Blue Holes You Can Dive

Blue holes, or underwater sinkholes, are scattered all over our oceans - there's seven in the Bahamas alone. The abundance of crustaceans living in these protected areas often attract sharks and larger fish but their depth bears risks divers may underestimate. Here's a list of of blue hole dive sites for your bucket list

1 Lost Ocean Blue Hole, Bahamas

The Lost Ocean Blue Hole is one of seven underwater sinkholes found in the Bahamas and is one of the more accessible one and can be dived by divers of all levels. The hole measures 24m (80 feet) across and is about 91m (300 feet) deep. Ususal encounters include reef sharks, stingrays and groupers.

2 The Great Blue Hole, Belize

The sinkhole lies at Lighthouse Reef, about 70 km (43 miles) off the coast of mainland Belize. The almost perfect circle is about over 300m (984 feet) in diametre and drops to 124m (407 ft). Dive trips to the Great Blue Hole are usually full-day trips and include dives on the nearby reefs. The site is a good spot to encounter nurse sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks and giant groupers.

3 The BLue hole, Dahab

Despite being known as 'the world's deadliest dive site' or 'divers' graveyard' the dive site is still a magnet for divers from around the world. The hole is 150m wide and 120m deep and is connected to the Gulf of Aquaba through a 26m-long tunnel at 52m. And here lies the problem: the safe limit for recreational divers is 40m but at this point the underwater arch tempts inexperienced divers and thrill seekers to dive deeper. The amount of nitrogen that accumulates in the blood at a depth of 50m or more can cloud divers' judgement and lead to unconsciousness. The arch can be dived as an extended range or trimix dive.

4 The Blue Hole, Malta

The Blue Hole in Gozo is Malta's most popular shore dive and located right by one of the most scenic topside sights, The Azure Window. As in Dahab, the sinkhole is connected to the sea by an underwater arch, here at a safe depth of 15m, which is the gateway to the reefs on the other side of the wall. Divers come here for spectacular underwater rock formations and the atmospheric light during the dive. Encircled by rocks this blue hole offers a completely different setting to its tropical counterparts.

5 Blue Hole, Guam

The walls of Guam's signature dive are covered in soft and hard corals and attract a large variety of reef fish and critters. Visibilty often exceeds 100m. The entrance to the sinkhole lies at about 10m (60 feet) and plunges to about 90m (300 feet). Experienced deep divers can exit the shaft through a window at 40m.

How many of them have you dived? Do you know anymore?