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/BommieRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Snake Pit
Reliable, curious olive sea snakes, schools of eagle rays in winter and plenty of sharks on an isolated patch reef.
WallLady Elliot Island
Spiders Ledge (Lady Elliot Island)
A northern wall with some of the island's best coral cover and clearest water, rich in morays and macro subjects.
Pinnacle/BommieWhitsundays & Bowen
Stepping Stones (Bait Reef)
A line of 18+ vertical-sided, flat-topped coral pinnacles with caves and channels, gorgonian-covered walls and superb snorkelling…
Pinnacle/BommieRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Steve's Bommie
A legendary fish-magnet pinnacle with schooling trevally and barracuda plus superb macro and a memorial plaque.
ReefPort Douglas
Stonehenge (Agincourt Reef 3)
Coral pillars and arches forming swim-throughs, with some of the healthiest hard coral in the Port Douglas area.
ReefCairns
Swimming Pools (Milln Reef)
Sheltered bommies on sand with big schools of diagonal-banded sweetlips and plenty of nudibranchs.
WreckBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Tangalooma Wrecks
Fifteen rusting dredges and barges scuttled 1963-84, many breaking the surface, with 100+ fish species in 1-12 m – Queensland's…
WallHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Tenements 1 (Heron Island)
A small wall of anemones and schooling fish above white sand at friendly 5-16 m depths, often the end of the Tenements drift.
WallHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Tenements 2 (Heron Island)
A wall behind a coral plateau where the incoming tide gathers fish shoals and grey reef sharks – Heron's best shark drift.
ReefLady Musgrave & Bunker Group
The Aquarium (Lady Musgrave Lagoon)
Step off the pontoon into a sheltered lagoon of turtle cleaning stations, giant clams and juvenile fish – ideal for first dives,…
Cave/CavernLady Elliot Island
The Blowhole (Lady Elliot Island)
Swim through an L-shaped cave from 14 m to 22 m and watch silvertip sharks being cleaned outside.
ReefNorth Stradbroke Island
The Bowl (Flat Rock)
A coral-lined basin that runs from a 10 m rim to 34 m, with turtles, groupers and seasonal sharks.
ReefSunshine Coast
The Caves (Gneerings)
A shallow 12 m ledge with overhangs and small swim-throughs – schools of surgeonfish, wobbegongs and ray cleaning stations; ideal…
ReefPort Douglas
The Chapel (Agincourt Reef 4)
Swim-throughs, dense anemone fields with clownfish, and grey reef sharks on a compact patch reef.
DriftPort Douglas
The Gap (Agincourt Reef 3)
Shallow gutter drift beside a reef wall riddled with grottos; big sweetlips schools and groper.
ReefPort Douglas
The Gardens (Agincourt Reef 2)
Bright, shallow boulder-coral garden with excellent visibility; often done as an effortless drift.
ReefNorth Stradbroke Island
The Nursery (Flat Rock)
Shallow coral gardens on Flat Rock with turtles, nudibranchs and summer leopard sharks – the best introduction to Straddie diving.
WallBrisbane & Moreton Bay
The Pines
A 500 m coffee-rock wall best dived as a drift on the incoming tide, packed with wobbegongs, turtles and schooling fish.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
The Pinnacles (Hook Island)
Near-solid shallow coral and a field of large bommies, with some of the best snorkelling in the Whitsundays.
ReefPort Douglas
The Point (Agincourt Reef 4)
Southern point of Agincourt 4 with magnificent coral and big schools of red bass, sweetlips and trevally.
Pinnacle/BommieLady Elliot Island
Three Pyramids (Lady Elliot Island)
Three bommies in a row with a manta cleaning station on the largest and superb macro life.
DriftHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Three Rocks (Heron Island)
Drift down a steep sandy slope past three big bommies at one of Wistari Reef's drains, with pelagics and olive sea snakes.
Pinnacle/BommiePort Douglas
Three Sisters (Agincourt Reef 4)
Three coral bommies close to the mooring surrounded by huge fish schools and young grey reef sharks.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Three Sisters (Milln Reef)
Three towering bommies and the narrow Gorgonian Gorge between them – one of the best dives off Cairns.