The Best Scuba Diving in Vanuatu: Top 10 Places to Scuba Dive

Let's get the obvious out of the way, shall we? If you know anything about scuba diving in Vanuatu, you probably know about the SS President Coolidge. But, just in case you don't...

This 200 m (656 ft)-long luxury liner turned warship offers an extraordinary underwater adventure with depths ranging from 18 to 45 m (59-148 ft), making different areas accessible to divers from Open Water to Deep certification levels.

The shipwreck houses remarkable wartime artefacts across its various compartments, including military jeeps, 30-foot cannons, medical supplies like morphine and codeine vials, the famous Lady Statue, and unique finds such as a barber's chair, doctor's equipment, and the ship's post office with original pigeonholes still intact. Advanced divers can explore penetration sites like the engine room with its massive machinery, gauges and levers, or navigate the A-B-C deck swim-through spanning multiple levels.

Marine life thrives throughout the artificial reef, with schools of flashlight fish creating magical displays during night dives as they flash like stars in the darkness. The wreck also hosts reef fish, barracuda, sea turtles, and during night missions, bioluminescent plankton illuminate the water around divers when torches are switched off.

A scuba diving site that tells an incredible story, Million Dollar Point is another Santo dive site worth investigating.

In 1945, when French colonial authorities refused to buy surplus American military equipment at six cents on the dollar (thinking they'd get it for free), the Americans responded with remarkable pettiness. For two solid days, they dumped "millions" of dollars' worth of trucks, bulldozers, tractors, jeeps and even Coca-Cola bottles into the sea near Luganville.

Today, Million Dollar Point offers visitors the extraordinary sight of this underwater military graveyard just metres from shore. You can explore through snorkelling from the remains of the concrete wharf (which was blown up with dynamite after offloading the equipment), discovering everything from bulldozers to old wheels scattered across the ocean floor. Scuba diving with local operators reveals even more of the equipment pile beneath the surface.

Located just a five-minute drive from Luganville, the site also offers a pleasant sandy beach with typically calm and clear waters.

The Bonzer Wreck offers one of Vanuatu's most accessible and beginner-friendly wreck diving experiences.

This small freighter was purposely scuttled upright in shallow water, making it perfect for inexperienced wreck divers looking to explore their first underwater shipwreck.

The adventure begins with a scenic traverse along a vibrant reef before descending to the wreck at 18 m (59 ft). Along the way, you'll encounter one of the largest anemone gardens in the Pacific, teeming with reef fish and cheeky red and black anemone fish darting between the coral formations.

The wreck itself is a photographer's dream, completely covered in colourful encrusting coral and soft corals, with schools of juvenile fish creating a living kaleidoscope around the vessel. You can actually enter the bridge and pose for photos at the ship's wheel, then peek through various holes along the hull to discover clouds of glass fish and busy cleaner shrimps going about their daily routines.

Big Blue is the main operator that can get you to this site, approximately a 15-minute boat ride from their base in Port Vila.

One of the most famous dive sites off Moso Island, Owen’s Reef is where colourful coral meets a bit of big-fish action.

The reef rises to just 5 m (5.5 yards) from the surface before dropping to around 18 m (19.7 yards), giving you plenty to admire on the way down, from bright coral formations to passing reef life.

Expect an excellent wall structure with different viewing opportunities at multiple depths, plus the chance to spot sharks, leopard sharks and larger fish cruising by. In short, it’s a solid all-rounder for divers who want reef scenery with a little extra “what was that shadow?” excitement.

Just a four-minute boat ride from Tranquillity Island Resort & Dive, Coral Gardens is a shallow and easy-going dive site that’s all about colour, movement and taking your time.

Sitting at the entrance of the channel between the islands, the site acts like a natural highway for marine life, so there’s always the chance of something cruising through.

At around 10 m to 15 m (33 ft to 49 ft), this is a great spot for underwater photography, with colourful coral formations, schools of rainbow fish, rays and sharks all adding to the scene. It’s also a handy option for a relaxed second dive or when you want maximum reef time without a long boat ride.

A relatively simple dive that’s great for beginners, Cindy’s Reef proves that Santo doesn’t need to go deep to put on a show.

Sitting off Aore Island, this pinnacle-style dive is usually enjoyed around the 15 m (49 ft) mark, where you’ll find a huge variety of corals, including the native “potato head” coral.

It’s not all small and pretty, either. The pinnacle rises from much deeper water, with the outside dropping dramatically to 120 m-plus, while the reef itself is home to tropical fish, turtles and sharks. In short, it’s a taste of Santo’s wild underwater topography without necessarily needing to follow it all the way down.

A 30-40-minute boat ride from Luganville, Tutuba Island is one of Santo’s most popular dive sites for good reason.

The island’s reef system is all plate coral fields, soft and hard corals, gloomy trenches and caves, so there’s plenty to keep your eyes busy from start to safety stop.

Look into the swim-throughs for lobsters guarding their homes, then look up for schools of tropical fish, cruising barracudas and, if luck is on your side, eagle rays and reef sharks. It’s a brilliant reminder that Santo’s diving is not just about wrecks (even if the wrecks are pretty hard to ignore).

For wreck fans looking beyond the headline Santo dives, MV Henry Bonneaud off Bokissa Island is a beauty.

This former island trader was intentionally sunk for divers around 15 to 20 years ago and now rests in 40 m to 45 m (131 ft to 148 ft) of water, with the top of the bridge sitting at around 20 m (66 ft).

The wreck is the star, of course, but the setting does plenty of showing off too. Expect crystal-clear Santo water, with visibility often reaching 50 m (164 ft) or more, plus surrounding reefs that bring plenty of colour to the dive.

For divers who like their reef dives with a little extra drama, Blue Hole 1 and 2 is Tanna’s underwater playground of blue-water caves, swim-throughs and reef walls.

The dive sites are made up of four connected sinkholes, complete with intricate caverns, tunnels and grottos to explore.

Keep an eye out for turtles, moray eels, reef sharks, rays and dugongs as you go. Snorkellers can also access the blue holes from the reef for a glimpse of the action, although the caves are strictly scuba territory.

You can either do this as a shore dive (pay your entry fee to the custodians or the White Grass Ocean Resort), or you can go with the resort's dive shop.

Perhaps Vanuatu's most impressive underwater cavern, The Cathedral offers an extraordinary limestone cave dive that will leave you mesmerised by nature's architectural masterpiece.

This spectacular dive starts around 17 m (56 ft) depth and descends to approximately 23 m (75 ft), where you'll enter a wide cavern that can accommodate multiple divers at the bottom. The cavern is illuminated by magnificent beams of light filtering through openings at the top, creating a truly cathedral-like atmosphere that justifies its sacred name.

As you explore this mystical underwater cathedral, the cavern gradually narrows as you move upward toward the top section, where the light beams create an almost spiritual ambience. The limestone formations and natural architecture provide a breathtaking backdrop for your underwater journey through this geological wonder.

This dive provides a comfortable experience when seas are calm, though swells and currents can make conditions more challenging, making it weather-dependent.

The Cathedral is a speciality of Big Blue, so be sure to hit them up when staying in Port Vila.