Wild and wonderful: From the abundant Red Sea on the northeastern flank of Africa to the chilly waters surging with sharks in South Africa, there are plenty of options for the adventure lover in this chunk of the world.

SEE ALL: 100 Best Dive Sites

Hundreds of small butter­flyfish, sergeant majors, anthias and cleaner wrasse work among the cabbage coral at this site’s two cleaning stations. Manta rays hover over the corals to have the tiny fish pick parasites off their bodies and gill cavities. Manta Reef is a gentle drift dive that begins with an 80-foot drop onto an amphitheater called the Pinnacles. Patient divers are often treated to a spectacle as up to six mantas glide slowly over the reef. If divers hang down under the lip of the reef, the manta rays will stay and put on a show at the amphitheater. — Fiona Ayerst

Big Brother and its sibling, Little Brother, are two tiny, rocky islands poking out of the middle of the Red Sea. Barren and windswept, save for a Victorian-era lighthouse on Big Brother, they are rather nondescript. But underwater, they are a hot spot for adventurous divers because their location, some 60 miles from the mainland, means their sheer walls are a magnet for pelagics such as manta rays, dogtooth tuna and oceanic whitetip, scalloped hammerhead and thresher sharks. Constantly washed by currents, the coral growth on the drop-offs is quite simply spectacular, and this veritable riot of colors forms a mesmerizing backdrop to every dive. — Mark Evans

For those looking to explore sites completely unspoiled by dive traffic, the Hallaniyat Islands, off the southern coast of Oman, have it all. With few dive boats actually making the trip to Al-Hallaniyah, the largest of the islands, divers are still discovering new reefs and wrecks. The coral landscape at these Arabian Sea sites is burgeoning with life, from big animals, such as oceanic manta rays and grouper, to reef residents, such as eels and sea turtles. But perhaps the most enticing aspect of this island is the potential for humpback whale encounters. With a population of about 80, the area’s humpback whales have become stationary at the coast that faces the Indian Ocean. Some scientists even consider this population its own subspecies because the large family has never mixed with other humpbacks. To see a whale above the water is most likely, but the chances for a once-in-a-lifetime underwater encounter are much higher here than maybe any other part of the world. — Tobias Friedrich

Accessible by boat or by shore, Miller’s Point is just a few minutes away from Simon’s Town, on the coast of False Bay. This dive site immerses you in a unique ecosystem of kelp forest. Kelps colonize each rocky substrate, where many marine invertebrates proliferate. The dense forest is one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on the planet — it is home to many shark species, such as the shy spotted gully shark, pyjama catshark, leopard catshark and more. But the main attraction here is the high concentration of broadnose sevengill sharks. This prehistoric-looking shark strolls lazily under the canopy, and it is possible to observe several specimens at the same time. There are only a few places in the world where it is possible to see this shark, and this shallow dive, 40 feet deep, is suitable for beginners. The resident sevengill sharks, which can grow up to 10 feet in length, may even swim up to you without reservation here. The water temperature can go down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s necessary to have appropriate exposure protection and equipment. The visibility is very random, ranging from 10 to 60-plus feet. Between ambient and macro photography, it is an excellent playground for photographers. — Greg Lecoeur

In the deep south of the Egyptian Red Sea, 4 miles beyond Zabargad, is a tiny speck of land called Rocky Island. It can only be visited by liveaboard, and being so remote, it is always the turnaround point of the trip. The reef is a craggy vertical wall, with colorful soft corals, but the main attraction is out in the blue. Starting in late summer, this is the realm of the oceanic whitetip shark. This pelagic wanderer lives in a world where meals are scarce, so it will cruise in to investigate any new object in its domain, rewarding divers with unforgettable close encounters. — Alex Mustard

The SS Carnatic is one of the oldest Red Sea wrecks on Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef. This steamboat that transported wine, copper, cotton and gold crashed on the reef in 1869 due to a crew error as it made its way to Bombay from England. More than 140 years of life on the seabed has turned the 295-foot Carnatic wreck into a wonderful artificial coral reef and a fantastic dive site. Its depth — from 60 to 90 feet — makes it accessible to a wide range of divers. Most of the dive can be done outside of the wreck to observe the coral structures composed of soft and hard corals. The hull of the wreck is almost indistinguishable from the natural reef and is home to a wide range of Red Sea reef fish. The wooden structure and planking rusted away the steel hull, held together by iron supports. With the decking gone, penetration into the holds is easy for any level of diver. In the holds, you can see the remains of broken bottles as well as more resident marine life, such as schools of glassfish, crocodile fish, lionfish and sometimes giant moray eels. — Greg Lecoeur

When winter rolls around, divers, adventure seekers and photographers from around the globe gather along the Wild Coast to partake in the yearly sardine run. Truthfully, humans are only spectators to this natural phenomenon. The real participants are the countless predators that have congregated here from far and wide. The anticipation, as the predators eagerly await the sardines’ arrival, is tangible. Most likely, the first of the predators to be spotted are the Cape gannets. It’s these strikingly beautiful birds that alert spectators to the formation of a baitball. Large pods of fast-moving dolphins round up the sardines into tightly packed balls. Once the baitball has been formed, the Cape gannets commence with a concentrated aerial assault. With the sardines trapped, divers roll into the water to witness the frenzy below as the other predators join in. It’s a scene like no other; the sights and sounds will be remembered for a lifetime. — Geo Cloete