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
Pinnacle/BommieDarwin Harbour
Weed Reef Bommies
Large bommies with an overhang packed with colourful sponge and soft coral life; sargassum at its best around August.
Artificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Adelaide River Mouth Engineered Reef
The engineered reef closest to the Adelaide River – built for anglers, occasionally of interest to experienced local divers on…
Details need confirmationJetty/PierGroote Eylandt
Alyangula Wharf
An easy, shallow wharf dive at Alyangula where resident dolphins are often seen.
Details need confirmationReefDarwin Harbour
Bennetts Bottom
A deep, rarely visited reef at 32 m with rich coral and fish life.
Details need confirmationWreckDarwin Harbour
Bluebird
A little-known Cyclone Tracy trawler wreck on DSAC's list - a club site for divers who have done the rest.
Details need confirmationReefEast Arnhem Land & Gove
Bonner Rocks
A pristine rocky coral reef with an old trawler wreck that draws gropers, barracuda, cobia and tuna.
Details need confirmationIslandEast Arnhem Land & Gove
Bromby Islands
Sheltered coral gardens on one side and a steep seaward wall of gorgonians and black coral on the other, patrolled by mantas,…
Details need confirmationWreckDarwin Harbour
Buffalo LVT amphibious vehicle
A virtually intact WWII-type Buffalo amphibious tractor sitting upright on a rocky outcrop.
Details need confirmationReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Bynoe Harbour Entrance Reefs
Tidal reefs and islands at the mouth of Bynoe Harbour – a sheltered alternative to Fog Bay for self-sufficient divers.
Details need confirmationReefEast Arnhem Land & Gove
Cape Arnhem
The remote eastern tip of Arnhem Land – a special-permit area with potential for exploratory diving on calm days.
Details need confirmationReefDarwin Harbour
Channel Rock
A channel-side rock with Darwin's best odds of turtles, plus rays, barracuda and big schools.
Details need confirmationWreckDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Cockatoo and Mudlark Artificial Reef
A pair of 20 m hulls lying side by side on the western edge of Fenton Patches, forming a fish-filled gutter between them.
Details need confirmationIslandGroote Eylandt
Connexion Island
A sheltered island reef off Alyangula with the clearer water and richer shallow coral of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Details need confirmationWreckTiwi Islands
Don Isidro
A 97.8 m Krupp-built Philippine blockade runner bombed and beached burning off the Tiwi Islands on 19 February 1942.
Details need confirmationArtificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Dundee Wide Engineered Reef
A 2019 engineered concrete reef in 16 m off Dundee Beach – the shallowest and most approachable of the new NT reef complexes for…
Details need confirmationIslandEast Arnhem Land & Gove
East Woody Island
The easiest shore-access island near Nhulunbuy, joined to the mainland by a sand spit – a short snorkel option for calm…
Details need confirmationWreckDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Galah and Heron Artificial Reef
Two 20 m vessels scuttled together as fish habitat, next to the Amanda Lee – quieter than the main Fenton wrecks.
Details need confirmationArtificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Gutters Central Engineered Reef
The westernmost 2019 engineered reef complex, in a strong-current channel area west of Fenton Patches.
Details need confirmationArtificial ReefDarwin Harbour
Lee Point Culvert Reefs
600 six-metre culverts in a 3.6 km pattern linking the Lee Point reefs - a navigable field of fish shelters.
Details need confirmationArtificial ReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Lee Point Wide Engineered Reef
Purpose-built 5 m concrete reef modules installed in 2019 in 28 m of open water north of Lee Point.
Details need confirmationJetty/PierDarwin Harbour
Mandorah Jetty
Encrusted ferry-jetty pylons and bottom rubbish with barramundi, groper and batfish - Darwin's best jetty dive.
Details need confirmationReefDarwin Harbour
Nightcliff Reef
A small inshore macro reef off Nightcliff, close to the northern suburbs.
Details need confirmationIslandDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Peron Islands
Remote Timor Sea islands visited by Darwin fishing liveaboards, with bluewater pelagics around the island reefs.
Details need confirmationReefDarwin Offshore & Artificial Reefs
Point Blaze Reefs
A remote reef area at the southern end of Fog Bay where tropical bluewater pelagics are regularly seen.
Details need confirmation