Philippines

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Tubbataha in the Sulu Sea might ring a bell with well-traveled divers, but the Philippines are one of the least visited yet one of the most worthy dive destinations in the world. Located north of Malaysian Borneo and Indonesia, the 7,107 islands in the Philippine archipelago offer a number of top-rated dive areas in addition to Tubbataha, which is only accessible between March and June, including other remote areas such as Apo Reef and Coron, which are only accessible by live-aboard. There is plenty of excellent land-based diving, such as Apo Island which is accessible from Dumaguete and is where shoals of jacks and giant parrotfish are often seen in addition to large pelagics.