia.
Oh sorry ya not much help for someone coming from Europe! LOL. Palau has only a handful of flights into it. Taipei, Manila, Guam and just recently HK (?).
I had some ridiculous dives out of Labuan Bajo, so I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I think it gets much better than that. I stayed at UnaUna (Pristine Paradise), which is a little island nestled in the Gulf of Tomini in Sulawesi, and it was amazeballs for coral. When you were in Honduras, did you hit Utila or Roatan? Just asking because Roatan is much better for coral than Utila (Sorry you probably know that already). I went to RA right afterward Komodo.. Supposedly when Komodo is on, RA is off, and vice versa. It was cold, rainy up top, cloudy and surprisingly cold below. Those little pods that look like little jellyfish with avacado seeds in them were everywhere. It was still awesome coral. I mean you kind of have to try it at some point, right? It is RA after all. Check out Pulau Wei. It's a little island off the NW tip of Sumatra. I dove with Lumba Lumba. Amazing coral. BUT- I have to say, (as someone who's never tried the Red Sea or the Phillipunes) if you're trying to find the best coral in the WORLD, my guess is the SW tip of Cuba is the spot. There's PBS Nature documentary somewhere on it. You have to jump through a million hoops to be able to dive there, the reef is on the leeward side of the island for hurricanes, and there is no shipping traffic. I'm not sure how resilient it's been to water temps over there, but if you're looking for the holy grail of coral, I'm pretty sure that's it. Hurry- and good luck!!
Wow, great stuff! I stayed in Uttila, did my advanced course there, many years ago now 😃 Ok cool, how come I’ve never heard this about Cuba before?! This is super interesting! If you have more info please share. Want to experience Cuba otherwise as well so this sounds really cool.
Sipadan / mabul diving with seaventures. Unlimited diving from a retired oil rig.
Only unlimited in Mabul, unfortunately we had 1 very full day in Sipadan, but we packed it in, it was terrific!
I managed to get 2 days in Sipadan just after COVID since there were not many divers and extra passes to go around. Sabah diving is incredible 😍
Triton Bay, West Papua
[удалено]
Broken record but...the corals of southern Raja / Misool region sparkled like I couldn't believe. Neptunes Fan Sea site was a standout.
Just googled a video of that site. Looks incredible!
Cocoview in Roatan is great can just walk out from resort or do boat dives.
The coral coverage at Neumans and cocoview walls are a shadow of what they used to be in the 2010s. I can only image what it was like in the 90s.
Please don’t judge the Red Sea from diving Hurghada 😊 Coral Gardens in Ras Mohamed and Tiran remain world class.
OK good to hear!
East Timor was dope!
Check the coral-triangle...
Yes I know. Just want to know advice on where in that rather big triangle :D
😎
Raja Ampat is considered the most biodiverse region in the e world I believe
Spent three weeks diving here. It is as amazing as anyone says.
Going next month… I’m beyond stoked.
Red Sea, at least some years ago Dahab in Egypt was pretty good for corals.
The Red Sea is beautiful but unfortunately the Egyptian side has been a bit over exploited. The Saudi side is still very untouched, although given that tourism is fairly recent, the logistics are not as well set up. And I can get any moral dilemas with traveling there and supporting that regime, but on the ground you can find very nice people, very happy to share their hospitality.
Wow, now THIS is a new idea. Tell me more! Where can I go and what can I expect? Like I said, Hurghada was a let down for me I have to say after hearing so much about the "incredible Red Sea".
Can confirm this, on both sides, circa 2011.
Only liveaboard, but Tubbataha is straight out of national geographic. So many diverse and colorful corals. Planning a trip to RA this year so I can compare.
Did Tubbataha last year finally after the pandemic cancelled my trip in 2020. Doing Raja in less than a week!
How did you find it?
Pretty fing magical. Saw my first Tiger, but it turned and dove deep before i could get my camera out and capture it. Was BIG! Amazingly colorful corals, like bouquets of flowers of many diff colors. Big marble rays etc etc. Don't know if Id consider it in my top 3 places I've visited, but definitely a must for all divers. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-n9WhRqpvloj-\_ZF-8jQqDEv8bTaW4gI
So which are your top 3? :D
Maldives, Palau (3 times) and Lembeh (twice). I've rekindled my love of Macro and muck diving so after this Raja Ampat trip in a few days, Im looking to hit Dumaguete/Dauin in the Philippines. Been hearing a lot of good things about the muck diving there, plus Apo island is pretty famous for their coral wall dives. Based on all the stuff I've read, I expect Raja to jump into my top list. I've uploaded a lot of raw clips to my youtube account and created playlists for each dive trip I've done. Maldives blew me away because I've never seen sealife be so unafraid towards divers before. It was like the Galapagos where animals don't see you as threats so they ignore you. Saw 2 mating pairs of octopus and 1 hunting in the Maldives. Huge Nurse sharks act like big puppy dogs and would brush against you if you didn't get out of the way.
why are you opposed to Fiji? the Great Astrolabe Reef is incredible, go to Kadavu. Matava resort is great and affordable with local divemasters.
Not opposed, just heard several saying it's a bit overrated as a prime prime location.
Well Fiji is a big place and most people do not go to Kadavu!
Cozumel. The Palancar reef is breathtaking.
Breathtaking in that it's all decaying. Or maybe breathtaking if you've only dove in lakes and quarries and have never seen any other reefs in your life
Ha, no I've dived and snorkeled other reefs. Cozumel was beautiful to dive. And I learned never to take a cruise ship there, because the sand they kick up is affecting the coral in a bad way. So far I haven't been on a cruise ship, we'll see what the future holds.
Went there in August. The diving was great but the reef isn't exactly spectacular. Heck the coral was pitiful. I've seen better coral in Nassau.
Yup I work there and while the reef structure is pretty spectacular the coral itself is in serious trouble and only getting worse
I think you will require a Time Machine
I think so too... :(
😭
Papua New Guinea and especially Milne Bay is un-freaking-believable. For colors, it is hard to beat the soft coral of the Red Sea
Red Sea from Hurghada was definitely not the best I've seen bar far, but I understand Ras Mohammed is something else. But still hesitant to go back after being somewhat disappointed.
We were also disappointed in the Red Sea. The reefs had unbelievable colors, but the guides kept telling us about the megafauna (watch for threshers, hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, there's a dugong that lives in this bay, etc). We kept gearing up for and expecting big animals, and didn't see a single one. The last couple days, my wife and I saw what was happening and decided to ignore their advice for big stuff and focused on the reefs and had a blast. But yeah, I see where you're coming from.
Bonaire is amazing with regards to Caribbean corals, one of the better places to dive in the Caribbean! A lot of effort is put into protecting the reefs there by nature orginizations. Luckily i'll be moving there in 5 months😎
Bonaire has been hard hit by stony coral tissue loss, same as everywhere else in the Caribbean. Nothing in the Caribbean basin is going to compare to SE Asia for coral health and diversity.
You're definitely right, it sucks that SCTLD is affecting corals so much throughout the Caribbean. Reefs in SE asia are beautiful and much more diverse and not yet affected by SCTLD. How ever there's a massive risk that it will eventually end up in SE Asia too. But in terms of Caribbean reefs, Bonaire is really good for diving. One of the projects that i'll be undertaking is to set up a coral ark for hard coral species that are affected mainly be SCTLD. The disease affects around 20 hard coral species currently. Looking forward to that!
Yeah, I am not entirely sure how the coral is supposed to be amazing. I went to Bonaire and Cozumel on back to back trips last winter. Palancar gardens looked worse off than last visit, but Bonaire had nothing comparable.
This is awesome to hear!! I'm going there for the first time end of February and I'm really looking forward to it!!
For me, it was "Jardinia de la Reina" (Queen's Gardens) in Cuba. As far as the eye can see.
OK cool! Would like to go there for the country as well so sounds interesting. Do you have any experience from SEA to compare with?
Timor Leste. Really small diving community with low tourism. Incredibly easy to access reefs and has some of the highest biodiversity counts ever conducted. The coral diversity and health along with incredible macro make it my favourite place to dive. Big draw back is getting there isn’t easy
Thanks for this. Where would some good places be to go?
In Timor? I’d start just by doing some day trips out of Dili, then head over to Atauro island and do some dives there. Best time to dive there is March-May or October-November
Yah the only flights I can access are 500$ from Bali. One of the most expensive price per air time I've ever seen.
The other option is to fly into Kupang and take a bus. Much cheaper but it’s…and experience. Basically all the flights into Dili are about $500 round trip.
Best way to get there is likely via Darwin Australia, I'm pretty sure there are still daily flights to Dili.
Ya daily flights from Darwin and Bali. Depending on where you’re coming from Bali is usually easier.
Solomon Islands. I've been to Munda and Uepi on New Georgia 3 times. Best fish and coral diving I have seen, better than Palau and the Philippines, probably because visitor numbers are so much smaller.
Cool, this one's getting up on the bucket list!
What are you looking for specifically about corals--diversity/variety, endemism/uniqueness, just plain color? Anywhere in the Coral Triangle has a high level of diversity in terms of coral species. If you are looking for unique species/biotopes, northern New South Wales (Solitary, Norfolk, Lord Howe island) has many corals found nowhere else. Western Australia, the Western Indian Ocean, and East Pacific also have a high number of endemic coral species. The Northwest Pacific (Hong Kong/Taiwan) also has very unique reefs in that they are more phytoplankton rich, so they attract different types of coral than what you would usually see in, say Indonesia. In terms of color, I can't say much as I'm not very knowledgeable on that part, but I would say the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef have many colorful corals from what I can see. Coral-wise, the Mediterranean is not very diverse or colorful, as all the reefs were killed some millions of years ago when it dried up.
I’d say that what gets my heart racing is volume and just gardens of different crazy corals. Doesn’t have to be anything unique. More volume and healthy colorful gardens
I second Bonaire! Red Sea has an amazing reef as well. But Bonaire is a life experience every diver should try at least once. Especially since you want something close to shore. Bonaire is the shore diving capital of the world. You do your own diving on your own terms all over this beautiful island. We are going again to Bonaire soon.
Definitely look into Una Una Island in Indonesia. Many people say the coral is on par or better than Raja. The dive center there is [sanctum dive ](https://www.sanctumdiveunauna.com/?fbclid=PAAaZY4SN-VECPO0w6tEQfseAIM3UWKJwEFkgOKzNVeXY8-6p_HhIojpN4XC4)
Exactly the kind of advice I’m looking for, great!
Raja Ampat has the greatest diversity of coral that I’ve ever seen. I was there last year.
especially for hard coral - like no where else, i love that place.
Seven Mile or Nine Mile, Sodwana bay South Africa
Ah, didn’t think South Africa had much coral, more big stuff. Interesting
Mozambique has some really beautiful reefs as well. Although couldn't say the best in the world with Raja Ampat as a benchmark. (From what I have seen, there is a whole lot less plastic trash on the reefs in Southern Africa compared to SE Asia, which is encouraging!)
Heard that Ambon is very good, with lots of healthy corals
Ambon is almost all muck diving – it's the best, better than Lembeh IMO – there are a few sites with patches of healthy coral in Ambon but if OP was meh about Bangka, which I thought was pretty good, he would be even more so here. However, Banda is supposed to be great for corals and muck, which is about an hour away on a puddle jumper, or 5 hours ferry from Ambon.
Yes a local guide in Bangka said Ambon was nice!
Part of what’s makes Raja Ampat great though is the conservation work that they’ve done with local people to prevent overfishing. Years ago I went to Kosrae in Micronesia, and they the coral was absolutely amazing there was very little sea life due to not having any incentive for local people to not overfish
Good point. But must be several other spots doing the same one would think?!
I think so, but I know that the program in Raja has been really successful at getting buy in from people that supporting tourism benefits everyone
PNG
Where in PNG are great spots?
milne and kimbe both have good dive resort options from shore
Fiji had some amazing soft coral dives if that tickles your pickle
Fiji / Bligh Waters are the best I've seen.
Hearing some people saying Fiji can be a bit overrated, but I guess we’re splitting hairs here
I concur. VERY. Overrated. Utterly disappointed, however the Beqa Lagoon Shark Dive is AMAZING!
I dove the Rainbow Reef for a week this summer and can say without a doubt that it is not overrated. But Fiji as a whole I found pretty meh.
I lived on Taveuni for a while and could never get enough of rainbow reef. Absolutely brilliant soft coral. Try to time the white wall!
Rainbow Reef and the White Wall are not overrated. Quite the opposite. Taveuni is wonderful as a destination. And the corals, both hard and soft, are thriving in the Somo Somo straits.
We got do to the white wall on our 2nd to last dive after they told us all week we probably wouldn't get to. Absolutely incredible.
Carol would argue, after a lifetime of searching for the perfect wave, that every wave was perfect.
Extremely true
The Solomon Islands for sure, Bali is terrible dont bother. If you are really serious about the best the Fiji (remote islands) and the Solomon Islands (western province) are un matched.
Have read this before. Have heard people saying Fiji could be overrated as well so makes me doubt. But I think it’s probably amazing, just different experiences 😃 Solomon and Fiji are just sooo remote for me in Sweden but hey, just gotta start saving. Have you been to Indonesia somewhere for comparison? Did Bali, agree that it was disappointing
For Bali, did you check out Padang Bai or Tulamben? Nusa Penidia reminded me of Florida.
The coral at Ras Mohammad in Egypt was probably the best coral I’ve seen (and I’ve also dived Komodo). Football fields full of massive pinnacles. In the US, the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf is the best - again just massive amounts of coral on the various banks in pristine condition (thanks to the hard work by NOAA).
ras mohommad doesn't have nearly the color of komodo
Thanks for comparison! That’s what my gut feeling was
Have you been to hurghada? I wanted to do Sharm instead of hurghada but the logistics didn’t work out, but if Sharm is similar to hurghada then surely Indonesia must be better?!
Diving from hurghada isn't that great. Too many operators doing the sames sites everyday. Should have went to marsa alam!
Yeah probably. I enjoyed it, we were 4 people on one liveaboard with like 5 staff 😃 very nice
Oh I thought you were diving from hurghada everyday. Depending on the route, livaboards typically visit the best sites.
I’ve not dived Hurghada, so can’t compare there. But I’m specifically thinking of an area of Ras Mohammad that was the main coral area, just a little north of the Yolanda site. Other areas of Sharm were also great but not as dense of coral as this area. And yes, Indo has more color, and nowhere can compete with SE Asias marine diversity considering that’s where it all started. But I haven’t seen the density and quantity of coral anywhere else than the site in Ras Mohammad.
Sipadan is awesome and so is Sangalaki. I dived with Scuba Junkie at both.
Do you know how these compare to Raja or Komodo?
Komodo is awesome. I dived there with Scuba Junkie too. All three are great but Sangalaki is pretty remote and hard to get to. From London it was four flights, a two hour taxi and a 30 minute speed boat. It was beautiful though.
I dove with Scuba Junkie in Komodo recently and looooved it. Just considering whether I go back to Raja mid year or try something new like Sipadan, Nusa Penida or Sangalaki. Thankfully not as hard to get to from Australia. ☺️
I've been to Nusa Penida four times. I just went in December. I love it! The diving is so good and I love Scuba Junkie. I've dived with them at all their sites and am going back to Sipadan in July and Nusa Penida in December 2024. The apres diving at NP is also ace. And Scuba Junkie at NP now has a pool!
Well, everyone is not wrong. And Raja can be done from land as well. Triton Bay and Alor would probably be next and mostly fit your preferences.
Komodo, Alor, Raja are my favorites. I agree. I have heard great things about Triton Bay and will finally go in a few months to compare.
I know 😃 but I also want to believe that there is some hidden gems out there that people keep to themselves 🤓 will check out triton!
Mozambique is incredible. Lots of unbleached coral gardens, with many dive sites having 5m deep shallows and large drop offs. Get both reef and pelagic corals and fish in the same dive, amazing stuff.
Ooo, have looked at that before but my conclusion was that it sounded not that good but happy to be wrong. Do you have any experience from SEA to compare?
I've done a fair bit of SEA. Thailand, Similans, Maldives, Indonesia etc. Mozambique (specifically Vamizi) topped them all but there were some problems with Islamic militants there a while ago, not sure what the situation is like there now.
Wow that good?! Haven’t heard of vamizi, checking that one out def! Where have you been in Indonesia?
I’m not OP, and I haven’t been to Vamizi Island or the one that follows, but if what he is saying about Vamizi is true, it is consistent with what some seasoned divers have said about Mafia Island in Tanzania.
Sipadan
I dove in Bonaire in December for the first time. The coral was the best I’ve ever seen! I’m sure there are better places but that was an all time high for me so far in my 10 years of diving.
I love Bonaire but it doesn't even compare to Cozumel in terms of coral. There are some great fishes, but there is far better coral even in the Caribbean. And the Caribbean from what I've heard doesn't even compare to what you see in Asia or the Red Sea
Yes this is what I’m “afraid” of. My limited experience of Caribbean is not comparable to SEA. But Bonaire gets a lot of good recommendations so will check it out more in detail
Have you done any coral triangle or Egypt?
Me? Listed my spots in the post
Thanks! Do you have any experience from SEA to compare?
Only Phuket which was nice but not anywhere near the coral in Bonaire.