Nearly as vast as the area itself is the Asia-Pacific region’s reputation for hosting some of the world’s best dive sites. It’s a cornucopia of everything divers absolutely love: abundant marine life swirling around vibrant coral reefs, big animals zooming past current-swept walls, epic shipwrecks adorned in sponges and more. Because many of the best dive destinations in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and other bodies of water in the region are fairly remote, they provide divers a pristine backdrop for the trip of their dreams. From the biodiversity hot spot that is the Coral Triangle to the wreck-filled Truk Lagoon, we can’t get enough of the Asia-Pacific region.

SEE ALL: 100 Best Dive Sites

Converging currents at the point where Hairball is located make this black sandy slope a site rich in nutrients. That’s what attracts all sorts of weird and wonderful critters, many of which have adapted supreme camouflage to hide among the algae. Whether it be Ambon scorpionfish, hairy frogfish, seahorses, flamboyant cuttlefish or a rarely seen species of crustacean, you’ll be able to find them all and more at this macro wonderland. — Steve Jones

The go-to location when BBC wants great “reef story” content — featured heavily in the latest Blue Planet II series — Barracuda Point hosts so much life and so many turtles it truly spoils you for future diving. The general reef life — butterflyfish, angelfish and triggerfish — is mostly ignored due to the presence of huge schools of bumphead parrotfish, barracuda, trevally, fusiliers and snapper. Whitetip reef sharks casually swim through the trevally while gray reef sharks cruise a little deeper along the wall — and there is always the chance encounter with a whale shark, devil ray, manta ray or green sea turtle. — Jason Isley

Legend says that the remote South Pacific islands of Vavau, located in the north of the Kingdom of Tonga, were created when the god Maui caught the seabed with his magic hook, fished them up and left them on the surface. If this sounds like paradise, it gets even better. Humpback whales come to calve and mate here in calm, warm water from July to October. When you cruise out at sunrise, blows are soon spotted along the horizon. Not all whales are interested, but some actively interact with humans. Strict rules protect the whales from being chased or harassed, but it is possible to spend a whole day swimming with whales in small guided groups. There’s ample time to compose and recompose the ideal photograph. Book early and allow a seven-day trip to ensure weather and whale sightings are in your favor. You might also sight pilot whales, dolphins, marlin, mobula rays, whale sharks, bull sharks and even tiger sharks, but humpbacks are the star of the show — surely one of the best ocean encounters humans can experience. — Steve Woods

Stories behind the most celebrated wreck dives often begin with tragedy. In March 1911, the SS Yongala steamed unawares into an approaching cyclone off Australia’s eastern coast. All 122 people on board perished when the 360-foot ship suffered the storm’s wrath and sank to a sandy bottom 95 feet below, 50 miles southeast of Townsville. Since then, an extraordinary assemblage of marine life has visited the site to pay tribute and build a living shrine. Shoals of snapper and barracuda and squadrons of marble rays and eagle rays are joined by sea turtles and sea snakes. Beefy bull sharks, oversize moray eels and giant trevally are all in attendance too. Soft corals, cup corals, sponges and oysters see to the bright decoration of the hull. Thousands of annual awestruck visitors prove Yongala is to shipwrecks what Great Barrier Reef is to reefs. — Brandon Cole

Sitting upright in 110 feet of water, this seaplane was sunk during World War II when a Japanese bomb ripped open its fuselage just behind the wings. Its 104-foot wingspan is nearly intact today, though the massive engines have dislodged from their mounts. Even after 75 years, the wreck is well-preserved, and an observant diver can find ammunition near the waist gunner’s gun port. Watch for batfish hovering above the wreck, lionfish that have made the cockpit home and the massive school of glassfish under the portside wing. — Matthew Meier

Hopkins Island

South Australia

If you’re a canine fan, then you will love the puppies at Hopkins Island, situated 20 miles southeast of Port Lincoln. Well, not quite puppies. Australian sea lions, actually, Australia’s most adorable and only endemic pinniped. It is here, in the clear shallow water adjacent to a sandy beach, that you become the center of attention of overzealous sea lions that love people. Be prepared for a barrel of laughs, and your dive fin may just turn out to be the new toy on the block as you find yourself in a hilarious game of tug of war. — Gary Bell

The Witu Islands are full of high-octane, unforgettable dive sites, yet the seamount Lama Shoals stands out even among this esteemed company. At its apex, the reef comes alive with thousands of anthias in a dance of death with preying trevally, who hunt like a pack of wolves. High above the dense black coral bushes, roaring vortexes of jacks and barracuda make it look like the heavens are opening, while out in the blue, gray reef sharks patrol back and forth like guardians of this untouched reef. This site makes the senses throb like few others. — Steve Jones

In the Maldives, where Dhivehi is spoken, madi means manta and varu means energy. That provides a clue as to what divers can expect at this site. The vast reef, almost a half-mile long, extends over a gentle slope, descending from 25 to 100 feet, where the bottom is transformed into sand. There are plenty of hard corals and small tropical fish everywhere, especially at the ends, where the current may be stronger but the mantas — they come to take advantage of the cleaning station — are the real protagonists. And if there is no luck with the mantas, it is always possible to explore a long cave, at 75 feet, which exceeds 650 feet in length. — Felipe Barrio

This seamount — known locally as a thila — is a quiet dive with little or no current. The seamount is not too dramatic, although one of the walls drops deeper than 200 feet. But the opportunities for underwater photography are great, and the topography of the site allows for long, multilevel dives that are suitable for divers of every experience level. Look for small hollows crowded with resident invertebrates while enjoying reefs awash in pumpkin-orange and lemon-yellow soft corals. There are all kinds of fish typical in the Maldives, such as bluestripe snapper, groupers and soldierfish, but the highlights are the oriental sweetlips. These beautifully patterned fish remain very calm at the sight of divers and seem to have a great curiosity for visitors. – Felipe Barrio

Reaching Tubbataha is not as easy as one might expect. Only between March and June can liveaboards leave their moorings and navigate toward the atolls. During the rest of the year, weather and sea conditions do even more to preserve its natural ecosystem than the establishment of a national marine park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located within the Coral Triangle, the reefs of the Tubbataha Natural Park support 374 species of corals, almost 90 percent of all coral species in the Philippines. One of the highlights of the destination are sheer walls — such as Wall Street in the North Atoll — falling down into the endless depths of the Sulu Sea. A diver can easily be enchanted by the dense and colorful soft corals blanketing the substratum, and you can dive side by side with coral grouper and Napoleon wrasse. It is rather common to face strong currents that might change directions, so most dives are drift dives. — Sabrina Belloni

The king of Thailand himself once closed Fantasy Reef to protect this treasured natural habitat, and it’s paid off. Diving this electrifying reef is like going to one of Thailand’s infamous full-moon parties, with all of the visual delights but without the music. You will be enticed by a huge diversity of marine life, with everything from bumphead parrotfish to huge manta rays to leopard sharks and schools of eagle rays to even exotic macro creatures. But the environment may be even more unforgettable. The huge asteroid-looking reef is covered in soft corals, and a white sandy beach greets you as you surface. The fun starts in about 50 feet of water as the slow, gentle current sweeps you away to the reef, taking you on a fantastic voyage. Welcome to the Andaman Sea. — Imran Ahmad

Wakatobi is a treasure trove of splendid dive sites, whether you want to indulge in beautiful seascapes and sprawling coral reefs or prefer to look for strange macro life. One of the greatest macro spots is a place called the Zoo. On this shallow reef you’ll find sandy patches, coral gardens and small drop-offs where you can marvel at ghost pipefish, tiny white weedy pygmy seahorses, flamboyant nudibranchs, frogfish and huge barrel sponges adorned with resident hairy squat lobsters. — Christian Skauge

On Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef, dive among hundreds of colorful coral species and even more fish, including oddities such as scorpionfish and ornate ghost pipefish and favorites such as sharks and sea turtles. Then pare down to snorkel gear, because these Indian Ocean waters are some of the few where whale sharks regularly cruise close to shore. Excursions March to August start with warm-up snorkels over the reef, then plunge into the big blue. Fin alongside a 20-foot behemoth with its mouth open to feed on plankton and krill, and keep up as long as you can. — Melissa Gaskill

This armed aircraft transport ship was a sitting duck at anchor when attacking U.S. planes emerged in the skies over the Japanese military stronghold of Truk Lagoon on February 17, 1944. A torpedo smashed into the side of the ship, flooding it rapidly and sending the 450-foot vessel to the bottom of the lagoon forever. Today, the Fujikawa Maru is Truk’s premier wreck dive. Sitting in a depth of only 100 feet, with an average depth of 60 feet, this dive offers something for every skill level of diver. Whether you want to test your training and nerves on a deep engine-room penetration dive or admire the coral-encrusted gun on the foredeck, this wreck will be sure to impress even the most seasoned diver. — Mike Gerken

This dive site is a great place to see a large variety of Indonesia’s resident invertebrates, especially at night. The walls are very colorful, with soft corals, yellow crinoids and brightly colored sea cucumbers. Keep an eye out for parrotfishes in their mucus cocoon as they spend the night in the crevices of the reef. The reef is full of crustaceans, such as decorator crabs, zebra crabs, Coleman shrimp on fire urchins, and slipper lobsters. Yellow Wall is also a very good place for nudibranch sightings, and it offers a good opportunity to spot the rare ladybug amphipods. — Greg Lecoeur

Forget for a moment, if you can, the critter parade that is a dive at Raja Ampat’s Arborek Jetty. Even if nothing with fins — or feet — were moving on the sand under the dock of a village used to welcoming divers, the gentle sway of the main attraction would be enough to blow your mind. The array of soft corals attached to the pilings — impressive at any time, dazzling when fully open — is a delicate wonder (watch your fins). Look also for giant clams — growing about 5 inches a year, these colorful, sensitive mollusks, which range in size from 6 inches up to 2 feet across, can live up to 100 years. At 45 to 60 feet, the site is shallow enough for beginners, who will be thrilled to see bearded scorpionfish, banded toadfish, juvenile bicolor parrotfish, crested velvetfish, purple morays, and crabs, shrimps and nudis galore. Look sharp and you might spy the shy, leopard-spotted epaulette shark, also called a walking shark for its habit of pushing off the bottom with its fins. Not shy are the village kids, who love to show off for divers with cameras. — Mary Frances Emmons

While Fiji is known as the soft coral capital of the world, the small island of Beqa — south of Viti Levu — plays host to a much more fearsome creature. Eight species of shark have been known to frequent these waters, but the most desirable appointment is with Galeocerdo cuvier, the tiger shark. These sharks are regular visitors at Cathedral, the shark-dive spot for Beqa Lagoon Resort. This site, maxing out on a sandy plateau at 65 feet, was chosen for its proximity — it’s a 15-minute boat ride from the resort — and general protection from wind and waves. Divers can expect some face time with two or more tigers on a normal outing. But, if you’re lucky, you could come in contact with eight of these apex predators at once. — Andy Zunz

There’s a good reason why the wreck of the USAT Liberty is world-famous. Bali’s finest is a gigantic living reef adorned with wonderful corals, home to a multitude of reef fish and frequented by big schools of fish. Furthermore, this wonderland is easily accessed as a shore dive from the beach. Commissioned near the end of World War I, this transport ship met its fate when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942. At first it was beached, stripped of supplies and abandoned on the beach. The volcanic Mount Agung intervened when it erupted in 1963, sliding the sad, rotting wreck into the sea to be reborn into the oasis for life it has become today. The wreck lies between 15 and 100 feet, so it’s good for all levels of experience, and you’ll encounter different animals throughout the day. Get up early to see the normally skittish humphead parrotfish schools, or spend your time swimming with jacks and barracuda bathed in full sunlight. The many open areas and coral-encrusted swim-throughs invite further exploration, or you can cruise up and down the outside of this incredible 395-foot wreck in the company of countless reef fish. The choice is yours. — Steve Jones

If you love the weird and wonderful, you will certainly love what this site has to offer. A chocolate-brown volcanic sand slope that is rich in nutrients acts as a critter magnet, letting you tick off many of the creatures on your muck-diver wish list in one dive. Velvet ghost pipefish, flamboyant cuttlefish, skeleton shrimps, juvenile broadclub cuttlefish and numerous ornate ghost pipefish hover around the many crinoids. And let’s not forget the frogfish that are found in numbers that you simply don’t find elsewhere. To end the dive, ascend to the sea-grass beds for an extended safety stop, where the action doesn’t stop. Hairy shrimps, flying gurnards, sand divers and hairy frogfish can all be found here. For macro lovers, this site never fails to deliver. — Alex Tyrrell

Great White Wall

Taveuni, Fiji

Most Taveuni-bound divers schedule their trips around the limited availability of diving this site. This sheer wall, in the Somosomo Strait, is considered a must for the acres of white cup corals, which extend out like tiny arms grabbing at the nutrients that speed along with the outgoing current. The catch? Divers can drop in and witness this sight only during a small window between the end of outgoing tide and slack tide, and this window occurs just twice a month for a span of three days at a time. — Brooke Morton

Big schools of fish, big-animal action and big rumbles are the magic formula awaiting divers at tiny Mary Island. About 60 miles northwest of Honiara, Mary Island lies halfway between the Russell Islands and Marovo Lagoon, so boats often stop here during multiday itineraries — though diving here is far more than a convenience call. The main attractions are huge schools of fish, primarily bigeye jacks and barracuda. Add in the sound and vibration of faraway Kavachi volcano and divers quickly become obsessed with this diminutive destination. Sam Neeson and Kellie Oldfield, owners of Bilikiki Cruises, describe the scene here as “swirling piles of fish vibrating to a rumbling volcanic soundtrack.” Surprise visits by pelagic sharks, mantas and pods of whales aren’t uncommon. — Andy Sallmon

Eighty feet under, at the base of a craggy volcanic spire, boulders smothered in sponges, tunicates and bryozoans light up the blue-green waters of New Zealand’s Tie-Dye Arch. Not quite temperate or tropical, the 70-degree sea is the best of both, supporting an intriguing mix of cool- and warm-water species of fishes, invertebrates and plants. Dreadlock-topped kelp sways back and forth in a gentle surge while spotted damselfish (demoiselle, in the local lingo) shimmer like diamond dust. Beyond the kelp’s golden curtain, an archway opens to an expansive cave in which clouds of pink and blue maomao fish hide. — Brandon Cole

Diving in Palau is mostly about grand coral-reef spectacles in the crystal-clear waters of the open Pacific Ocean. Chandelier Cave offers an experience that is totally different and equally enticing. The cave is just a short boat ride from the mainland and consists of four chambers. The entrance is just 12 feet deep and the cavern is dark as you swim down and in, but if you look back at any point you can always see the green-blue glow from the entrance. The glow silhouettes the stalactites that hang down from the ceiling and appear to be floating in the water. Pick them out with the light from your torch and the bright-white limestone glistens back at you. This isn’t a fishy dive, although bronze and bigscale soldierfish can be seen. A dusk dive outside the cave provides a good chance of seeing mandarinfish and pretty pajama cardinalfish. — Alex Mustard

For those living under a rock and unfamiliar with Blue Corner, introductions are in order. Who better to offer a guided tour of this legendary site than the resident Napoleon wrasse, 100 pounds of attentive, piscine majordomo. Sporting a humped head reminiscent of Quasimodo’s hunched back, it often greets divers upon descent, shadowing their every move while they drift along the reef’s edge or tie in with reef hooks if the current is cranking. The wrasse’s competition for visitors’ attention is stiff — polished-chrome schools of bigeye jacks, volleys of barracuda and sharks. Sometimes dozens of gray reef sharks pass back and forth over the precipitous drop into the blue. Whether they or the affable wrasse own this site is hard to say. — Brandon Cole

Just a short boat ride southwest of Aka Island off Naha on Okinawayou’ll find one of the region’s best dive sites: Kuba Island. When you get in the water you are greeted by a shallow rocky bottom that looks almost like a riverbed strewn with rounded rocks and pebbles. Off to one side there’s a cavern filled with beautiful shoals of silvery glassfish, and on the outside, huge boulders form a maze on the bottom. Further on, the boulders give way to rocky outcrops, huge cliffs and deep canyons where bright orange and red coral fans frolic in the shade. Farther up, colorful crinoids compete for the best spots to sling their sticky arms out in search for prey. Sometimes, turtles and sea snakes visit this spot, so you’ll always need to be on the lookout for a photo op. — Christian Skauge

The Misool region of Raja Ampat overflows with amazing dive sites that force you to recalibrate how rich you thought a coral reef can be. Two Tree Rock, one of the best, is one of the more northern sites on the east side of Misool. The site is small enough to completely circumnavigate on a dive, although many divers find themselves unwilling to move far because there is so much to see. The craggy, sloping walls of the island are colonized by leather corals in the shallows that give way to large sea fans. This site regularly attracts huge schools of silversides and sardines, and these attract a plethora of predators. Groupers, snappers, tuna and even schools of mobula follow the fish to feast. When it all comes together you have an ecosystem pulsing with energy. — Alex Mustard

There’s more to the dreamy islands of French Polynesia than clear turquoise lagoons and idyllic white-sand beaches. At Tao Toi, on the island of Moorea, you will find some of the healthiest hard corals around, with plenty of tropical fish, turtles and possibly eagle rays. As Christian Vandoren, of Moorea Fun Dive, says, “Under the boat, there is a beautiful coral garden complete with green sea turtles. At the end of your dive, you will be surrounded by a school of blue and black triggerfish and blacktip sharks before getting back to the surface, where the mountains of Moorea will welcome you for another day in paradise.” — Renee Capozzola

A thick green canopy of tropical trees clinging to a limestone cliff welcomes far-flung travelers to the very exotic dive site of Deacon’s Reef. White cockatoos often squawk noisily in the dense jungle to punctuate the experience. The outside reef is a steep drop with a large pinnacle and deep canyons. A visit from a solo hammerhead or graceful manta is not uncommon. The shallower reef is a plateau marked by small canyons and mounding corals, with huge schools of blue chromis darting among a latticework of hard coral growth. Here, large pastel soft corals peek from clouds of orange anthias. Schools of resident fusiliers move slowly in the shallows, gliding in and out of the sunbeams, while all manner of nudis, crustaceans and even the rare Severn’s pygmy seahorse beckon photographers to drain the remaining PSI from their tank. — Tanya G. Burnett