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
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
No Name Reef
Sand, coral bommies and a wall drop-off with mandarinfish and mantis shrimp for macro fans.
IslandRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
North Direction Island
Historic Cook navigation landmark with a macro-rich sandy bottom and resident eagle rays.
Artificial ReefBrisbane & Moreton Bay
North Moreton Artificial Reef
A purpose-built pelagic fishing and freediving reef of concrete fish boxes at the northern entrance to Moreton Bay.
IslandHeron Island & Capricorn Group
North West Island Reef
The GBR's largest coral cay: camp-and-dive self-sufficiency, turtle nesting and gutter-cut southern drop-offs.
Shore/Rock PlatformCairns
Nudey Beach (Fitzroy Island)
A secluded coral-rubble beach with fringing reef around the headland, reached by a rainforest walk.
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Olive Point (Middle Island)
Shallow coral gardens where curious olive sea snakes are almost guaranteed.
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
One Bum Beach (Barren Island)
An easy, sheltered fringing reef on Barren Island – long, shallow bottom times in clearer outer-bay water.
Pinnacle/BommieTownsville & Magnetic Island
Orchard Rocks (Magnetic Island)
Stacked granite boulders with swim-throughs, ledges and cracks, and more fish than the island's bays.
WallTownsville & Magnetic Island
Orpheus Island – Iris Point
Channel-facing wall at Orpheus's northern tip with Queensland grouper, grey reef and leopard sharks.
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Orpheus–Pelorus Channel (Ray's Lump & Western Edge)
Ray's Lump – two tennis-court-sized coral outcrops mid-channel, packed with fusiliers, trout and resident blacktips; brain-coral…
ReefSunshine Coast
Outer Gneerings
Deeper, clearer and fishier than the inner reef: boulders and outcrops in 15-25 m with winter pelagics.
Pinnacle/BommieCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Outer Rock (Keppels)
An isolated outer rock with gutters, coral gardens, Maori wrasse and winter humpbacks.
ReefCairns
Paradise Reef (Breaking Patches)
A small green-zone reef, exclusive to one operator, where coral trout and red emperor have rebounded.
Pinnacle/BommieCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Parker Bommie (Great Keppel Island)
An exposed pinnacle rising from 17 m almost to the surface, thick with sea fans, sponges and black coral trees.
ReefBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Peel Island – Horseshoe Bay
Shallow fringing reefs and the beached 1883 bucket dredge Platypus at a historic island anchorage.
Shore/Rock PlatformTownsville & Magnetic Island
Pelorus Island – Front Reef
Independent shore diving from a camping beach on an uninhabited reef island, with staghorn gardens, juvenile mantas and winter…
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Pelorus Island – House Mooring
Shallow reef wall with a giant clam colony off a sandy beach on Pelorus's south-western tip.
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Pelorus Island – Northern Point
Current-fed point with detached rocks, bommies, swim-throughs and barramundi cod – the best, and hardest, dive on Pelorus.
WallTownsville & Magnetic Island
Pelorus Island – Southern Wall
Shallow wall with sea fans, barrel sponges, a distinctive corner bommie and a two-metre black coral tree.
ReefPort Douglas
Phil's Backside (Agincourt Reef)
A massive coral slope and deep bommies with some of the largest giant clams on the Port Douglas reefs.
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Pioneer Bay Giant Clam Gardens (Orpheus Island)
Impressive giant clam patches along a pretty reef wall beside the JCU research station.
ReefCairns
Pirates Cove (Hastings Reef)
A sheltered cove with unusual tongue-like coral formations at 14-18 m.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Pixie Gardens
Resident leafy scorpionfish among shallow bommies – a macro photographer's delight.
Cave/CavernRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Pixie's Caves
A labyrinth of sunlit caves and chimneys along a sloping reef.