AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS
Diving in Queensland
Explore 594 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Choose your reef gateway before your accommodation
Queensland research starts with the departure region. Cairns and Port Douglas, the southern reef islands, Townsville and the south-east coast appear in different parts of this directory. Treat them as separate trip choices: being in Queensland does not put every reef or wreck within reach of the same boat. Work from a proposed operator itinerary back to your accommodation and transfers.
Choose the setting, then the trip Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 594 published site records across Queensland. The recorded categories include reef (290), pinnacle/bommie (73), wall (70), wreck (52). 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 Queensland →Ask before booking
- Which port and vessel will run our trip?
- Is the named reef a likely itinerary or a confirmed destination?
- What changes if our island transfer or boat departure moves?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Northern reef gateways
Compare Cairns and Port Douglas by the actual departure, return time and proposed trip. Ask which sites are possibilities rather than fixed promises.
Islands and southern reef
For island-based trips, confirm how arrival transfers connect with the diving schedule and what equipment must be reserved.
South-east Queensland
Use the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and island region pages to distinguish boat departures, shore access and wreck-related records.
Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in Queensland?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 594 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 Queensland 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: Tourism and Events Queensland — accessing the Great Barrier Reef ↗. 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
Shore/Rock PlatformTownsville & Magnetic Island
Alma Bay (Magnetic Island)
Easy beach entry to granite-boulder canyons, swim-throughs and coral gardens with 50+ nudibranch species, turtles and rays –…
Pinnacle/BommieLady Elliot Island
Anchor Bommie (Lady Elliot Island)
A soft-coral-covered admiralty anchor at 19 m beside a manta cleaning bommie rich in macro life.
Shore/Rock PlatformBundaberg & Agnes Water
Barolin Rocks
Queensland's best-known shore dive: a sheltered, shallow soft-coral reef with prolific nudibranchs, turtles and sea snakes,…
Pinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Barracuda Bommie (Agincourt Reef 2)
Circling barracuda school over a coral pinnacle; excellent snorkelling on the shallow garden around it.
Pinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Bashful Bommie (Opal Reef)
Double-sided bommie with a sea-fan wall on a deep channel, a sheltered clam garden, and a very friendly Maori wrasse.
ReefMission Beach & Cassowary Coast
Beaver Reef
Mission Beach's main outer reef: an uncrowded green-zone reef with coral gardens, turtles and a shark-patrolled southern wall.
ReefCairns
Blue Lagoon (Thetford Reef)
A calm, shallow lagoon ringed by bommies, with giant clams and blacktip reef sharks – ideal for beginners and snorkellers.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Blue Pearl Bay (Hayman Island)
Sheltered, easy fringing reef on Hayman Island with friendly fish, recovering coral and the Ngaro trail Maori Wrasse sculpture.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Blue Pools (Heron Island)
Shallow gutters and a sheltered Olympic-pool-sized hollow with resting turtles, wobbegongs and patrolling whitetips.
Pinnacle/BommieNorth Stradbroke Island
Boat Rock
An exposed spire off Queensland's easternmost point with colourful caverns and schools of big fish.
Shore/Rock PlatformTownsville & Magnetic Island
Bremner Point (Geoffrey Bay Headland)
Shallow granite wall with small caves, sea fans and more fish than the nearby Moltke, plus the site of the 1896 Lallah Rokh wreck.
Shore/Rock PlatformBundaberg & Agnes Water
Burkitt's Reef
The easy-entry Bargara shore dive: walk off the beach onto a shallow soft-coral reef with wobbegongs, sea snakes and occasional…
Pinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Castle Rock (Agincourt Reef 1)
A 24 m exposed wall on one side and a sheltered coral garden on the other; one of the better Agincourt sites for sharks and big…
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Cathedral (Thetford Reef)
Cathedral-like gaps and swim-throughs between tall bommies on bright sand, with an outer gorgonian bommie to 30 m.
ReefCairns
Caves (Norman Reef)
A sheltered bay with rays and cuttlefish between two deep walls with devilfish in the ledges.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Challenger Bay
A famous night dive where trevally and red bass hunt in divers' torch beams; easy daytime dive over sand, bommies and recovering…
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
City Hall (Moore Reef)
A pinnacle with ten-plus swim-throughs and a resident population of 18 turtles, guided from the Sunlover pontoon.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Clam Gardens
Around 14 giant clams up to 2 m long in bright, shallow coral gardens.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Clam Gardens (Lizard Island)
Giant clams up to 2 m long in shallow water a short swim from the beach.
ReefCairns
Clipper & Super Cat (Norman Reef)
Swim-throughs, a beginner-friendly canyon and a small glass-bottom boat wreck on one Norman mooring.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Cod Hole
Diver-sized potato cod that approach to within centimetres; coral ridges, sand arena and deeper fans with pygmy seahorses.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Coral Canyons (Heron Island)
Shallow canyons cut into the reef edge, where bigfin reef squid hang in colour-changing stacks.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Coral Cascades (Heron Island)
A 'macro dream world' of coral-covered bommies on sand, where rays queue at cleaning stations and fusiliers swirl overhead.
WallCairns
Coral Gardens (Flynn Reef)
A 30 m wall with swim-throughs and overhangs beside a shallow garden of staghorn and plate corals; a favourite liveaboard night…