A Scuba Diver’s Guide to the Best Places in the World to Explore Underwater - Fiji

 A Scuba Diver’s Guide to the Best Places in the World to Explore Underwater

From Fiji to Mexico and beyond, 13 essential places to dive deep.

Those who don’t scuba dive are getting only one angle on all of the planet’s best views. The world simply appears different down in the quiet of the deep—and through the underwater looking glass of a scuba mask. With more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface covered by water, the best places in the world to go scuba diving are as varied and interesting as any topside wildlife or nature attraction.

Here are 13 of the very best, from Fiji’s storied Rainbow Reef and the current-washed passes of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia to the many sun-dappled coral reefs and shipwrecks closer to home in the Florida Keys. Dive in for inspiration, and then dive down in these places for the best scuba diving adventures in the world.

Fiji is a diver’s dream destination, and several hotels and operators offer sustainable ways to see the marine life.

Photo by Jay Clue and Padi

Fiji

Slip on a mask and roll off a dive boat in Fiji, and some of the world’s most colorful and bountiful soft corals await. The waters here are home to 42 percent of the world’s coral species, according to the Coral Reef Alliance.

To see the underwater colors and corals at their most mind-blowing, make for the aptly named Rainbow Reef, which runs between the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni in the Somosomo Strait. For daily two-tank dives on the reef, base at Paradise Taveuni or Fiji’s first PADI Eco Center, Sau Bay Resort & Spa, where mangrove and coral planting and village beach cleanups can be incorporated into your stay. Migrating humpback whales are often seen in these waters between June and October. And PADI and Fiji launched an initiative called “Bula Blue” to increase conservation efforts in this storied part of the South Pacific.

Off Viti Levu’s southern coast, in Beqa Lagoon, divers marvel at the sight of tiger sharks, nurse sharks, bull sharks, lemons, and more. “What makes this dive site even more magical is that the massive shark gatherings will take place among the vibrant hues of healthy coral,” Andersen says. Coral reefs to visit include the Great Astrolabe Reef around Kadavu Island and Namena Marine Reserve, between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the country’s largest no-take reef.

Elsewhere in Fiji, pair topside relaxing and diving with a stay at an eco-minded property like Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Six Senses Fiji, or Vomo Island, all of which run coral restoration programs and have resident marine biologists to help with deeper diver education, including youth programs.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/best-places-in-the-world-to-go-scuba-diving 

Terry Ward: Terry Ward is a Florida-based travel writer whose work appears in CNN, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and the Washington Post, among many other outlets.