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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 siteReef

Jervis Bay

Little Egypt

Five pyramid rocks above a steep boulder slope from 5 m to 34 m riddled with caves and swim-throughs.

BoatUp to 34 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Little Saigon (Cape Baily)

Colourful sponge-covered wall off Cape Baily Lighthouse with boulder gullies and prolific fish, from 20 m to past 32 m.

BoatUp to 32 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteIsland

Forster & Seal Rocks

Little Seal Rock

A complex, circumnavigable rock reef under 20 m with reliable grey nurse sharks and a strong resident bull ray population.

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

Lord Howe Island

Liv's Crack

Narrow coral cracks and overhangs with groups of crayfish – an easy-to-navigate structure dive.

Boat (day trip)Up to 20 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Long Bay (Malabar)

Protected, shallow bay dive with overhung rocks and seadragons that works in most weather and is excellent at night.

ShoreUp to 10 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Sydney Northern Beaches

Long Reef Wall

The Cathedral – a peaked sandstone tunnel packed with pomfret – and Andy's Cave on a sponge-covered wall 35 minutes from Manly.

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

Wollongong & Kiama

Lous Reef – Bass Point Island North

Deep-to-shallow island dive finishing in fish-filled cracks, with winter Port Jackson sharks.

BoatUp to 26 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Sydney Northern Beaches

M24 Japanese midget submarine (protected zone – no diving)

The midget submarine that torpedoed HMAS Kuttabul in 1942, found by recreational divers in 2006 off Bungan Head at 55 m – a…

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

Sydney Northern Beaches

MV Bellubera wreck

A 1910 Manly ferry in two pieces with an intact bow and open, fish-filled interior at 45 m.

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

Sydney South & Botany Bay

MV Malabar wreck (Long Bay)

Massive swim-through diesel engine, propeller, rudder and anchors of a 107 m passenger liner in just 9–10 m, reachable from shore.

Shore or BoatUp to 10 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Maccas Reef (Jibbon)

Rated by McFadyen among his best-ever Sydney dives: a multi-directional wall covered in huge sponges with prolific schooling fish…

BoatUp to 27 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteCave/Cavern

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Magic Point

Sydney's only reliable grey nurse shark aggregation – a cave at 15 m where a dozen or more sharks patrol within 25 minutes of a…

BoatUp to 22 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Mahon Pool (North Maroubra)

A canyon system of gutters, ledges and swim-throughs from 7 to 24 m – Maroubra's most dramatic shore topography, for experts on…

Shore or BoatUp to 24 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteMuck/Sand

Sydney Harbour

Manly Cove (Oceanworld nets)

White's seahorses on the swimming-net mesh two metres deep, 200 m from the Manly ferry – the easiest seahorse dive in Australia.

ShoreUp to 6 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sydney Harbour

Manly Gasworks (Little Manly Point)

A quiet harbour point paved with gasworks coal, full of small rays and cephalopods – a free-parking night dive minutes from the…

ShoreUp to 7 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Marley Point (Royal National Park)

Massive boulders with swim-throughs and caves, grey nurse sharks and 20 m+ visibility on a calm westerly day in Royal National…

BoatUp to 22 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Marley Point North (Royal National Park)

Shallow swim-throughs and gullies over a rock platform plus a fishy sand edge, on calm winter westerlies.

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

Wollongong & Kiama

Martin Island

Winter fur seal encounters on a colourful sponge and gorgonian wall only 15 minutes from Port Kembla.

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

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Marys Reef (Royal National Park)

A sheer 3 m wall with overhangs, caves and sea tulips, discovered by the St George Scuba Club around 2012.

BoatUp to 24 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteJetty/Pier

Merimbula

Merimbula Wharf

Easy shore dive with an exceptional critter list – sea dragons, seahorses, angel sharks and cuttlefish – beside an historic wharf.

ShoreUp to 16 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Middle Ground (Cronulla)

Compact deep reef with seals on most dives, up to six giant cuttlefish at a time and a large low cave – circumnavigable within…

BoatUp to 33 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Middle Ground North (Cronulla)

Sea whips carrying clusters of tiger anemones – rare in southern Sydney – plus pineapplefish on a compact 29 m reef.

BoatUp to 32 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sydney South & Botany Bay

Minmi Trench

Three coal-strewn trenches with swim-throughs and caves under some of the most colourful sponge growth in Botany Bay, 15 minutes…

BoatUp to 26 m
NSWYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteIsland

Narooma & Montague Island

Montague Island Seal Colony

Shallow, playful encounters with fur seals at the largest seal colony in NSW.

Boat (day trip)Up to 15 m