Moray Beach, Nha Trang:
Renowned for its vibrant nudibranchs and more than 350 coral species, this site also features scorpionfish, lionfish, clownfish, the rare black frogfish and white frogfish. The moray cave, which gives the site its name, also shelters network pipefishes, multibar pipefish, razorfishes, trumpetfish, leaffish, and stonefish, as well as the extremely rare devil scorpionfish that “walk” across the sand.
Fisherman’s Bay, Nha Trang:
Featuring hard and soft corals, this site hosts frogfish, ghost fish, sea urchins, clownfish, and damselfish.
Madonna Rock, Nha Trang:
This site features several caves at different depths, that are breeding grounds for many species of fish that school in the caves under dramatic shafts of sunlight.
Big Wall, Nha Trang:
This vertical drop-off extending to 30 metres/100 feet offers a colorful smorgasbord of soft corals. Look for butterflyfish, parrotfish and angelfish, as well as other varieties at depth, such as groupers and jacks.
Ho Trau Nam, Whale Island:
Look for manta rays, eagle rays, stingrays, and jacks along the giant rocks drop-off. At the depth of 30 metres/100 feet, enjoy colorful soft coral, sea slugs, and a very rare black coral, as well as nudibranchs, giant angelfishes, scorpionfish, and huge stonefish.
Whale Island Bay:
Beginning on a sandy bottom in the middle of damselfish, clownfish and anemones, and moray eels, this shallow dive (15 metres/50 feet) features large rocks where trevally, snapper and grouper abound. Seahorses, scorpionfish, stonefish and flying gurnards can be found in the sand. It's also a great night dive, accessible from the beach, with phosphorescent plankton, giant crabs, flatheads, pipefish, sea snakes, eels, spotted moray, squid and octopus.
Dry Island (Hon Ko), Phu Quoc:
On the surface you'll see a small string of desolate rocks, but underneath is a stunning reef system that goes well beyond the surface. Volutes (mitre shells), rays, bamboo sharks, nudibranches, catfish and scorpionfish make up some of the marine life.
Nudibranch Gardens, Phu Quoc:
The topography of this site ranges from large boulders in the deep to a coral garden in the shallows. Look for nudibranchs, bamboo sharks, giant puffers, crustaceans, and blue spotted rays.
Turtle Island North, Phu Quoc:
This site’s fringing reef features fairy basslets, groupers and damselfish. Stretching away from the island, a string of large boulders host barracuda, blue spotted rays, nudibranches and batfish can be found.
Con Dao:
The islands protected as part of Con Dao National Park since 1993 have largely recovered from the exploitation and destructive fishing that have been the fate of other reefs in Vietnam, and is considered one of the best examples of marine conservation in the country. The coral reefs teem with more than 1300 marine species. Con Dao's sea grass meadows support a small population of globally endangered dugong, hawksbill turtles that nest on the islands, and playful dolphins.
Hoi An:
Located in Cu Lao Cham Marine Park, this area is home to 155 species of corals, 202 species of fish and 84 species of molluscs. The dive sites consist of many caves and swim-throughs over rocky reefs, as well as shallows abundant with hard corals and reef fish. Look for ribbon eels, nudibranchs, and the occasional harlequin shrimp.