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
Cave/CavernNorth Stradbroke Island
Turtle Caves (Flat Rock)
Turtles resting in caves and under ledges at Flat Rock, with bull rays and mobulas cruising past.
ReefBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Turtle Cleaning Station (Flinders Reef)
Turtles queueing at a coral bommie in about 5 m to be cleaned by surgeonfish and wrasse – close-range turtle behaviour in…
ReefCairns
Tusa Canyons (Thetford Reef)
Canyon-like sand channels between tall coral bommies – one of Thetford's two signature sites.
ReefPort Douglas
Undine Reef
Shallow coral gardens and a sand cay you can step onto, 25 minutes off Cape Tribulation.
Shore/Rock PlatformRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Watsons Bay (Lizard Island)
Walk off a national-park beach onto fringing reef and the Clam Gardens; best at high tide.
Shore/Rock PlatformCairns
White Rock (Fitzroy Island)
Fitzroy's deeper northern reef around a bird-covered rock, with turtles, rays and reef sharks.
Artificial ReefBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Wild Banks Artificial Reef
Eleven-metre-tall steel fish caves in 35 m of blue water that draw pelagic fish – a freediving and fishing reef where scuba is…
WallCairns
Wild Side West (Norman Reef)
Bob's Bommie, a coral tower beside the wall, on Norman's unpredictable Wild West.
WallCairns
Wonder Wall (Upolu Reef)
Coral walls and surface-reaching bommies on Upolu's outer edge, with reef sharks and turtles.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Wonderland
A big coral mound cut by ridges, channels and small caves, with leafy scorpionfish and cuttlefish.
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Wreck Beach (Great Keppel Island)
A quiet far-side bay with a 2 m-high brain coral thought to be around 420 years old.
ReefPort Douglas
Wreck Site (Agincourt Reef 3)
Clear sandy lagoon with 12 m pinnacles and the coral-covered remains of a fishing boat in the shallows.
Jetty/PierTownsville & Magnetic Island
Yanks Jetty (Orpheus Island)
WWII degaussing-station jetty with friendly fish, anemones and giant clams, a beach entry from the campground.
DriftRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Yonge Reef
Colourful outer-reef drift for divers and snorkellers north of Lizard Island.
ReefSunshine Coast
A-Bay Reef
An exposed reef off Noosa National Park's Alexandria Bay – clearer water than Laguna Bay on calm days, but rarely dived.
Details need confirmationReefPort Douglas
Acropolis (Opal Reef)
A shallow Acropora coral amphitheatre leading onto a nudibranch-rich wall.
Details need confirmationReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Acropolis (Ribbon Reefs)
A seldom-documented Ribbon Reef mooring from Spirit of Freedom's longer itineraries.
Details need confirmationPinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Advanced Bommie (Agincourt Reef)
Two huge coral towers rising from 40 m with a deep gutter – one of the sharkiest spots on Agincourt.
Details need confirmationReefFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Aladdin's Cave (Far Northern GBR)
Soft-coral walls and coral gardens, paired with the Stanley Island rock-art excursion.
Details need confirmationCave/CavernBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Alden's Cave (Flinders Reef)
A short, sunlit swim-through cave with an opening in its roof – an easy first cave experience on Brisbane's best coral reef.
Details need confirmationWreckBundaberg & Agnes Water
Althea 2 Wreck
An intact 1991 trawler alone on sand in 41 m, swarming with pelagics – remote and rarely visited.
Details need confirmationPinnacle/BommieRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Andy's Postcard
A photogenic coral pinnacle with schooling trevally and barracuda on the southern Ribbons.
Details need confirmationReefPort Douglas
Anybody's (Agincourt Reef)
Wall dive followed by a winding return through coral-lined alleys.
Details need confirmationReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Anzac Reef
Drop-offs, pinnacles and coral gardens in clear outer-shelf water; a noted night dive for lobsters and flatworms.
Details need confirmation