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The best dive sites for beginners

Are you looking for your first dive experience? Your newly acquired dive certification won’t stop you from experiencing amazing underwater life. When choosing your dive destination watch out for calm conditions, depth limits and plenty sealife so that you feel comfortable as novice diver. So, we have narrowed down the top dive sites for beginners, from the Caribbean to the Philippines and everything in between - find your adventurous dive destination!

An amazing dive site that is approx. 50 min away from Port Ghalib Marina offering daily boats. This dive site is suitable for all diver levels. You will see beautiful hard corals in the shallow areas. The shore can be accessed through the hole in the reef top.

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Mermet Springs, Southern Illinois

Mermet Springs is a full-service dive site and scuba training facility that offers on-site scuba instruction. This site strives for excellence and caters to dive shops, instructors, students, and certified scuba divers of all experience levels and certifying agencies.

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Located on the west-side of Nusa Penida Island, Crystal Bay has two coral reef formations separated by sand slopes. The combination of slopes and walls that form the topography at this dive site goes down to more than 50 meters and meets with large rock which is an ideal place for a cleaning station for sunfish.

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Tugboat is Curacao’s most famous dive and snorkel spot due to its shallow depth. It was wrecked just off the shore of Caracasbaai and sits in only 15 feet of water. The tugboat is crawling with marine life and is now covered in sponges and coral growth.

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White Rock, also known as White Rock and Black Rock, is located to the south of Nan Yuan Island, adjacent to Koh Tao. The whole site is a fairly large root, so no matter how many dives you do, you will never get bored of it, depending on the course you take, the depth and the type of life you observe. Beginners and seasoned divers alike should enjoy it.

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Stoney Cove quarry was originally a granite mine. In 1958 when quarrying at the site ceased, the quarry filled with spring water. Today, the site consists of 3 main levels: a 6m shelf area, ideal for beginner training, a 36m sump for more advanced training and the main body consisting of 2 large 22m deep areas.

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Being the closest in distance to Kaş makes Fener a very popular dive site. It is a very diverse site. If you head east underwater you will find the “Ottoman wreck” to explore. It has a worn wooden spine and mails at 23 meters with a large water jug.

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Lankan is a cleaning station for manta rays and scuba divers visiting often get to see an amazing manta show, one of the highlights of any trip to the Maldives.

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Zandeiland 4 is one of the most beautiful and diverse lakes to dive into in the Netherlands. From objects in the diving zone to larger depths for more technical dives. The facilities are good and you can park close to the water. Diving requires a permit that you carry with you. You can buy this in the shop.

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Kontiki

This is a great beginner dive spot in Mactan. Closely situated to the Airport, this is a beloved site by dive centers all over the small island, as it is the perfect location for courses,and refresher dives.

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Discover the world’s most fascinating aquatic life

Aquatic life under our oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams is amazing! From microscopic zooplankton to the largest animal on earth, the blue whale, underwater life comes in all possible shapes and sizes. With 71% of the earth being covered with water, it is no wonder we are so fascinated with what lies beneath the surface. In fact, scientists estimate that there are nearly 1 million different species of aquatic animals. Freshwater ecosystems are home mainly to fish, invertebrates, and reptiles, whereas the ocean contains a wide array of marine life including fish, mollusks, crustaceans, reptiles, sharks, and marine mammals like whales, dolphins, seals, and manatees.

Catfish is the common name given to any fish in the order Siluriformes and are one of the most widely diverse and abundantly distributed species on the planet, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. Most of them live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and ponds with the exception of a few saltwater species. They are easily recognizable by their barbels on the upper jaw and, sometimes, snout and chin, which look like the whiskers of a cat, giving them their name.

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With over 500 different species of rays identified, this group of cartilaginous fish are more varied then their cousin the shark. Stingrays derive their name from their long, skinny tails, many of which have poisonous stingers used for self-defense. Due to these predominant stingers, please take caution when diving or walking through waters with stingrays. As long as you keep a safe distance, you can experience beautiful dives with them. They are mostly found on the seabed where they hide under the sand and feed on fish, crabs, worms, snails, and other mollusks.

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One of the most fascinating fish on the reef, moray eels come in nearly every size and color from the tiny, bright blue ribbon eel, the smallest averaging only 25 cm long, to the black speckled giant moray which can grow up to 4 meters in length! In fact, there are nearly 200 different species. Most morays are marine dwelling fish, but several species have been seen in brackish water, and just a few are found in fresh water. They are clearly distinguishable from the other reef fish with their long, slithering bodies, pointy snouts full of sharp teeth, and long dorsal fins that run the entire length of their bodies. No matter the species, these animals are always an exciting site to see while scuba diving.

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Not to be confused with the freshwater angelfish of the Amazon Basin, marine angelfish are brilliantly colored and live on the warm, shallow water reefs of the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific Oceans. This beautiful family of reef fish consists of about 86 different species, the most well-known being queen, king, french, royal, and grey angelfish. With their large, laterally compressed bodies, small, up-turned mouths, and bright colors, they are hard to miss and a favorite sighting for most divers.

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There are nearly 130 different species of marine butterflyfish all living in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. These beautiful, small fish are known for swimming in monogamous pairs but can sometimes be seen in large schools. Like their larger cousin, the angelfish, they are a favorite sighting for scuba divers and snorkelers due to their beautiful, bright coloration and striking patterns. Another distinguishing characteristic is the eyespots many species have on their flanks to trick predators, similar to those found on butterfly’s wings.

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Clownfish

Not the best swimmers, Clownfish seek shelter in their anemone homes throughout most of the day. These distinctly colorful fish have developed a highly intricate and mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with their anemone homes, earning them the nickname: anemonefish. Due to this sophisticated relationship, they tend to stay within a maximum radius of four meters to their anemone host in order to hide quickly within its tentacles in case of danger. If you’re lucky enough dive with clownfish you could experience these cute little fish attempting to “attack“ you to defend their anemone.

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An octopus has eight arms with suction cups which it uses as powerful tools for hunting prey, defense against attackers, and locomotion along the seafloor. They are one of the most fascinating marine animals on the planet. Every octopus has a designated “arm“ that it favors and uses most often. Because they have no inner skeleton, they are extremely mobile and can slip through the narrowest gaps and holes. Some species can even survive and move on land for a short time. Scuba diving with an octopus is an amazing and rewarding experience.

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Who has never been overjoyed to see a turtle while snorkeling or diving? These friendly-looking, ancient reptiles are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas. Sea turtles can live for up to 100 years and are believed to have been living here on earth for millions of years. Many facts about them are astonishing but probably the most is the fact that female turtles return to the exact beach where they were born, a journey sometimes covering thousands of kilometers, to lay their eggs in shallow nests they dig in the sand with their flippers. This is an incredible achievement and an awe-inspiring thing to watch. Most locations where you can dive with sea turtles are also where you can sneak a peek at this miraculous egg-laying practice that’s as old as time itself.

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Check out incredible moments water enthusiasts like you experience every day with SSI

Did you just complete an SSI certification? Proudly post it! Want to support your favorite SSI Training Center and promote it to the world? Post it! Did you just have an unforgettable dive experience with your SSI Professional? Post it!

We love to see the SSI family growing day by day: so upload your photo to Instagram with #wearessi or #divessi or mention @ssi_international, and it will automatically appear in the SSI Hall of Fame. We can’t wait to see your adventures today!

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