There’s so much wonder beneath the sea that makes it such a fantastic place to explore time and time again. Activities like snorkeling allow us to see the vibrant life in these waters, witness things not everyone could, and realize that there’s so much we don’t know about the world beyond land.
Bounce conducted a study to find out which oceans and seas are the best for snorkelers and divers to experience, based on several factors such as coral reef areas, the number of fish species, and available snorkeling tours.
Photo by Ibrahim Razzan on Unsplash
Australia, with its ever-so-famous Great Barrier Reef, ranks as the best place to visit for snorkeling in the world. It’s home to the second largest area of coral reef in the world which equates to 17.22% of the world’s total coral reef area! Amazingly, Australia’s ocean contributes 0% to plastic waste emission, meaning it’s actively keeping our oceans clean.
The Maldives takes the second position for the best snorkeling location in the world, being home to almost 3.14% of the world’s total coral reefs. The low sea temperature spread of 0.45% means you’ll likely only need one set of gear and one wetsuit wherever you go snorkeling here.
The United States has placed joint third with Cuba for the best snorkeling destination in the world. The US has the 7th highest number of fish species across 50 countries and is also home to the third largest coral system in the world – Florida Reef. Whilst also having a plentiful variety of fish species to spot, Cuba contributes to 0% of global plastic waste emissions.
The Bahamas and Papua New Guinea take the fifth and sixth spots respectively.
The Philippines lands on the seventh spot, with a coral reef area of 25,060 km2, 3,339 fish species, 91 threatened fish species, 35 snorkeling tours, sea temperature spread of 3.03° C. Its percentage of global plastic waste emission, however, was recorded to be 36.38% – the highest in the top 50 list.
View the full top 10 list below:
|
Rank |
Country |
Coral Reef Area (km2) |
Fish species |
Threatened Fish species |
Snorkeling tours |
% of global plastic waste emission |
Sea temperature spread °C |
Rating /10 |
|
1 |
Australia |
48,960 |
4,934 |
125 |
97 |
0.00% |
12.41 |
8.23 |
|
2 |
Maldives |
8,920 |
1,122 |
21 |
18 |
0.00% |
0.45 |
7.33 |
|
3 |
United States |
3,770 |
3,074 |
251 |
311 |
0.25% |
3.8 |
7.14 |
|
3 |
Cuba |
3,020 |
1,103 |
44 |
46 |
0.00 |
1.81 |
7.14 |
|
5 |
Bahamas |
3,150 |
884 |
43 |
40 |
0.00% |
1.55 |
6.90 |
|
6 |
Papua New Guinea |
13,840 |
2,858 |
61 |
2 |
0.31% |
1.02 |
6.75 |
|
7 |
Philipines |
25,060 |
3,339 |
91 |
35 |
36.38% |
3.03 |
6.69 |
|
8 |
Indonesia |
51,020 |
4,772 |
166 |
220 |
5.75% |
30.93 |
6.56 |
|
9 |
Fiji |
10,020 |
1,302 |
20 |
8 |
0.04% |
0.25 |
6.50 |
|
10 |
Micronesia |
4,340 |
1,230 |
25 |
5 |
0.00% |
3.46 |
6.50 |
You can view the research in full here.
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