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
Pinnacle/BommieHeron Island & Capricorn Group
North Bommie (Heron Island)
A giant mushroom-shaped bommie wrapped in glassfish and hunted by trout and cod, with mantas and turtles queuing to be cleaned.
ReefSunshine Coast
Nurse Rock
A winter grey nurse shark aggregation (July-October) among boulders and swim-throughs in 14-22 m, with better visibility than the…
Pinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Nursery Bommie (Agincourt Reef)
Stunning 24 m pinnacle draped in fans and soft corals, circled by sharks, barracuda and schooling fish – regarded as one of the…
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
One Tree Island Reef
A closed Scientific Research Zone and world-class reef research station – not open to recreational diving.
ReefGold Coast
Palm Beach Reef
The Gold Coast's largest reef – about ten sites, the area's best visibility and summer leopard sharks.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Pam's Point (Heron Island)
Drift across a staghorn field to a 10 m bommie with a small cave and manta cleaning stations.
WallCairns
Petaj Mooring (Milln Reef)
Resident turtles and whitetip sharks on a wall with a swim-through; a favourite liveaboard night dive.
ReefPort Douglas
Phil's Reef (Agincourt Reef 3)
Huge tiers of plate coral sheltering groper and whitetips; giant clams and cuttlefish on a compact, shallow reef.
Jetty/PierTownsville & Magnetic Island
Picnic Bay Jetty
Heritage jetty with pylons full of soft coral, schools of baitfish, wobbegongs and big stonefish – a good night and macro dive.
Pinnacle/BommieRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Pixie Pinnacle
A small pinnacle packed from top to bottom with fish and critters, including the flashing 'disco clam'.
WallRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Pixie Wall
The Ribbon Reefs' most reliable summer manta cleaning station, on a wall with big fans and sun-coral trees.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Plate Top (Norman Reef)
A massive coral range off the main reef where fish crowd the northern corner at low tide.
ReefCairns
Playground (Norman Reef)
Divers Den's overnight liveaboard mooring – sandy valleys, Lionfish Bommie and Split Bommie with leafy scorpionfish; a superb…
WreckFar Northern Reef & Torres Strait
RMS Quetta wreck
A coral-encrusted 1890 royal mail steamer teeming with fish, often compared with the Yongala – dived only at slack water.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Reefworld Pontoon (Hardy Reef)
Permanent outer-reef pontoon with a wall of ledges and caves, tame giant groper and Maori wrasse, observatory and overnight…
WreckMackay
SS Llewellyn Wreck
An intact, soft-coral-covered 1884 government steamer lost with all 13 aboard in 1919 and found only in 1997 – untouched,…
WreckTownsville & Magnetic Island
SS Moltke Wreck (Geoffrey Bay)
Coral-encrusted 1870 iron barque scuttled as a breakwater, alive with sweetlips, batfish and fusiliers, 100 m from an easy ramp…
WreckTownsville & Magnetic Island
SS Yongala
A 109 m passenger steamer lost with all 122 aboard in the 1911 cyclone, lying almost intact on its side and swarmed by giant…
WreckGold Coast
Scottish Prince Wreck
An 1887 Glasgow barque whose whisky cargo was looted by locals, now wrapped in enormous schools of yellowtail scad in only 11 m.
ReefLady Elliot Island
Second Reef (Lady Elliot Island)
A shallow branching-coral ridge on the edge of the western sand patch, busy with turtles, rays and trevally.
WreckLady Elliot Island
Severance Wreck (Lady Elliot Island)
A coral-encrusted 16 m yacht on sand at 21 m, home to sweetlips and grouper, with mantas passing overhead.
ReefNorth Stradbroke Island
Shag Rock
A sheltered rock with a swim-through cave linking both sides – Straddie's go-to dive for beginners, macro and night dives.
WallNorth Stradbroke Island
Shark Alley (Flat Rock)
Up to fifteen grey nurse sharks circling through two sandy channels in winter – one of the best shark dives in Queensland.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Shark Mountain (Norman Reef)
A coral mountain range with resident grey reef sharks and a small fishing-boat wreck at 14 m.