The world’s best destinations for coral reef scuba diving

Coral reefs are some of the most complex ecosystems imaginable, their intricate living structures supporting unfathomable biodiversity and dazzling divers with a kaleidoscope of colour. But which of the world’s reefs are worthy of a place on your scuba diving bucket list?

From sun-soaked coral gardens to spectacular forests of colour, our team of dive travel experts have scoured the world’s oceans in search of the top ten coral reefs for scuba diving – which one will you visit next? 

Think we’ve missed one of the best? Tag the ZuBlu team on social media and let us know.

• 12,000 hectare protected area known as the Cozumel Reefs National Park
• Vibrant and healthy reefs thanks to more than 25 years of protection
• Home to around 105 different types of coral and 262 species of fish

Cozumel is Mexico’s largest island and lies off the Yucatan Peninsula’s eastern coast, along the magnificent Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. This popular tourist destination has become renowned amongst snorkelers and divers alike for the impressive coral gardens which thrive along its shores. 

The reefs here are so healthy that their significance was realised with the creation of the Cozumel Reefs National Park more than 25 years ago. This 12,000 hectare protected area begins just below the city of San Miguel de Cozumel in the west and wraps around the island’s southern point before ending near Punta Chiqueros on the wild east coast. It’s thought that the marine park is home to around 105 different types of coral and 262 species of fish, gifting divers with fantastic underwater displays of shape and colour.

More or less every reef around the island of Cozumel is great for diving, but a handful stand out above the rest. If you have to pick just a few, the western and southern spots of Villa Blanca Wall, Paradise Reef, Chankanaab Reef, Santa Rosa Wall, Palancar Reef are not to be missed. Bear in mind that sections of the national park can be closed for months at a time and may not be accessible to divers and snorkelers.

• Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Belize Barrier Reef
• Location of the Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye
• Home to some of the Caribbean Sea’s healthiest corals

Lighthouse Reef is a large oblong-shaped atoll located around 80 kilometres from the mainland. This atoll marks the easternmost edge of the UNESCO World Heritage Belize Barrier Reef, which itself is but a part of the vast Mesoamerican Barrier Reef – a globally recognised hotspot of marine biodiversity. 

Best known for its iconic Great Blue Hole which plummets vertically to a depth of 125-metres, Lighthouse Reef is also home to some of the Caribbean’s healthiest corals. The varied topography has created a series of interchanging environments, from reef flats and walls to rutted grooves, caves and caverns. The colours of this reef are simply captivating, with purple sea fans, citrus sponges, and pastel-like hard coral colonies forming incredibly intricate structures as far as the eye can see.

Divers visiting Long Cay, in the far south of the atoll, can spot brain and boulder star corals, huge barrel, tube and vase sponges, and swaying sea fans of all shapes and sizes. Yet, arguably, the far smaller Half Moon Caye, located further east, is home to the best coral reef diving in Belize, if not the entire Caribbean. The caye’s sandy slopes are bejewelled with mound and boulder corals, while the wall itself is festooned with fans and punctured with beautiful swim-throughs.

• Over 50 clearly-marked shore dives for self-guided exploration
• Around 60 coral species, including brain, stag, and elkhorn corals
• One of the planet’s most successful Marine Protected Areas

Bonaire is a small Caribbean island located off the coast of Venezuela, within the Lesser Antilles chain. The island delivers a unique dive vacation experience with drive-through dive centres, convenient cylinder delivery and over 50 clearly-marked shore dives open for self-guided exploration.

An impressive fringing reef is what originally positioned Bonaire as the world’s leading shore diving destination, with expansive hard and soft coral gardens just a few fin-kicks from the beach. Some 60 different coral species can be found around the island, including bulbous brain corals, towering stag and elkhorn corals, and gigantic gorgonians. Other interesting inhabitants include multicoloured barrel, tube and elephant ear sponges and gardens of anemones.

Some of the best shore diving and easiest conditions can be found on the island’s west-facing leeward side. 1,000 Steps is one of Bonaire’s most iconic sites, featuring a shallow, easy-to-navigate reef packed with elkhorns, sponges and sea fans. Nearby Karpata delivers a markedly different experience. Divers can find star, brain and pillar corals dotting the sandy slope, before reaching a dramatic drop-off festooned with whip corals, finger corals and sea plumes.

• Arguably the best coral reef diving in the Red Sea
• Isolated from day-boats, ensuring an abundance of coral and fish
• Labyrinth-like systems of interconnecting tunnels in the reef

The Red Sea’s corals have been captivating divers and snorkelers for many years, and the remote nature of Egypt’s southern reefs have allowed them to flourish. Located between the Ras Banas peninsula and the border with Sudan, these formations are truly remarkable and should be high on the list of any diver visiting the Red Sea. 

An area known as Foul Bay lies directly south of Ras Banas and incorporates the somewhat legendary St. John’s Reef – considered by many to deliver the best coral reef diving in the Red Sea. Due to its isolation, this region is best explored via liveaboard. Itineraries typically visit other thriving southern reefs such as those found in the Zabargad and Rocky Island marine parks, as well as Fury Shoal a little further north, allowing divers to fully satisfy their coral cravings. 

The obvious health of the hard and soft corals is a key highlight of diving at St. John’s Reef, promising breathtaking underwater vistas and a bounty of bustling fish – the stuff of dreams for wide-angle photographers. Within the wider Foul Bay area, divers can explore an area where many large cracks in the reef have formed a maze-like complex of interconnecting tunnels. 

• Located over 1,000-kilometres from the popular Inner Islands
• Untouched reefs with well over a hundred species of coral
• Walls descending from the surface to beyond recreational depths

It stands to reason that the further you stray from the beaten path, the more wild and natural your surroundings become. Situated around 1,000 kilometres from the Seychelles’ salubrious inner islands, the Aldabra Group is certainly beyond the typical tourist’s radar. And, as a result, this group of outer island atolls remain in an almost untouched state, catering primarily to scientists and natural historians, alongside a handful of the most adventurous holiday-makers.  

Within this group, Astove Atoll is home to some of the most mind-blowing underwater scenery on the planet. Diving is centred around a six-kilometre wall which plummets from waist-deep water to well beyond recreational depths. Large plates of hard coral-like armour line the wall’s vast rock face, while scar-like splits in the reef are full of colourful soft corals. 

In contrast, Cosmoledo’s topography is less dramatic and the diving here is more typical of an atoll, focusing on the channels which penetrate the outer reef between the islands. But, the diving is arguably even better, as this remote and underexplored destination plays host to well over a hundred species of coral, including some of the Seychelles’ healthiest hard coral reefs within its channels. 

• Protected UNESCO World Heritage site in the Sulu Sea
• Home to around 360 individual coral species
• Isolated open-ocean location has allowed reefs to flourish

Tubbataha Reefs is a protected UNESCO World Heritage site in the middle of the Sulu Sea. Surrounded by nothing but deep open water for hundreds of kilometres, this dive destination is often touted for its exhilarating big fish encounters. But Tubbataha’s isolation has also allowed its reefs to flourish, guaranteeing an extraordinary dive experience whether the pelagics appear or not. 

Positioned within the northern apex of the Coral Triangle, Tubbataha’s dive sites are about as biodiverse as it gets, with an astonishing 360 individual coral species colonising the reefs. Whip corals and gorgonian fans are emblematic of Tubbataha and can be found throughout both the North Atoll and South Atoll, often harbouring pygmy seahorses amongst their sinuous branches. Seafan Alley, as the name suggests, is a particularly stunning site, with its sizable swaying forest that stretches off into the darkness. 

Found around 20 kilometres north of the two main atolls, Jessie Beazley Reef is a smaller, more exposed structure. The shallow reefs here are covered with unspoilt hard and soft corals and clouded in colourful anthias, while the slopes promise flawless staghorn fields. 

• Located within the heart of the Coral Triangle
• Said to harbour more anemones than any other reef in the world
• Tree corals, black corals, sea whips, sea fans, and sponges

Alor is the largest island in its namesake archipelago, located at the eastern end of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands chain at the edge of the vast Banda Sea. The defining feature of Alor’s diving is its diversity, with world-class muck diving sites just a stone’s throw from steep walls patrolled by schools of hammerhead sharks.

Lying in the heart of the Coral Triangle, it’s no surprise the same powerful, nutrient-rich currents that have created such a diversity of marine life here have also fuelled extraordinary reef development. The proliferation and assortment of species is simply staggering. 

A popular site in the Pantar Strait, known as Clown Valley, is said to harbour more anemones than any other reef in the world – a fact you’ll find hard to dispute as your gaze over the endless sea of small boulders, each adorned with anemones. Another site, Alcatraz, starts with a strange forest of pink soft coral trees, sprouting from the reef like bizarre alien broccoli, before moving onto a wall festooned with black coral bushes, sea whips, and gorgonians. The Great Wall of Pantar is another vibrant dive, where soft coral trees, sponges, and sea fans fade between iridescent orange and pastel pink. 

• Recognised as the global epicentre of marine biodiversity
• Home to around 540 coral species and over 1,400 types of fish
• Intricate network of atoll, patch, barrier and fringing reefs

Raja Ampat is a protected archipelago located off the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua, Indonesia. Situated squarely within the Coral Triangle, Raja Ampat straddles both sides of the equator and is swept by nutrient-rich currents, creating the perfect conditions for marine life to proliferate. 

Among scientific circles, Raja Ampat is widely recognised as the global epicentre of marine biodiversity. Over 1,400 fish species call this area home, alongside around 540 species of coral – that’s roughly 75% of all the coral species known to the world! One particular dive site even holds the record for the most fish species documented on a single dive. And, the entire area is a hotspot for endemism, so it’s no wonder people describe Raja Ampat as a ‘species factory’. 

The coral formations in Raja Ampat vary greatly between the northern and southern sections of the park, creating an intricate network of atoll, patch, barrier and fringing reefs. Interesting hard corals that thrive here include smooth cauliflower, cactus, brain, and laminar corals, as well as stag and elkhorn corals. Towards the south of the park, soft corals flourish, with sea fans, whip corals, crinoids and stinging hydroids alongside beautifully hued sponges, tunicates, and leather corals.

• World’s largest fringing reef with up to 300 species of coral
• Marine Protected Area and UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Predominantly hard corals with a scattering of soft corals

Ningaloo Reef stretches for around 260 kilometres along Australia’s western coast, roughly located between the towns of Coral Bay and Exmouth. While its eastern counterpart – the Great Barrier Reef – gets most of the attention, Ningaloo is actually the largest fringing reef in the world and offers some of the planet’s best underwater experiences.

As a fringing reef, Ningaloo is located remarkably close to shore and can be reached with a brief swim in some places. Nowhere else can you access such an expansive coral system so easily. Despite its proximity to shore, Ningaloo’s ecosystems are still incredibly healthy, in part due to its protection as a marine park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thankfully, it has also experienced minimal bleaching, meaning the corals remain vibrant and varied in their colour. 

The diversity here is simply spectacular, with up to 300 documented coral species on offer. Hard corals are most prevalent, particularly finger coral, staghorns, cabbage, and brain corals. A scattering of stunning soft corals can also be seen, particularly in the deeper sections and around the Muiron Islands. These include gorgonian sea fans, leather corals, sea pens, tree corals, and a huge variety of sponges.

• The reason why Fiji is known as the 'Soft Coral Capital of the World'
• Strong, nutrient-rich currents supporting kaleidoscopic corals
• Home to Rainbow Reef and the Great White Wall

The Somosomo Strait is a narrow passage between the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Vast amounts of water flow through the strait, funnelling nutrients into the channel and creating strong currents. As a result, the Somosomo Strait is home to some of the most colourful and fascinating reefscapes you'll ever see.

After just one dive here, you’ll understand why Fiji has been dubbed the ‘Soft coral capital of the world’. Massive fan corals, sponges, and a kaleidoscopic selection of soft corals is why the Somosomo Strait has become so well known – and as the current flows, the reefs come alive, upping the ante from beautiful to breathtaking. Spindly multi-hued polyps stretch out from every direction, swaying in the water column as they feed on barely visible plankton.

The aptly named Rainbow Reef lies just off the Vanua Levu coastline and features a full spectrum of colourful soft corals. In contrast, the famous Great White Wall is covered in a thick blanket of white Dendronephthya corals, creating a view reminiscent of a snow-capped mountain. This wall drops well below recreational depths, with the soft coral trees blushing a light lavender colour the deeper you descend.

• One of the world’s richest and biodiverse marine environments
• Up to 400 coral species growing within the bay
• Fringing and patch reefs with hard corals, sea whips, sponges, and more

Situated on the north coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, Kimbe Bay is a large body of water that opens out onto the Bismarck Sea. Kimbe Bay’s location, topography and geography have helped create one of the richest and most biologically diverse marine environments in the world. Surveys suggest there are some 400 types of coral growing within the bay, attracting an array of resident fish and visiting cetaceans. 

From the coast, Kimbe Bay’s reef shelf slopes gradually out to sea for several kilometres, reaching depths of roughly 200-metres before dropping away to around 1,000 metres in the main basin of the bay. Fed by nutrient-rich currents from the Bismarck Sea, Kimbe Bay collects larval deposits carried from elsewhere in the region, while its sheltered position provides the perfect conditions for coral polyps and juvenile marine life to flourish. 

Diving in the bay focuses on a wide selection of fringing and patch reefs such as South Emma, Vanessa’s, and Christine’s. These are dominated by hard corals and red-hued sea whips, though pockets of densely packed sponges can also be found. Further from the shore, a series of seamounts – including Bradford, Inglis, and Joel’s – rise from the depths of Kimbe Bay, featuring steep, coral-clad walls dropping into the abyss.