AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS
Diving in Northern Territory
Explore 82 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Start with current local advice, not a map pin
Northern Territory records require particular care in how they are used. The NT Government warns that crocodiles occur in coastal, harbour and river environments. A site appearing in this directory is not a recommendation to enter the water. Research the exact activity with a qualified local provider and follow current official access and crocodile-safety guidance.
Choose the setting, then the trip Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 82 published site records across Northern Territory. The recorded categories include wreck (35), reef (12), artificial reef (11), aircraft wreck (8). 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 Northern Territory →Ask before booking
- Is there a current, appropriate operator-led activity at this location?
- Which official access and wildlife guidance applies?
- What permissions and travel arrangements must be confirmed?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Darwin records
Historical, harbour and offshore listings provide research context. Confirm whether a visitor trip is actually offered and appropriate; do not turn a recorded location into a self-directed shore plan.
Remote regions
Resolve permissions, transport and the provider’s operating arrangements before building an itinerary. A place name alone does not establish public access.
Official guidance
Use the NT Government’s current advice and local operational decisions. The absence of a warning in a directory record is not evidence that a hazard is absent.
Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in Northern Territory?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 82 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 Northern Territory 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: NT Government — Be Crocwise ↗. Directory counts come from published YouDive records. Individual site claims remain subject to their source and review notes.
Find your region
Dive sites to explore
WreckDarwin Harbour
DSAC Barge
The club's own upturned barge reef, surrounded by a yacht, work boat and concrete structures, with tame fish.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Darwin Princess
The upturned ferry that disappeared with her skipper during Cyclone Tracy and was found only in 2004.
ReefDarwin Harbour
Dudley Point Bommies
A wide field of shallow coral bommies with clownfish and long, easy bottom times.
ReefDarwin Harbour
East Point Reef
A convenient shallow macro site off East Point Reserve, full of sponges, sea whips and small fish.
WreckTiwi Islands
Florence D
A 1942 blockade-runner sunk in the first Darwin raid, found in 2008 – intact stern on its side in 16 m and a shattered…
Jetty/PierEast Arnhem Land & Gove
Gove Town Wharf
Pylons crowded with nudibranchs, flatworms, decorator crabs and feather stars, with big schools of fish under the wharf – Gove's…
WreckDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Japanese Submarine I-124
Australia's first protected war grave – a WWII Japanese minelaying submarine in 45 m, closed to divers; viewable through a 2022…
WreckDarwin Harbour
Kay Lee
An intact, upright steel fishing boat in 14 m with a resident grouper around 1.8 m long.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Kelat
A relaxed 12 m dive on the remains of an 1881 iron sailing ship turned naval coal hulk, sunk after the 1942 raid.
WreckDarwin Harbour
MV Neptuna remnants
Fragments of the munitions ship whose explosion at Stokes Hill Wharf killed 45 people on 19 February 1942.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Mandorah Queen
A Cyclone Tracy ferry lost with three crew, now almost buried in sand but still a magnet for big fish.
WreckDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Merindah Pearl
A 25 m ex-pearling vessel prepared by DSAC volunteers and scuttled in 2013 at the northern end of the Fenton wreck cluster.
WreckDarwin Harbour
NR Diemen
Upright, intact Cyclone Tracy trawler in 12 m with some of the harbour's best fish life - Darwin's best beginner wreck.
Artificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Pipeline Artificial Reef
About 200 tonnes of large concrete pipes forming tunnels and overhangs that shelter big cod and jewfish.
Artificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Rick Mills Artificial Reef
Plant equipment, 1,500 tonnes of concrete culverts and five shipping containers in 15 m, with the Van Bruggen yacht wreck nearby.
WreckEast Arnhem Land & Gove
Sanyo Maru
A 1937 Japanese pearling mother-ship in 26 m off Arnhem Land – archaeologically significant and inside a closed 200 ha protected…
WreckDarwin Harbour
Song Saigon
An upright 40 m steel refugee boat with open holds, good coral and strong fish life, beside two other wrecks.
Artificial ReefDarwin Harbour
Stokes Hill Wharf Artificial Reef
A shallow fish-attracting reef under Darwin's busiest fishing platform, next to the remnants of the 1942 Neptuna.
Pinnacle/BommieDarwin Harbour
The Pinnacle
A ridge rising from 15 m to 5 m, with big fish at the base and clouds of small fish on the top.
Artificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Truck Tipper Artificial Reef
Twenty mining road-train side tippers and two steel vessels in 15 m – with the Kay Lee wreck and its giant groper close by.
Aircraft WreckDarwin Harbour
US Navy Catalina 6 (heritage zone)
The most intact US Navy Catalina in Darwin Harbour - protected in a no-entry heritage zone.
WreckDarwin Harbour
Van Bruggen
A small steel yacht scuttled by fishermen beside the Rick Mills reef - an easy 14 m second dive.
ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Vernon Islands
Coral reefs rising steeply from fast tidal channels in Clarence Strait, with Spanish mackerel feeding along the edges – the best…
ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Vernon Islands Blue Holes
Tidal blue holes that become sheltered, fish-filled coral pools at low tide – with a 'horizontal waterfall' as the water drains…