Top 10 Dive Sites in Australia

Australia is one of the great diving nations on earth. A single coastline runs from tropical coral seas in the north to cool temperate kelp and granite reefs in the south, so you can swim with whale sharks one month and watch great white sharks the next. The variety is the point: world-class wrecks, pristine offshore atolls, shark caves, manta cleaning stations and easy shore dives all sit within the one country.

Narrowing it to ten means leaving wonderful places off the list. The selection below spans four states and every major style of diving, from gentle beginner-friendly bays to remote liveaboard-only reefs, so there is something here whether you have ten logged dives or a thousand.

## 1. SS Yongala, Townsville, Queensland

The SS Yongala is regularly named the best wreck dive in the world, and she earns the title. A 109-metre passenger steamer lost with all hands in a cyclone in 1911, she now rests on a featureless sand plain off Townsville, which turns the wreck into a giant artificial reef and a magnet for big animals. Expect to share the water with car-sized Queensland groper, eagle rays, sea snakes, turtles, bull sharks and dense schools of trevally and barracuda. The Yongala is a protected grave site, so penetration is not permitted, but the marine life alone makes this an unforgettable dive.

**Region:** Great Barrier Reef, Townsville. **Best for:** big marine life on a historic wreck. **Skill level:** advanced, currents can be strong.

Read the full [SS Yongala dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/the-majesty-of-the-deep-unveiling-the-ss-yongala-wreck).

## 2. The Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs, Cairns, Queensland

At the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, the Ribbon Reefs deliver the postcard version of Australian diving, and the Cod Hole is their signature site. The star attraction is a resident group of potato cod, gentle giants the size of a small car that drift up to divers with open curiosity. Add dwarf minke whales in winter, healthy hard coral and superb visibility, and you have one of the GBR's truly iconic dives. Most divers reach the Ribbon Reefs by liveaboard out of Cairns or Port Douglas.

**Region:** Great Barrier Reef, Cairns and Port Douglas. **Best for:** giant potato cod and classic reef. **Skill level:** all levels.

Read the full [Cod Hole dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/cod-hole-dive-site-review-great-barrier-reef-australia).

## 3. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Queensland

Osprey Reef is a submerged seamount that rises from depths of more than 1,000 metres, sitting roughly 350 kilometres off the Queensland coast. That isolation produces water clarity that routinely exceeds 40 metres and a wall that simply falls away into the blue. Osprey is best known for its shark action, with grey reef and whitetip sharks patrolling the famous North Horn site, while the surrounding walls are draped in gorgonian fans and soft coral. This is a remote, liveaboard-only destination for divers who want the wild, big-ocean end of the spectrum.

**Region:** Coral Sea, liveaboard from Cairns. **Best for:** sharks and dramatic wall diving. **Skill level:** advanced.

Explore the [Osprey Reef dive site](https://scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/osprey-reef).

## 4. Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth, Western Australia

Ningaloo is Australia's largest fringing reef and the easiest place on earth to swim with whale sharks, which gather here from around March to August. Unlike the Barrier Reef, much of Ningaloo is reachable straight off the beach, so you can snorkel over coral gardens within metres of the shore. Manta rays, seasonal humpback whales, turtles and reef sharks round out an extraordinary cast. It is a World Heritage site and one of the best all-round marine encounters in the country.

**Region:** Coral Coast, Exmouth and Coral Bay. **Best for:** whale sharks and accessible reef. **Skill level:** all levels.

Read the full [Ningaloo Reef dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/ningaloo-reef-western-australias-coral-masterpiece-for-every-diver), and for the seasonal encounter see our guide to [whale sharks in Australia](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/whale-sharks-in-australia).

## 5. Rowley Shoals, offshore Broome, Western Australia

Three coral atolls perched on the edge of the continental shelf about 260 kilometres west of Broome, the Rowley Shoals are as pristine as Australian diving gets. Big tidal movement drives spectacular drift dives through the reef passes, visibility is enormous and the coral is in superb condition thanks to the remoteness. The shoals open only by liveaboard during a short spring season, which keeps numbers low and the experience close to untouched.

**Region:** Kimberley coast, liveaboard from Broome. **Best for:** pristine coral and drift diving. **Skill level:** intermediate to advanced.

Read the full [Rowley Shoals dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/rowley-shoals-dive-guide-exploring-western-australias-remote-coral-cathedral).

## 6. Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks, New South Wales

Fish Rock is home to one of the few true ocean caves divers can swim right through, a 125-metre tunnel that runs clean from one side of the rock to the other. It is also one of the most reliable places in the world to dive with critically endangered grey nurse sharks, which aggregate here in large numbers. Add wobbegongs, giant cuttlefish, turtles and schooling fish, and you have the best advanced dive on the New South Wales coast.

**Region:** Mid North Coast, South West Rocks. **Best for:** grey nurse sharks and a swim-through cave. **Skill level:** advanced.

Read the full [Fish Rock Cave dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/fish-rock-cave), then learn more in our guide to [diving with grey nurse sharks](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/the-grey-nurse-shark-the-gentle-giant-of-australias-reefs).

## 7. Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, New South Wales

Few sites pack as much marine life into such accessible water as Julian Rocks, a marine sanctuary just offshore from Byron Bay. It sits where tropical and temperate currents meet, so the species list is huge: leopard sharks and turtles in summer, grey nurse sharks in winter, plus rays, wobbegongs and the occasional manta. The dives are a short boat ride from the beach and suit a wide range of experience levels, which is why it is one of the most loved sites in the country.

**Region:** Northern Rivers, Byron Bay. **Best for:** variety and accessibility. **Skill level:** all levels.

Read the full [Julian Rocks dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/julian-rocks-dive-site-guide-byron-bay-nsw-australia).

## 8. Manta Bommie and Flat Rock, North Stradbroke Island, Queensland

Off North Stradbroke Island, a short boat ride from Brisbane, two sites deliver Queensland's best big-animal diving outside the reef. Manta Bommie is a year-round manta ray cleaning station where the rays circle in close, while nearby Flat Rock hosts grey nurse sharks, leopard sharks, turtles and the occasional tiger shark. Together they make "Straddie" one of the most rewarding boat dives on the east coast.

**Region:** South East Queensland, North Stradbroke Island. **Best for:** manta rays and sharks near a capital city. **Skill level:** intermediate.

Read the [Manta Bommie](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/manta-bommie) and [Flat Rock](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/flat-rock) dive guides, and our guide to [diving with manta rays in Australia](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/diving-with-manta-rays-in-australia).

## 9. HMAS Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Scuttled as an artificial reef in 2005, the former guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane is one of Australia's best purpose-sunk wreck dives. She sits upright in around 28 metres and was carefully prepared for diver penetration, so qualified wreck divers can explore the interior while open-water divers enjoy the superstructure. Years underwater have coated her in coral and drawn in wobbegongs, lionfish, turtles and big schools of bait fish.

**Region:** Sunshine Coast, Mooloolaba. **Best for:** an accessible, penetrable artificial wreck. **Skill level:** open water to advanced, penetration needs wreck certification.

Read the full [HMAS Brisbane dive guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/exploring-a-legend-the-hmas-brisbane-wreck).

## 10. Neptune Islands, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

For pure adrenaline, nothing in Australia matches the Neptune Islands, the only place in the country where you can cage dive with great white sharks. Set in the nutrient-rich waters off the Eyre Peninsula, the islands draw large numbers of great whites alongside fur seals and rays. Operators run both surface and bottom cages, and no diving certification is required for the surface cage, which puts a face-to-face encounter with the ocean's most famous predator within reach of almost anyone.

**Region:** Eyre Peninsula, Port Lincoln. **Best for:** great white shark cage diving. **Skill level:** all levels, no certification needed for the surface cage.

Read the full [Neptune Islands cage diving guide](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/neptune-islands-shark-cage).

## Honourable mentions

Ten slots are never enough in a country this big. A few more that come desperately close: [Lord Howe Island](https://scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/lord-howe-island), ringed by the world's southernmost coral reef; [Lady Elliot Island](https://scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/lady-elliot-island) on the southern Great Barrier Reef, famous for its resident manta rays; and [Flinders Pier](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/flinders-pier) on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, one of the best places on earth to find the weedy seadragon.

## Planning your Australian dive trip

Season matters as much as site. Tropical Queensland and Western Australia dive well most of the year, the whale shark and manta seasons run roughly autumn to spring, and the southern states come into their own over the warmer months. To build an itinerary by region, start with our state guides:

- [Best Places to Dive in Queensland](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-queensland) - [Best Places to Dive in Western Australia](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-western-australia) - [Best Places to Dive in NSW](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-nsw) - [Best Places to Dive in South Australia](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-south-australia) - [Best Places to Dive in Victoria](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-victoria) - [Best Places to Dive in Tasmania](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-tasmania)

Whichever you choose, Australia rewards the effort. Pack your logbook, check the season, and pick the encounter that has been on your list the longest.