Where to dive with manta rays

Manta Point

Bali & Nusa Penida, Indonesia

Mantas visit the cleaning stations here all year, sometimes in courtship 'manta trains' of up to 30.

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.

Blue Corner (Palau)

Palau

Hook in above the wall and watch resident grey and whitetip reef sharks, tuna and barracuda work the current.

Bells to Blue Hole

Dahab, Egypt

Drop through the Bells chimney to a wall at about 25 m, then follow the wall to cross the 7 m saddle into the Blue Hole.

Elphinstone

Marsa Alam & the Brothers, Egypt

Open-ocean reef 25 km north of Marsa Alam where oceanic whitetips frequent the southern plateau, best October to December.

Makassar Reef (Manta Point)

Komodo, Indonesia

Shallow manta cleaning-station drift where reef mantas show up year-round, peaking December–April with 4–12 on a good dive.

Half Moon Caye Wall

Belize

Garden eels on a 6 m sand shelf give way to a wall dropping past 30 m into the abyss, with reef sharks patrolling its edge in gentle currents.

Daedalus Reef

Marsa Alam & the Brothers, Egypt

Lighthouse reef 80 km off Marsa Alam, only reached by liveaboard, where schooling hammerheads gather, especially in summer.

Dollabarat

Azores, Portugal

Hin Daeng

Phuket & Koh Lanta, Thailand

One of Thailand's top sites for whale sharks and manta rays, with a wall at the south end dropping to about 70 m.

Roca Partida

Socorro (Revillagigedo), Mexico

A split-rock pinnacle where whitetip reef sharks pack into crevices while silky and Galapagos sharks cruise the blue.

Crystal Bay

Bali & Nusa Penida, Indonesia

One of the few places to see Mola Mola being cleaned, from July to November, above hard and soft coral gardens.