Top 10 Best Dive Sites In The Bahamas

Top 10 Best Dive Sites in the Bahamas

Have you ever been scuba diving in the Bahamas? No?! Well, me neither. But, it sounds amazing! The pristine waters of the Bahamas are famous for their abundance of diving opportunities for all skill levels. After doing some research, here's a list of the Top 10 Best Dive Sites In The Bahamas.

1. French Bay Wall, San Salvador Island
2. Columbus Point, Cat Island
3. The Washing Machine, Exumas
4. The Crater, Andros
5. Victory Reef, Bimini
6. Tiger Beach, Grand Bahama
   
7. The Towers, Nassau
8. Current Cut, Eleuthera
9. James Bond Wrecks, Nassau
   
10. Runway Wall, Nassau

The country of the Bahamas, or officially known as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is comprised of over 700 islands, cays, and inlets. It’s located in the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean. The Bahamas are nestled Southeast of Florida, and east of the Keys, North of Cuba, and Northwest of the Island of Hispaniola where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located. After doing some research, I found tons of amazing spots to dive, far more than one could handle in a single visit. Here I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 best sites to dive in the Bahamas, so you know just where to go on your next trip!

French Bay Wall, San Salvador Island

This amazing spot is located on the west side of San Salvador which is in the middle of the island chain of the Bahamas. There are many spots to dive along the wall including Grouper Gully, Devil’s Claw, and Shark Alley. The top of the wall starts around 12 meters and goes down to about 40 meters with visibility of up to 150 feet. The amazing visibility makes this a prime spot for night diving and photographers. The wall features tunnels, crevasses, and overhangs for more experienced divers to explore, and you can view amazing amounts of Elkhorn and Staghorn corals. You can also expect to see, Clownfish, Butterflyfish and Surgeonfish, and Fusiliers.

Columbus Point, Cat Island

At the Southeastern tip of Cat Island, you’ll find Columbus Point. Due to strong currents and deep waters, this site is more suited for an experienced and advanced diver. But once skilled enough, this dive site is a must. Underwater pinnacles, or small isolated seamounts, provide homes for an outstanding amount of sea life, and larger grouper and sharks come to feed. This spectacle of biodiversity is dense and beautiful. Rays Iike to ride the strong currents as well so although not as common as shark and grouper, if you’re lucky, you can spot one of these beauties here at Columbus Point.

The Washing Machine, Exumas

Okay, now this one seems super cool. The Exumas is a grouping of 350 cays and is home to the Bahamas National Trusts Land and Sea Park. However, South of Highbourne Cay in the north section of the Exumas, outside of the park, lies what’s called the Washing Machine. This dive is what’s referred to as a drift dive. Divers start in just about 15 feet of water, and the current swoops them up and shoots them out about 50 feet, positioning divers directly above the reef. What a ride!

The Crater, Andros

Among the many blue holes of Andros, is The Crater. The Crater may be one of the most well-known dives because of its range in topography and skill levels that can dive there. This all-level dive site offers beginners easy access to this strange and beautiful world. The Crater was created due to erosion and was once a part of the ocean floor that caved in revealing a vast and dark cave system below the coral-lined walls. While beginners explore the top, more experienced divers can bring their torches and discover the caves below and their unique marine life. The Crater is also home to large sea turtles, eels, and rays that take advantage of the cave system for homes and safety.

Victory Reef, Bimini

Victory Reef spans a beautiful 5 miles of reef and is between 30 and 80 feet deep making this another great spot for all experience levels. Located Southwest of Grand Bahama along the edge of the gulf stream is a grouping of cays known as Bimini. Victory Reef is located off Cat Cay in South Bimini. The Gulf Stream brings marine life of all types and sizes to this area. From Large sharks, sea turtles, and rays, so small and colorful reef fish, sponges, corals, and fans. One can expect to explore the swim-throughs, reef structures, and small caverns of dive sites like Cathedral, Rainbow Valley, and Sponge Garden.

Tiger Beach, Grand Bahama

Come one, come ALL! To the famous Tiger Beach. 27 miles off the northern shore of an area known as West End of Grand Bahama lies Tiger Beach. It is said to be one of the world’s best 30-foot dives! This is largely due to its impressive numbers of Tiger Sharks, but its 30-foot waters also make this an easy dive, welcoming divers of all skill levels to this spectacular view. Clear and shallow waters make this dive site a prime place for videographers and photographers to capture some unique shots!

The Towers, Nassau

One of the many fun dive sites of the Bahama’s capital Nassau, on New Providence Island, is the Towers. This site offers a chance to hundreds of species living amount the underwater pinnacles. These large pinnacles feature a variety of hard and soft corals, and they reach an impressive 18 meters off the ocean floor. Sea turtles, rays, ad sharks can be found here and its 40-foot depths make this site accessible to photographers and divers of most skill levels. For those with more experience and curiosity, The Towers also offer caverns and tunnels to explore.

Current Cut, Eleuthera

So drift dives sound like my favorite! This one lies between the islands of Eleuthera and Current Island. This narrow channel between the islands creates a 20-minute high-speed drift dive when the tides change. An incoming tide pushes the water through the channel creating a current in which you can ride. This dive reaches a maximum depth of 60 feet so you’ll want to make sure you’re comfortable at those depths before drifting. With minimal effort this dive will reveal spectacular coral reefs and all the marine life living there, you’ll cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, so don’t be afraid to try it again!

James Bond Wrecks, Nassau

We all know who James Bond is right? Suave British secret agent 007. Possibly the most famous of actors to play him was Sean Connery and in at least two of his James Bond portrayals in 1965 and 1983, shots of shipwrecks can be seen by divers off the southwestern coast of New Providence Island. Easy diving depths of 40 feet make this an amazing spot for divers of all levels. Make sure to bring your camera! You don’t have to be a photographer to get a great shoot of the coral and shipwrecks here.

Runway Wall, Nassau

This shallow dive site is just 11 meters making it accessible to all levels of divers. The shallow depths also created prime conditions for shipwrecks, which are now easily accessible to beginner divers. This coral reef and reef wall is home to many species and Caribbean Reef Sharks come to feed here consistently. This site also gives divers the unique opportunity not only to see the sharks in their natural habitat but to feed them as well.