SS Thistlegorm
Sharm El Sheikh & Ras Mohammed, Egypt
WWII supply ship bombed on 6 October 1941; holds still carry Bedford trucks and Norton and BSA motorcycles.
- Advanced
- Wreck
- Turtles
Where to dive with macro life
79 destinations where macro life are documented by published sources, with the months to go when we know them.
When to go
Dark: peak season. Light: regularly seen.
| Destination | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lembeh StraitPeak Aug–Dec | ||||||||||||
| Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPeak Oct–Jan | ||||||||||||
| Pembrokeshire & SkomerPeak May–Jun | ||||||||||||
| AnilaoAll year | ||||||||||||
| PondicherryAll year | ||||||||||||
| Okinawa & YonaguniDec–May | ||||||||||||
| Plymouth & South CornwallMar–Aug | ||||||||||||
| CreteApr–Jun |
Also documented here
Sources confirm them, but don't say in which months.
- Abrolhos Marine Park, Brazil
- Andaman Islands (Havelock & Neil), India
- Argyll Sea Lochs (Loch Fyne & Loch Long), United Kingdom
- Azores, Portugal
- Baia (Bay of Naples), Italy
- Bali & Nusa Penida, Indonesia
- Bohol & Panglao, Philippines
- Bonaire
- Cancún & Isla Mujeres, Mexico
- Cayman Islands
- Côn Đảo, Vietnam
- Conception Bay & Bell Island (Newfoundland), Canada
- Coron, Philippines
- Cozumel, Mexico
- Curaçao
- Dahab, Egypt
- Dorset (Portland & Swanage), United Kingdom
- El Nido, Philippines
- Eyjafjörður (Strýtan), Iceland
- Farne Islands & St Abbs, United Kingdom
- Finistère (Brest, Crozon & Glénan), France
- Florida Keys, United States
- Galápagos, Ecuador
- Gili Islands, Indonesia
- Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas), Australia
- Grenada
- Gulen (Western Norway), Norway
- Hemmoor Chalk Lake, Germany
- Hurghada, Egypt
- Koh Samui & Koh Phangan, Thailand
- Komodo, Indonesia
- Kona (Big Island), United States
- Lundy Island, United Kingdom
- Mactan (Cebu), Philippines
- Malapascua, Philippines
- Maldives
- Mallorca, Spain
- Malta, Gozo & Comino, Malta
- Maui, United States
- Moalboal, Philippines
- Narvik & Lofoten, Norway
- Nha Trang, Vietnam
- Oahu, United States
- Palau
- Phú Quốc, Vietnam
- Phuket & Koh Lanta, Thailand
- Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
- Port Hardy & God's Pocket, Canada
- Portofino & San Fruttuoso, Italy
- Puerto Galera, Philippines
- Raja Ampat, Indonesia
- Roatán & Bay Islands, Honduras
- Romblon, Philippines
- Salish Sea (Vancouver, Victoria & Nanaimo), Canada
- Scapa Flow (Orkney), United Kingdom
- Similan Islands & Khao Lak, Thailand
- Sipadan & Semporna, Malaysia
- Siquijor, Philippines
- Sodwana Bay, South Africa
- Southeast Florida (Palm Beach to Miami), United States
- Southern Leyte (Sogod Bay), Philippines
- Sri Lanka West & South (Colombo to Unawatuna), Sri Lanka
- Stockholm Archipelago & Dalarö, Sweden
- Subic Bay, Philippines
- Sundhäuser See, Germany
- Taveuni & Rainbow Reef, Fiji
- Tofo, Mozambique
- Trincomalee & East Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
- Tubbataha, Philippines
- Utila, Honduras
- Wakatobi, Indonesia
Dive sites known for macro life
Richelieu Rock
Similan Islands & Khao Lak, Thailand
Schools of chevron barracuda overhead while tigertail seahorses, harlequin shrimps and ghost pipefish hide in fields of soft coral.
- Advanced
- Wall
- Whale sharks
Manta Point
Bali & Nusa Penida, Indonesia
Mantas visit the cleaning stations here all year, sometimes in courtship 'manta trains' of up to 30.
- Advanced
- Rock formations
- Manta rays
Hilma Hooker
Bonaire
A 1984 cargo-ship wreck lying on its starboard side on a 30 m sandy plateau, its holds reachable through large openings.
- Advanced
- Wreck
- Barracuda
Jackfish Alley
Sharm El Sheikh & Ras Mohammed, Egypt
Ras Mohammed drift with sunlit swim-throughs at 5 and 15 m, then an alley of jackfish and whitetip reef sharks.
- Advanced
- Cavern
- Whitetip reef sharks
Coral Cave Gozo
Malta, Gozo & Comino, Malta
A large open cavern at Dwejra from 17 m to a 28-30 m seabed, its walls and ceiling covered in corals with slipper lobsters.
- Advanced
- Cavern
Paradise Reef
Cozumel, Mexico
Three long coral ridges in mild current off Marina Caleta, popular for night dives; look out for toadfish.
- Open Water
- Drift
- Octopus
Panagsama Sardine Run (House Reef)
Moalboal, Philippines
A sardine ball that spreads from 2 to about 15 m off Panagsama Beach, hunted by mackerels and tuna, with a thresher shark if you are lucky.
- Open Water
- Wall
- Whale sharks
Willemstoren Lighthouse
Bonaire
Advanced-only site at Bonaire's southern tip with lots of schooling fish, lobsters under the corals and the occasional turtle or tarpon.
- Advanced
- Reef
- Turtles
Moray Garden
Dahab, Egypt
Walk-in shore dive where holes and cracks hide morays, nudibranchs and scorpionfish, with a school of yellowtail barracuda at 7 m.
- Open Water
- Reef
- Whale sharks
Buddy's Reef
Bonaire
Buddy Dive Resort's house reef, perfect for beginners, where black crinoids perch on coral heads and a resident tarpon greets most night divers.
- Open Water
- Reef
- Turtles
Andrea II
Bonaire
Shore-dive coral garden with large shallow coral formations and Reef Renewal Foundation coral trees planted to help restore the reef.
- Open Water
- Reef
- Turtles
Photo credits
- SS Thistlegorm dive site, Northern Red Sea Wrecks, Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Richelieu Rock dive site, Similan / Surin, Mr.CMBurns, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Manta Point Nusa Penida dive site, Bali / Nusa Penida, Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Hilma Hooker dive site, Bonaire, Kris Mikael Krister, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Jackfish Alley dive site, Ras Mohammed, Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coral Cave Gozo dive site, Malta / Gozo / Comino, Pstraudo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Paradise Reef Cozumel dive site, Cozumel, Mexico, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sardine school over the reef at Panagsama, Moalboal, Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Willemstoren Lighthouse dive site, Bonaire, García-Hernández, J.E., de Gier, W., van Moorsel, G.W.N.M. et al. The scleractinian Agaricia undata as a new host for the coral-gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus at Bonaire, southern Caribbean. Symbiosis 81, 303–311 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-020-00706-8, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Moray Garden Dahab dive site, Dahab, Egypt, Yvesb, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Buddy's Reef dive site, Bonaire, (c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Andrea II dive site, Bonaire, LASZLO ILYES from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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