According to PADI, the world’s largest diving organisation, the ultimate diving destination isn’t just about breathtaking underwater adventures, it’s about doing your part to save the ocean. With a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver certification, you’ll receive your passport to the last frontier and learn the skills that can help save one of the most important ecosystems in the world. 

With over 6,600 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts in 184 countries, the opportunities for exploration are endless. We dive in with PADI to discover how these handpicked destinations for 2025 stand out as places where adventure and conservation come together to offer meaningful adventure beneath the surface.

Australia 

This is the OG dive destination with three different oceans to explore. This beautiful part of the world not only holds the Great Barrier Reef, but offers giant kelp forests, shipwrecks and a stunning diversity of marine life.

Wobbegong, grey reef, nurse and whitetip sharks all make their home here, alongside turtles, silvery reef patrollers and a host of critters. Manta rays and whale sharks are common sightings when in season, and the Yongala Wreck is definitely worth a dive.

Dive among schools of giant trevally as they use your torchlight to hunt for prey in the inky blackness. Marvel at the beauty of a sleeping turtle or head down south to Port Lincoln to go cage diving with Great White Sharks. It’s no wonder so many divers come here to get certified.

Seek Adventure: Some of the country’s most epic adventures lie on the surrounding islands of mainland Australia. These include: 

Lizard Island: The only luxury PADI Dive Resort within the Great Barrier Reef National Park and a short boat ride away to the world famous dive site Cod Hole. 

Lord Howe Island: Home to the world’s tallest volcanic stack Ball’s Pyramid, the world’s most southern coral reef and Galapagos whaler sharks. You can seek adventure with PADI Dive Center Dive Lord Howe in one of the cleanest places on earth – where there is actually no air or sea pollution to be found!

Japan

Because of Japan’s vast size and relative land to ocean ratio there is a huge variety of dives to partake in. There are at least three distinct ecosystems, from the far north: where you can find king crabs prowling the depths, to the warm south: where you can explore coral reefs. Swim through kelp forests and discover large creatures in the region in between the two.

Turquoise fringed archipelagos and crystal blue lagoons await off the shore. Old WWII wrecks sit quietly on the sandy sea floor, slowly accruing coral and algae. For history buffs there are few better sites to explore than near Okinawa. The white sand beaches and carpets of coral in this gorgeous area are unforgettable.

Seek Adventure: Some of the country’s most epic adventures lie on the surrounding islands of Japan. These include: 

• • Okinawa: Year-round tropical diving with rich coral reefs, great visibility and the mystery of the underwater monument Yonaguni Jima.

• Kagoshima: Yakushima National Park is home to pristine coral reefs and is a major spawning ground for sea turtles. 

• Hokkaido: Offers some of the best ice diving, with the chance to find rare sea angels. The Shiretoko Peninsula where this ice diving is found is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Ogasawara Islands: Known as the “Galapagos of the Orient”, with numerous wrecks and large pelagic life including whales, dolphins and sharks that often swim through

New Zealand:

One of Jacques Cousteau’s top 10 places to dive in the world, this is one of the only places in the world where you can dive in both cold and warm water environments. With its unique geological features, easily accessible coastline and hundreds of offshore islands, and rich variety of marine species, New Zealand is a mecca for divers of all levels from around the world.  

The Cavalli Islands are a slice of subtropical paradise and a platform from which to plunge into the treasures of New Zealand’s Far North. The terrain is volcanic so diving in the Cavalli Islands is filled with swim-throughs, tunnels and caves.

Between the Cavalli Islands and Matauri Bay lies the Northland’s famous wreck: Rainbow Warrior. This scuttled Greenpeace ship is an artificial reef covered in coral – an unmissable wreck dive filled with jewel anemones, eels, monster crayfish and John Dory.

Waters in the Far North attract the world’s largest stingrays. Northern scorpionfish are huge compared to tropical ones – plus they don’t have the deadly sting. It’s not uncommon for a pod of dolphin to put on a display as you cruise back to the mainland after diving the Cavalli Islands.

Seek Adventure:

• Dive!Tutukaka is the country’s first PADI Adaptive Services Facility. The dive centre mentors and train locals so they can be guides and guardians of their own coastline. A dive with them means they also have the ability to continue to economically show the value of keeping Poor Knights Island an MPA.

Fiji:

Known as ‘The Soft Coral Capital of the World’ and ‘The Best Shark Diving Location in the World’, Fiji is a world class dive destination.

The strong currents of the outer reefs bring nutrient rich waters from thousands of miles around, and in turn, lure in some of the most diverse life in the ocean, including everything from macro life to pelagic spectacles that defy the eye.

With more than 390 coral species and around 1200 fish species it’s an underwater naturalist’s dream. Wall dives, swim-throughs, caverns, canyons and incredible blue water encounters like bull sharks, wahoo and the occasional manta or whale shark make diving in Fiji an unforgettable experience.

Seek Adventure:

• Have the ultimate luxury scuba diving holiday at Yasawa Island Resort, with a private beach picnic during your surface intervals.
• Learn to dive as a family at Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort and explore Namena Marine Reserve – one of the most iconic dive destinations in the world 

Brazil: 

From famous wrecks and healthy reefs, the variety and quality of the diving in Brazil is staggering.

Fernando de Noronha Marine Park, a World Heritage Site, is Brazil’s premier diving destination. With 230 species of fish, 15 species of coral and a breeding ground for spinner dolphins, divers always leave Fernando de Noronha Marine Park happy.

Close to Rio de Janeiro, Arraial do Cabo offers dive sites with calm currents and excellent visibility, making this area great for beginners. Wrecks and caves also offer challenges for more advanced divers.

Whether you choose offshore islands or the shores of Rio, you are sure to see some of the most unusual creatures and the best dive sites South America has to offer.

Seek Adventure:

• Fernando de Noronha Marine Park:  A World Heritage Site and Brazil’s premier diving destination with 230 species of fish, 15 species of coral, and a breeding ground for spinner dolphins
• Arraial do Cabo: great beginner dive spot with calm currents and great visibility 
• Recife: capital of shipwrecks, with over 30 to explore
• Freshwater diving allows you to connect with snakes, pink dolphins, 60 species of fish, and river otters

About PADI  

PADI® (Professional Association of Diving Instructors®) is the largest purpose-driven diving organisation with a global community of 6,600 dive centres and resorts, 128,000 professional members and more than 30 million certified divers to date. Entirely committed to our blue planet, PADI empowers people around the world to experience, explore and take meaningful action to protect the world beneath the surface. For over 50 years, PADI is undeniably The Way the World Learns to Dive®, setting the standard for the highest quality dive training, underwater safety and conservation initiatives. For divers by divers, PADI is obsessed with transforming lives and connecting the passionate through Learning, Club, Travel, Gear and the PADI AWARE Foundation, with a singular goal of creating ocean change. Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean. SM  www.padi.com​