Our annual Top 100 Readers Choice Awards are based on your real-world dives, and they let us take that journey right along with you. Since 1994, we’ve been presenting our ­readers’ picks for the best scuba diving in the world in our annual Top 100 Readers Choice Awards. It’s a feature that we love to put together, because we consider the results of our annual Top 100 survey a way for magazine readers, fans and online followers to share their most ­remarkable moments ­underwater. Below you'll find the winning destinations for scuba diving with big animals in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

How the Winners are Chosen:

Thousands of Scuba ­Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a ­variety of categories on a scale from 1 to 5. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of ­responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

1. French Polynesia

Best Places For Scuba Diving With Big Animals In The Pacific & Indian Oceans

If sharks are what you're looking for, you've found the right place. A variety of species can be found in these waters from blacktips and silvertip sharks to massive hammerheads. Even if incredible shark diving isn't your thing there's plenty more to see. Humphead wrasse, giant trigger fish, manta rays and even dolphins are often encountered in these waters.

2. Revillagigedo Archipelago

Best Places For Scuba Diving With Big Animals In The Pacific & Indian Oceans

With waters thick with giant manta rays, scalloped hammerheads and oceanic whitetip sharks, Mexico's Socorro Island, part of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, is every bit the exotic Pacific Ocean outpost you'd expect. In this island chain, getting lost in the crowd means swimming elbow to pec fin with hundreds of hammerheads. And from January through April, eye contact means watching humpback whales eyeballing you back.

3. Palau

Best Places For Scuba Diving With Big Animals In The Pacific & Indian Oceans

With sites named things like Shark City, it should come as no surprise that Palau is a haven for shark diving. It's not uncommon for scuba divers to encounter 20, 30 even 50 gray reef, blacktip, whitetip and other sharks on a single dive. Other big fish like sailfish, humphead wrasse, and yellowfin tuna can also be found here.

4. Maldives

Best Places For Scuba Diving With Big Animals In The Pacific & Indian Oceans

The nutrient-rich waters surrounding the Maldives help to attract large pelagics. Gray reef sharks and whitetips abound on these current swept sites and if you're lucky you may even encounter the biggest animal in the ocean — the blue whale. Manta ray encounters are one of the biggest draws in the region, you can even travel with the Manta Trust to learn about these magical marine creatures during your dive trip.

5. Cocos, Costa Rica

Best Places For Scuba Diving With Big Animals In The Pacific & Indian Oceans

Scuba dive with whale sharks, schooling hammerheads, marlin and filter feeding manta rays against the towering volcanic rock formations of Cocos Island Marine Park. Shark diving is big here too, you'll share the water column with a half-dozen shark species and other pelagics like sailfish, tuna and wahoo.