AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS

Diving in Queensland

Explore 594 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.

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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

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

  1. Which port and vessel will run our trip?
  2. Is the named reef a likely itinerary or a confirmed destination?
  3. 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

Find local operators
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait

Creech Reef

Shelf-edge reef with upwellings drawing pelagics, sharks and mantas.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Depth not recorded
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Sunshine Coast

Currimundi Reef

A little-known fishing reef off Currimundi – rarely dived and undocumented.

BoatDepth not recorded
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteArtificial Reef

Gold Coast

Currumbin Desalination Outlet

A saucer-shaped desalination outlet on the seabed at 20 m – the Gold Coast's 'UFO' dive.

Boat (day trip)Up to 20 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteAircraft Wreck

Townsville & Magnetic Island

Curtiss Falcon Aircraft Wreck (Nelly Bay)

Engine and propeller of a USAAF CW-22B Falcon that ditched in 1943 – a rare wartime aircraft relic off Magnetic Island.

Shore or BoatDepth not recorded
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Townsville & Magnetic Island

Danger Marks (Orpheus–Pelorus Channel)

Shallow gutters with symmetrical walls and colourful low corals, protected in the Orpheus Marine National Park zone.

BoatUp to 10 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the sitePinnacle/Bommie

Lady Elliot Island

Devils Marbles (Lady Elliot Island)

A cluster of 'marble' bommies at the southern mooring, in manta feeding territory.

Boat (day trip)Up to 18 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Sunshine Coast

Dickies Reef

A Caloundra reef off Dicky Beach whose southern edge drops to about 10 m – a shore dive for flat days only.

ShoreUp to 11 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Rainbow Beach

Double Island Point

The headland that anchors the Rainbow Beach dive area – its base reef is now part of the expanded Wolf Rock Marine National Park…

BoatUp to 18 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Swain Reefs

East Cay (Swain Reefs)

A maze of bommies, gutters and staghorn thickets with sea snakes and big fish.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Up to 25 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Bundaberg & Agnes Water

Evans Patch

A less-visited offshore reef in the low 20s with big schools of pelagic fish.

BoatUp to 23 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands

FV Linda Jane Wreck

A little-known 35 m trawler wreck whose unpublished position has kept its big groper, red emperor and jewfish intact.

Boat (day trip)Up to 35 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands

FV Miss Shoalhaven Wreck

A decaying 1988 timber trawler at 33 m that has become a barracuda and ray magnet.

Boat (day trip)Up to 33 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteIsland

Mission Beach & Cassowary Coast

Family Islands

Quiet national-park islands with shallow fringing reefs for boat-based or kayak snorkelling and camping.

BoatUp to 10 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island

Fish Market

A seldom-described southern Ribbon Reef mooring on Mike Ball's itinerary map.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Depth not recorded
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Cairns

Fish Town (Milln Reef)

A fish-rich Milln mooring with schools, cleaning stations and turtles.

Boat (day trip)Up to 25 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group

Fitzroy Reef – South-East Gardens

Shallow brain-coral gardens outside the Fitzroy lagoon, used as an easy second dive with a chance of mantas.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Up to 12 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands

Flat Rock (Keppels)

A rarely visited deep drop-off to 30 m with giant sea fans and black coral trees, two hours beyond Great Keppel.

Boat (day trip)Up to 30 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the sitePinnacle/Bommie

Lady Elliot Island

Forty Five (Lady Elliot Island)

A single western bommie south-west of the Lighthouse with regular manta visits.

Boat (day trip)Up to 18 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Bundaberg & Agnes Water

Four Mile Reef (Bargara)

Clearer water than the coast and a chance of manta rays in winter on a low, easy reef 3 nm offshore.

BoatUp to 13 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the sitePinnacle/Bommie

Swain Reefs

Gannet Cay (Swain Reefs)

Fish-packed coral pinnacles to 35 m beneath a protected seabird rookery, with sharks and mantas.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Up to 35 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteIsland

Whitsundays & Bowen

Gloucester Passage / Gloucester Island

Island fringing reefs in a current-swept passage beside Gloucester Island National Park, with sheltered anchorages.

BoatUp to 12 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Hervey Bay & K'gari

Goori Wreck (Roy Rufus Artificial Reef)

A single, well-encrusted hull at 16 m – a quieter alternative to the 3 Ships cluster.

BoatUp to 17 m
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island

Gorgonian Wall

A rarely visited Ribbon Reef wall on Mike Ball's Far Northern Reefs expedition.

Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)Depth not recorded
Details need confirmation
QLDYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Brisbane & Moreton Bay

Grace Darling Wreck

An 1876 wooden schooner lost in 1894 with a cargo of coal and dynamite – ballast mound, galley oven and timbers in 10 m.

Boat (day trip)Up to 11 m
Details need confirmation