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
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Shelving Beach (Great Keppel Island)
The closest snorkel reef to Great Keppel's accommodation, with coral, boulder fields and walking epaulette sharks in the shallows.
Artificial ReefHervey Bay & K'gari
Simpson Artificial Reef
Five clusters of 24-tonne concrete habitat modules in 10-16 m – a modern fish-attracting reef 7 nm from Urangan.
WreckMackay
Singapore Wreck (Keswick Island)
Large, coral-covered remains of an 1877 steamer at Singapore Rock in a green zone off Keswick Island.
WallWhitsundays & Bowen
Sinker Reef (Whitsundays)
Steep walls with ledges and caves beneath a staghorn-covered reef top, in the Hardy complex.
Pinnacle/BommieBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Smiths Rock
Granite pinnacles with swim-throughs and caverns on the rock that sank the Aarhus, St Paul and Marietta Dal.
ReefPort Douglas
Sno (Opal Reef)
An all-rounder wall-and-reef-top site with turtles, sharks and a shallow safety-stop reef; recovered coral after crown-of-thorns…
Shore/Rock PlatformNorth Stradbroke Island
South Gorge (Point Lookout)
Queensland's wildest shore dive: a surf entry and long swim to a coral-covered cliff wall leading to Whale Rock.
Artificial ReefGold Coast
South Stradbroke Artificial Reef
A 208-hectare concrete fish-box reef north of the Seaway – a fishing and freediving site where scuba is prohibited.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Southern Face (Bait Reef)
Gully-cut outer-reef face with clear water, excellent hard-coral shallows and winter mantas.
WallLady Musgrave & Bunker Group
Southern Ledges (Lady Musgrave)
Lady Musgrave's exposed southern drop-off, undercut by ledges and caves and hung with black coral and gorgonians.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Southpark (Heron Island)
Heron Reef's southern tip: a free-descent dive over some 20 kinds of healthy hard coral, with tawny nurse sharks under the deeper…
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Split Bommie (Hastings Reef)
Cleft bommies with a 12 m swim-through and a current line where sharks and pelagics patrol.
ReefPort Douglas
St Crispin Reef
Maze of sandy channels between soft-coral mounds – the 'Flower Garden' – on a quiet four-mooring outer reef.
WreckBrisbane & Moreton Bay
St Paul Wreck
A 1912 French steamer lost with 18 lives in 1914, with twin boilers, engine and propeller intact at 38-43 m.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Staghorn Banks (Heron Island)
A densely packed thicket of many Acropora species in one of Heron Reef's most sheltered spots.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Stepping Stones (Hastings Reef)
A line of coral bommies stepping out from the boat – three or four in one easy, sheltered dive.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Stonehaven Anchorage (Hook Island)
Sheltered anchorage whose coral survived Cyclone Debbie – an easy macro dive or snorkel from an overnight yacht.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Summer Bay
Colourful shallow Acropora gardens where cuttlefish lay their eggs.
ReefCairns
Sunlover Pontoon Reef (Moore Reef)
An easy, well-run pontoon dive on a sheltered nursery reef, with intro, refresher and helmet options for non-divers.
DriftLady Elliot Island
Sunset Drift (Lady Elliot Island)
An effortless, well-timed drift over beautiful coral at the south-west tip, with feeding mantas in season.
WallHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Sykes Reef
Heron's occasional special trip: a drop-off with deep walls, big gorgonians and clearer offshore water.
Shore/Rock PlatformGold Coast
Tallebudgera Creek
A clear, flooding creek mouth beside Burleigh Heads where snorkellers meet rays, turtles and dolphins on the incoming tide.
WreckHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Tambaroora Wreck (Polmaise Reef)
Scattered remains of an 1879 steamer in 8 m on a remote reef, home to wobbegongs and nurse sharks.
Pinnacle/BommieMission Beach & Cassowary Coast
Taylor Reef
Towering green-zone bommies with swim-throughs, barracuda and seasonal manta rays.