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July 21st, 2018 marks PADI’s Women’s Dive Day, a day to celebrate the badass women all over the world who love scuba diving and exploring the ocean.

While I, unfortunately, won’t be able to celebrate this year’s Women’s Dive Day by attending an event, I still wanted to commemorate the day and I’m going to do so by sharing my top five favourite dive sites that I’ve been able to dive since becoming a PADI scuba diver.

This was a fun trip down memory lane for me, flipping through my (now full!) logbook to pick out my favourite five dives for this list.

Update: Writing this post has made me realize that although being just shy of 60 dives, I haven’t explored nearly enough of this ocean! Haha, stay tuned for tomorrows post which is going to be my “scuba diving bucket list”. And feel free to leave me your dive recommendations in the comments below!

5. Key West, Florida: The Vandenberg Wreck

I’m not even sure that one spot on this list is enough to cover the massive USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg shipwreck off of Key West, Florida. Laid to rest on the bottom of the Atlantic within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in May of 2009, the vessel reaches a depth of 140 feet at its deepest point and stretches over 524 feet, making it the world’s second largest artificial reef. Even on days with amazing visibility divers underwater can’t see the ship end to end because it’s nearly two football fields long!

I was lucky enough to dive the Vandenberg Wreck on my recent trip to the Florida Keys and it certainly lived up to all of its expectations. The Vandenberg was like being on a giant playground for those of us who love underwater exploration.
Regardless of your certification level, there is something for you to see on the Vandenberg thanks to the ships unique accessibility and positioning. Many diveable structures sit between 40 and 140 feet in depth including a handful of awesome swim throughs that sit just above 100 feet.

I was able to do two dives on this wreck and feel like I barely saw a fraction of the ship – it really is that massive! I know I’ll definitely be back a few more times to check out more of the vessel.

4. Big Island, Hawaii: Manta Ray Night Dive


This dive is rated one of the top dives in the entire world – and for a good reason! This was truly a bucket list experience and I’m so glad that I finally had the chance to swim with Kona’s famous manta rays after dark while I was on the Big Island of Hawaii.

One of the things that I love most about travelling is discovering places that make me feel small. There is such an indescribable, overwhelming feeling about seeing something so massive and so beautiful; like scuba diving with 20-40-foot-long manta rays. The feeling of insignificance as you sit on the bottom of the ocean floor, staring in awe at these beautiful, massive creatures that are gliding right past your face as you try to comprehend how something could be so beautiful.

While I’ve always been in love with the ocean and marine animals, this dive let me get personal with these manta rays and I discovered a whole new appreciation for these creatures and the rest that inhabit our beautiful oceans.

Check out the video from my dive HERE!

3. The Maldives: Whale Sharks


Speaking of feeling small and insignificant in the ocean…diving in the Maldives last year was one of my first dive experience (I think I only had a dozen dives at that point!) and really gave me my first taste of what kind of magic the ocean is capable of. We travelled to the island of Dhigurah, a small island populated mostly by locals and surrounded by the Maamigili Whale Shark Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, we also travelled to the Maldives during monsoon season which is less than ideal for someone who has notoriously awful sea legs. Each and every dive I was a miserable mess on the boat and I jumped into the water certain that this was going to be the day I had to vomit through my regulator; but the second we reached depth and came face to face with a ten-foot juvenile whale shark, all of my doubts went out the window because HOLY SHIT THERE IS A WHALE SHARK RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE.

Swimming alongside the largest fish in the sea as an open water diver confirmed my passion for diving and made me realize that I wanted to do so much more with this; I wanted to be able to explore new depths and see what other magic the ocean had to offer me.

Check out the video from my dive HERE!

2. Jupiter, Florida: Sharks 


There are very few places that I return to over and over again during my travels. I started travelling because I’ve got itchy feet and I’m eager to move, see, and explore new places. But Jupiter, Florida is one place I’ve come back to now a dozen times and the reason lies just off of Riviera beach: sharks. So, so many sharks.

After my first few dives in Jupiter with sharks, I knew there was no turning back. I’ve never experienced better shark diving than I have in Jupiter. Dozens of lemons and bull sharks at your feet, arm’s length away, most of the time coming so close that you actually have to redirect them – for most people it’s sure to get your blood flowing, but for me I find looking into the eyes of these creatures oddly calming and my heart rate drops right down. Call it shark yoga maybe?

This will always be one of my favourite spots for shark diving in the entire world. Not only do I get to experience a ton of sharks species on one single dive, but I have the chance to get closer to them than ever.

Check out the video from my dive HERE!

1. Key Largo, Florida: Benwood Wreck at Night


There is a reason they call Key Largo the dive capital of the world; beautiful healthy coral reefs that stretch on for miles, stunning shipwrecks, and great dive operations that go above and beyond to protect the local reefs. But there is one reason that Key Largo cracked the top spot on this list and it’s because of one particular dive spot at one particular time.

The Benwood Wreck first sparked my interest because it is an actual shipwreck. In April of 1942, the Benwood was travelling from Tampa, Florida with its lights off to avoid patrolling German U-boats. Unfortunately, at the same time, another ship was also travelling with its lights out and the two collided. While the other ship made it safely back to shore, the Benwood was taking on too much water and sank. Thanks to the captain’s last-ditch effort to get the boat as close to shore as possible, the Benwood wreck sits between 25 and 50 feet of water, making it suitable for divers of all levels.

The real magic of the Benwood happens after dark. Night dives on this wreck are nothing short of amazing. On my first night dive here was saw more turtles (massive ones!) than I can even count. My second dive brought sharks, lionfish, barracuda, and even more turtles! During the day the Benwood wreck really isn’t much, but at night it’s completely transformed and you’ll see more sea life than you ever have before and things that you would never be able to see during the day.

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That’s all for my top 5 list! Where are your top dive sites around the world? Are you celebrating PADI Women’s Dive Day today? If so, let me know where you’re diving!