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10oftheworld'sbestsnorkelingdestinationsByTammyKwan,forCNNUpdated2356GMT(0656HKT)August9,2015(CNN)It'sacommonholidayletdown.Youslaponyoursnorkelinggear,eagerlyanticipatingthetropicalfishandcolorfulreefsthatawaitasyouenterthecrystal-clearshallowwaters.Instead,youfindyourselffacetofacewithaseaofflippers,bleachedcoralandbrightorangelifejackets.Itcanbefrustratingtotrytofindaspectacularsnorkelingdestinationthathasn'tbeentakenoverbycrowds.Butnotimpossible.Weaskedafewmarineexpertstosharesomeoftheirfavoriteplacestosnorkel.Inthesetopsnorkelspotsyou'llbebumpingfinswithreeffish,humpbackwhalesandnon-stingingjellyfish--tonamejustafew.RajaAmpat(WestPapua,Indonesia)AtthetopofthelistisRajaAmpat,orFourKings,locatedinIndonesia'sWestPapuaprovince.Expertssayit'shardtofindanywhereelseintheworldthatcompares,givenit'sgottheworld'sgreatestconcentrationofmarinelifeforaregionofitssizeand75%ofallknowncoralspeciesintheworld.Amarineoasiswithmorethan1,000differentspeciesoffish,seaturtles,sharksandmantarays,snorkelingheremeanslargelyhavingtheplacetoyourselfastheisolatedislandsarescarceofpeople.Snorkelerscomefacetofacewithfishandcoralineverydirectionwhileswimmingthewatersofthisarchipelago,whichismadeupof50,000squarekilometersofislandsandwater.Eachdayyougettoexperiencesomethingdifferent,saysmarinebiologistandsnorkelingguideLeeGoldmanofCoralTriangleAdventures.Forinfoongettingthere/wheretostay,checkoutIndonesia'sofficialtourismwebsite.KomodoNationalPark(Indonesia)ThoughKomodoNationalPark'scelebrityinhabitantsstealtheshow--it'soneofonlyfiveislandsintheworldwhereyoucanseeKomododragonsinthewild--thesnorkelinghereisnottobeoverlooked.MORE:Theworld'smostluxurious'dragon'huntBeingaWorldHeritageSiteformorethan30years,thereefsandislandsofthisIndonesianationalparkareheavilyprotected,givingtheirabundanceofunderwaterlifeandcoralsachancetoflourish.Theareaisalsorichinnutrients,thankstothecoldwaterthatflushesintotheparkfromtheIndianOcean,keepingthemarinelifefed.Youreallyknowyou'reinadifferentpartoftheworldwhenyou'reinKomodo,saysCoralTriangleAdventures'Goldman.TheGalapagosIslands(Ecuador)Unlikemostspotsonthislist,snorkelinginEcuador'sGalapagosIslandsdoesn'trevolvearoundcolorfulcoralandtropicalfish.Thisistheplacetoseebigmarinelife--we'retalkingsealions,sharks,dolphins,turtlesandevenpenguins.BeingthebasisofCharlesDarwin'sTheoryofEvolution,theGalapagosIslandsoffersnorkelersfascinatinganduniquemammalsbothonlandandbeneaththesea.Theislands'remotelocationmeansthatunderwaterwildlifearefriendlyandapproachable--mainlybecausetheydon'tencounterhumansallthatoften.There'sagoodchanceyou'llbeapproachedbyaplayfulsealionoragroupofturtlesthatwillhappilyswimalongsideyou,saysJimSano,vicepresidentoftravel,tourismandconservationwithWorldWideFundforNature(WWF).TheCoralTriangle(AsiaPacific)StretchingfromEasternBorneoallthewayacrossBali,thePhilippines,mostofIndonesiaandtheSolomonIslands,theCoralTriangleisthecenteroftheworld'smarinebiodiversity.It'shometo75%ofallknowncoralspeciesintheworldandencompasses647millionhectaresoflandandsea.Whatmakesitsoawesomeforsnorkelersisthatyoudon'thavetogodeeptocheckouttheregion's2,000speciesofreeffish,whichhangoutjustbelowthesurface.Theregionalsonurturessixoftheworld'ssevenmarineturtlespecies.MORE:MappingthereefsoftheCoralTriangleThePhilippinesDon'tusuallythinkofthePhilippinesasagotodestinationforsnorkeling?WWF'SSanostressesthatit'soneofthemostbeautifulplacesforunderwateractivity.Manyofourfrequentsnorkelershavesaidthatthiswastheirfavoritetrip--theyweredelightfullysurprised,hesays.Madeupofmorethan7,000islands,thePhilippinesishometooneofthemostpopulousanddiverseecosystemsontheplanet.AnotablestandoutistheBayofDonsol,hometowhalesharks--theworld'slargestliving(现存的)fish.Visitorshavetheopportunitytoswimnexttothesegentleandfriendlygiants.AnotherareaworthcheckingoutisNoaNoaIsland,whichhasthousandsofcolorfulreeffishandthrivingreefs.MORE:SwimmingwithwhalesharksinthePhilippinesSilverBank(DominicanRepublic)SilverBankisoneofonlyafewplacesintheworldwherehumanscanswimandsnorkelalongsidehumpbackwhales.It'sinarelativelyshallowstretchoftheCaribbeanSea,makingitofflimitstolargeships.ThismakesitasafehavenfortheNorthAtlantichumpbackwhalepopulationtomateandgivebirth.SnorkelerscancatchupwiththehumpbackwhalesbetweenDecemberandApril,whentheypassthroughthearea.Palau(Micronesia)Everwanttoswimwithjellyfishwithouthavingtoworryaboutgettinganastystingbyoneofthem?Palau'sJellyfishLakeistheplacetogo.Aboatrideandshorthikewilltakeyoutothisunusualandisolatedlake,inhabitedbymillionsofharmlessjellyfish.Butit'smorethanjelliesthatmakethisMicronesiaislandatopsnorkelingdestination.Palau'sshallowandhealthyreefsarehometoadiverserangeofhabitat.Visitorscanencountermarinelifesuchasturtles,tropicalfish,mantaraysandsharks.GreatBarrierReef(Australia)Everyone'sfamiliarwiththeGreatBarrierReef.Yetitspopularityisn'twithoutsubstancenorshoulditbeoverlooked.Madeupof2,900individualreefsandstretchingmorethan2,300kilometers,it'stheworld'slargestcoralreefecosystemandhasbeenaroundforhalfamillionyears.Thereefsherear