Top Macro Diving Destinations
Good things come in small packages, and that's certainly true when it comes to the tiny critters hiding around these dive areas
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British Columbia, Canada
Brave the cold and reap the rewards. Suitable for more advanced divers due to currents, here you'll find sea floors carpeted with sponges, sea stars, nudibranchs, urchins, and anemones.
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St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Peek into every nook and cranny and your patience will be rewarded with octopuses, box crabs, coral shrimp, blennies, and seahorses. Don't neglect the shallow sandy areas between reefs.
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Papua New Guinea
This is where muck diving truly began. Cuttlefish, stargazers, decorator crabs, cleaner shrimp, ghost pipefish, and batfish just to name a few. Stake out your spot and have your camera ready.
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Utila, Honduras
Take your time and look closely in the cracks and crevices around the plentiful coral gardens to find blennies abound, bluebell tunicates, banded shrimp, flamingo tongues, and so much more.
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Indonesia
With an endless variety of macro subjects, you may not even be able to identify everything you see. Head to Lembeh Strait, Raja Ampat, Bunaken, and Sangeang Islands for your best shots.
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Malaysia
Mabul Island is well-known for its macro diving, but don’t skip Kapalai, Si Amil, or Mataking to catch sight of mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, frogfish, seahorses, blue ring octopus, and ghost pipefish.
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Bonaire
There are dozens of sites just offshore where you can find frogfish, seahorses, cleaner shrimp, and sergeant majors dedicated to their eggs. Check around pier pilings as well as the wrecks and reefs.
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Philippines
These warm, clear, and tranquil waters hide countless nudibranchs, mimic octopus, shrimp, ghost pipefish, seahorses, mandarin fish, and cuttlefish. Top macro spots are Anilao, Cabilao, and Siquijor.
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Washington, United States
This is the U.S. macro mecca. Brave the cold water and sometimes strong currents to find opalescent nudibranchs, shrimp, dungeness crab, and if you're super lucky, giant pacific octopus eggs.
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Curaçao
Most of the dive sites have an abundance of star coral, gobies, feather duster worms, flamingo tongues, and shrimp. Head here during the September and October full moons to view the coral spawnings.
