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AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS

Diving in New South Wales

Explore 685 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.

THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF

Build the trip around a coastal base

New South Wales offers a long sequence of coastal regions rather than one central dive gateway. Our directory separates Sydney areas, the north and mid-north coast, and the south coast so that you can compare a realistic local base. A Sydney stay and a Jervis Bay or Coffs Harbour trip need different transport and departure arrangements; do not treat a state-level search as a list of nearby sites.

Choose the setting, then the trip

There are 685 published site records across New South Wales. The recorded categories include reef (227), shore/rock platform (162), wreck (89), wall (70). These categories reflect the database; they are not a ranking, a conditions report or an assessment of your suitability.

Start with one of the regional pages below. State-wide totals are useful for browsing, but the actual choice should be made at the level of an operator, a site and a proposed itinerary.

Research operators in New South Wales →

Ask before booking

  1. Where does the trip meet, and is parking or a transfer needed?
  2. Which alternative itinerary might be offered?
  3. What local park or access information should we check?

Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.

Record your trip questions →

Sydney regions

Compare the harbour, northern beaches and southern Sydney records separately. Confirm the meeting point and actual entry or vessel arrangements.

North and mid-north coast

Start with a town and its operators, then ask which offshore or local trips are offered during your dates. Wildlife photographs do not guarantee an encounter.

South coast and islands

Compare Jervis Bay, Narooma and other regional bases by travel time and departure availability. Keep island travel arrangements distinct from mainland road-trip assumptions.

Questions, answered

How do I choose a dive in New South Wales?

Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 685 published records are research options, not a list of trips available today. Match the plan to your training, recent experience and the operator’s current requirements.

When should I visit New South Wales for diving?

Choose dates with a provider who runs the activity you want, then discuss seasonal patterns, recent conditions and alternative itineraries. A generic best-month claim cannot establish the conditions at your exact site or guarantee a wildlife encounter.

Can I use these maps to enter or navigate a dive site?

No. Recorded and approximate map positions support orientation only. Confirm the exact access, permissions, meeting point and route with the responsible local provider or manager.

Regional planning context: Destination NSW — beaches and water activities ↗. Directory counts come from published YouDive records. Individual site claims remain subject to their source and review notes.

Prepare for this destination

Find your region

Ballina & Evans Head6 sitesBatemans Bay30 sitesBermagui & Tathra6 sitesCentral Coast44 sitesCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands38 sitesEden & Green Cape21 sitesForster & Seal Rocks27 sitesJervis Bay47 sitesLord Howe Island49 sitesMerimbula9 sitesNambucca & Urunga4 sitesNarooma & Montague Island16 sitesNewcastle & Lake Macquarie35 sitesPort Macquarie & Camden Haven19 sitesPort Stephens22 sitesShoalhaven Coast10 sitesSouth West Rocks21 sitesSydney Harbour33 sitesSydney Northern Beaches52 sitesSydney South & Botany Bay113 sitesTweed & Byron Bay21 sitesUlladulla19 sitesWollongong & Kiama37 sitesYamba & Iluka6 sites

Dive sites to explore

Find local operators
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the sitePinnacle/Bommie

Jervis Bay

Bombora Reef

Four stepped walls from a near-surface reef top to 24 m sand, with big boulders, swim-throughs and cuttlefish.

BoatUp to 24 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Bondi Wall / North Bondi Reef

A long, sponge-covered north–south wall from 21 to 27 m off the North Bondi headland; excellent nudibranch macro.

BoatUp to 30 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney Harbour

Bottle and Glass Point (Nielsen Park)

A solid sandstone reef edge with kelp and a little sponge off the eastern point of Nielsen Park – a reliable rough-weather…

ShoreUp to 8 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteCave/Cavern

Port Stephens

Broughton Island – Looking Glass

A natural inverted-V rock arch with a sunlit 'fish bowl' chamber and near-guaranteed grey nurse sharks — one of the most…

BoatUp to 18 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Port Stephens

Broughton Island – Shark Gutters

Broughton Island's benchmark grey nurse shark dive — a varied gutter, kelp and amphitheatre system anchored at 14 m, best…

BoatUp to 20 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteCave/Cavern

Batemans Bay

Bubble Cave (Black Rock)

Surface in an air pocket formed by divers' bubbles inside a cave at 13 m, then follow a long sandy gutter to a second cave.

BoatUp to 21 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Batemans Bay

Burrewarra Point

Stepped, colourful wall to 30 m below the Burrewarra lighthouse, often with the clearest water near Batemans Bay.

BoatUp to 30 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Ulladulla

Burrill Rocks

Interconnected caves and swim-throughs through a collapsed boulder field, the fish-filled Arch, and a sheer southern wall; often…

BoatUp to 24 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Wollongong & Kiama

Bushrangers Bay

Protected amphitheatre bay with sea dragons, pygmy pipehorses, cuttlefish and seasonal grey nurse sharks – a no-take aquatic…

ShoreUp to 20 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney Harbour

Camp Cove

Seahorses in the kelp, squid hunting under torchlight and 1788 history on a sheltered beach inside South Head – the eastern…

ShoreUp to 8 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Cape Banks / Cruwee Cove

Gullies 30 m long and six-plus cave systems on the seaward side of Botany Bay's northern head – 'the equal of any dive site in…

BoatUp to 30 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Cape Solander – Whale Watching Platform

Sheer wall with an L-shaped corner, swim-through caves and a narrow crack under the Cape Solander whale-watching platform – rated…

BoatUp to 23 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteCave/Cavern

Jervis Bay

Cathedral Cave

Cathedral-sized sea cave with an air chamber, 20–25 m visibility inside and resting sharks.

BoatUp to 23 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Sydney Harbour

Centurion wreck

Masts, chain and frames of an 1864 Aberdeen clipper on sand at 18 m inside the Heads – Sydney's easiest historic wreck and a…

BoatUp to 19 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteJetty/Pier

Sydney Harbour

Chowder Bay / Clifton Gardens

Seahorses, anglerfish and decorator crabs on every pile and net – Sydney's definitive muck and night dive, with a car park that…

ShoreUp to 10 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Clovelly Pool / Clovelly Bay

Sydney's classic training and night-dive inlet with tame blue gropers and dense fish schools in 10–15 m visibility.

ShoreUp to 11 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the sitePinnacle/Bommie

Port Macquarie & Camden Haven

Cod Grounds

A Commonwealth marine park protecting a cluster of pinnacles that is critical grey nurse shark habitat, with a strict…

BoatUp to 46 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Lord Howe Island

Comet's Hole

The easiest introduction to Lord Howe's fish – a coral-walled lagoon hole packed with endemics.

Boat (day trip)Up to 7 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Sydney Northern Beaches

Coolooli wreck

A towering bucket dredge on its side in 48 m with the bucket ladder still running to the bow; jewel anemones on every rope.

BoatUp to 48 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Jervis Bay

Crocodile Head

A huge L-shaped arch rising from 5–7 m to 20 m above the surface, caves and plentiful blue devilfish.

BoatUp to 24 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Jervis Bay

Crocodile Head Gorge

A sheer-walled dead-end gorge dropping to 50–55 m, packed with colourful deep sessile life.

BoatUp to 55 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Jervis Bay

Darts Point

Easy drift over low sponge-covered ridges and boulders with giant cuttlefish.

BoatUp to 20 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney Northern Beaches

Dee Why Wide (Advanced)

Sponge-covered walls, long gullies and blue devilfish on a clear-water offshore reef, with an abandoned ship's anchor in a crack.

BoatUp to 30 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Batemans Bay

Dragon Rock (Tollgate Islands)

Close encounters with resting grey nurse sharks in a shallow, sheltered gutter inside a marine park sanctuary zone.

BoatUp to 25 m