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
ReefFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Auriga Bay (Southern Small Detached Reef)
Sheltered checkout dive on Southern Small Detached Reef at the start of far-north expeditions.
Details need confirmation
ReefSunshine Coast
Aussie's Reef (Gneering Shoals)
An easy, shallow Gneering Shoals reef with coral growth.
Details need confirmation
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Bald Rock (Keppels)
A south-coast rock reef with plate corals, black coral trees and resident batfish and wobbegongs.
Details need confirmation
WreckBundaberg & Agnes Water
Barjon Wreck
A small 1986 fishing-boat wreck that concentrates fish on a bare silt bottom.
Details need confirmation
ReefPort Douglas
Batt Reef
Large reef off Port Douglas, notable as the site of Steve Irwin's death in 2006; rarely dived.
Details need confirmation
Aircraft WreckBundaberg & Agnes Water
Beaufort Bomber A9-322 Wreck
A Second World War RAAF Beaufort crash site lost on Christmas Eve 1943 – scattered remains for aviation-history enthusiasts.
Details need confirmation
ReefPort Douglas
Beautiful Mooring (Opal Reef)
Calm snorkel site with delicate staghorn thickets and several species of anemonefish.
Details need confirmation
ReefPort Douglas
Big Brother (Tongue Reef Sister reefs)
Current-swept reef corner with healthy coral, giant clams and big barracuda.
Details need confirmation
ReefSunshine Coast
Big Plates
An easy reef of large plate corals and small overhangs.
Details need confirmation
WallRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Big Softy
A soft-coral-covered wall dived as a drift with reef sharks and seasonal mantas.
Details need confirmation
ReefFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Big Woody (Great Detached / Wood Reef)
Reef peninsula with a cave, soft-coral walls and a current-swept point.
Details need confirmation
IslandHervey Bay & K'gari
Big Woody Island Fringing Reef
Sheltered shallow fringes of the island beside the Roy Rufus reef – an easy, low-key second dive.
Details need confirmation
IslandWhitsundays & Bowen
Bird Island (Whitsundays)
Current-swept island drift with large cod, sweetlip and trevally along a rock and rubble slope.
Details need confirmation
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Black Reef (Whitsundays)
A quieter outer reef on Whitsunday liveaboard itineraries, away from the day-boat crowds.
Details need confirmation
ReefPort Douglas
Blue Lagoon (Agincourt Reef)
A rarely visited, hard-to-reach lagoon dived only in perfect conditions.
Details need confirmation
ReefPort Douglas
Blue Lagoon (Opal Reef)
Calm, shallow lagoon coral gardens visited only on the right tide.
Details need confirmation
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Blue Lagoon (Ribbon Reefs)
A shallow southern Ribbon Reef coral garden with big Porites boulders and cuttlefish.
Details need confirmation
WallSwain Reefs
Blue Line Lagoon (Swain Reefs)
A circular reef and drop-off at the northern limit of southern charters, with sharks, grouper and sea snakes.
Details need confirmation
Jetty/PierBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Bongaree Jetty (Bribie Island)
A historic 1912 steamer jetty on the Pumicestone Passage for a short slack-water critter dive.
Details need confirmation
ReefFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Boulder Reef (Cooktown)
Almost undived reefs off Australia's closest mainland port to the Great Barrier Reef.
Details need confirmation
ReefLady Musgrave & Bunker Group
Boult Reef
Remote northern Bunker reef with bommies, ledges and caves visited by Maori wrasse, nurse sharks and mantas.
Details need confirmation
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Bowl Reef
Gorgonian fans and sea whips on the drop-offs, caves, eagle rays and a good night dive in the shallows.
Details need confirmation
IslandMackay
Brampton Island
Former resort island with sheltered beaches and shallow fringing reef for snorkelling in the Cumberland Islands National Park.
Details need confirmation
ReefSunshine Coast
Brays Rock
A Caloundra rock reef favoured by spearfishers, with basic diving along the reef towards Kings Beach.
Details need confirmation