Dive sites · 2026 guide
Australia has tropical coral, temperate kelp and some of the world's best wreck and shark diving, spread across a coastline too long to see in one trip. This list picks twelve sites that each deliver something you cannot easily get elsewhere.
Every entry shows the depth, the certification it suits and the operators we have confirmed dive it, so you can go straight from choosing to booking.
1Townsville, Ayr & the SS Yongala, Queensland
A 100-metre passenger steamer lost in 1911, now carrying possibly the densest marine life in Australia.
The wreck is around 100 metres long and lies at depths reaching roughly 30 metres. Queensland tourism material treats the site as an advanced diving attraction.
Look for: Queensland Groper, Spotted Eagle Ray
Full SS Yongala guide →
2Ningaloo & Exmouth, Western Australia
A fringing reef close enough to shore that in places you can swim to it from the beach.
For certified divers, the reef systems and offshore sites around the Exmouth Gulf provide the main scuba product, with drift diving along the reef edge and coral bommies inside the lagoon.
Look for: Green Turtle, Humpback Whale, Manta Ray, Spotted Eagle Ray
3Cairns, Queensland
A chain of ten outer-barrier reefs including Cod Hole — liveaboard territory.
They include Cod Hole, where large potato cod have been habituated to divers for decades, and Steve's Bommie, a pinnacle that ranks among the most photographed sites on the Great Barrier Reef.
Look for: Dwarf Minke Whale, Potato Cod
Full Ribbon Reefs guide →
4South West Rocks, New South Wales
Grey nurse shark aggregation and one of Australia's few genuine ocean through-caves.
The cave has a deeper entrance around 24 metres and rises internally toward shallower water before reaching the opposite side. That makes it a genuine through-cave rather than a cavern, which is unusual in an ocean setting.
Look for: Grey Nurse Shark, Wobbegong
Full Fish Rock guide →
5Byron Bay, New South Wales
Where tropical and temperate waters meet — more than 20 shark and ray species recorded.
The ecological importance of the site comes from the meeting of tropical and temperate influences. Warm water arriving on the East Australian Current mixes with cooler temperate water, and species from both systems occur here together.
Look for: Green Turtle, Grey Nurse Shark, Humpback Whale, Leopard Shark (Zebra Shark)
Full Julian Rocks (Nguthungulli) guide →
6Rainbow Beach & Wolf Rock, Queensland
An offshore volcanic pinnacle and one of the few known aggregation sites for pregnant grey nurse sharks.
The site is particularly associated with grey nurse sharks and large rays. It is one of the few known aggregation sites for pregnant female grey nurse sharks, which gives it genuine conservation significance.
Look for: Grey Nurse Shark, Humpback Whale, Leopard Shark (Zebra Shark), Manta Ray
Wolf Rock Dive Centre
7Bundaberg & Southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
A coral cay at the reef's southern tip, with some of Australia's most reliable manta encounters.
Cleaning stations around the island produce reliable seasonal manta activity, and the clear water typical of the southern reef makes it exceptional for photography.
Look for: Green Turtle, Humpback Whale, Loggerhead Turtle, Manta Ray
8Sunshine Coast, Queensland
A former guided missile destroyer scuttled off Mooloolaba and prepared specifically for divers.
Because the vessel was prepared specifically for diving, access points were cut and hazards removed, which makes the wreck considerably more forgiving than a historic loss.
Look for: schooling baitfish and trevally, wobbegongs, soft coral and sponge colonisation, lionfish, occasional turtles and rays
Full ex-HMAS Brisbane guide →
9Ningaloo & Exmouth, Western Australia
A structure dive with extraordinary fish density, on Defence land with controlled access.
The structure supports an extraordinary density of fish — grey nurse sharks, wobbegongs, giant groupers and vast schools crowded into a comparatively small area.
Look for: Grey Nurse Shark, Nudibranchs, Queensland Groper, Wobbegong
Full Exmouth Navy Pier guide →10Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia
South Australia's best-known leafy seadragon site, beneath a long jetty on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
The old jetty's T-section at the seaward end is the main attraction. The structure carries dense growth, and the piles and their surroundings hold the seadragons the site is known for.
Look for: Giant Australian Cuttlefish, Leafy Seadragon, Striped Pyjama Squid, Weedy Seadragon
Diving Adelaide
11Christmas Island, Western Australia
Vertical drop-offs beginning metres from shore, on the tip of an Indian Ocean seamount.
That geology produces wall diving of a kind that is rare in Australian territory — sheer faces with clear water and pelagic activity, accessible from small boats or in places from shore.
Look for: Whale Shark
Extra Divers Christmas Island12Whyalla, South Australia
Tens of thousands of giant Australian cuttlefish gathering to breed in a few metres of water.
South Australian tourism information identifies the main aggregation period as approximately May to August. The animals gather over shallow rocky reef within metres of the shore.
Look for: Giant Australian Cuttlefish
Full Whyalla Cuttlefish Aggregation guide →This national list is an editorial selection covering different states, dive types and experience levels, drawn from our dive-site database. Nobody pays to be listed.
No. Listings and order come from our research only. Businesses can ask us to correct their details, but not to change their position.
It is generated from the directory's latest research, checked in 2026. Conditions, operators and seasons change — confirm details with the operator before you book.
