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/BommieCairns
Tracey's Bommie (Flynn Reef)
A photogenic bommie on white sand with active cleaning stations, a resident Maori wrasse and one of the best night dives on Flynn.
ReefCairns
Troppos (Norman Reef)
A sheltered bay full of nudibranchs, pipefish and razorfish, with a wall to deeper water on its northern edge.
ReefPort Douglas
Turtle Bay (Agincourt Reef 2)
Sheltered bay with a coral wall and a resident large loggerhead turtle often seen in summer.
Muck/SandCairns
Turtle Bay (Norman Reef)
A shallow sandy bay where large green turtles feed around the coral margin.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Turtle Gully (Heron Island)
A gully leading to a biodiverse coral wall, with schooling unicornfish and sweetlips and the odd great hammerhead.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Twin Peaks (Saxon Reef)
Two coral peaks with a narrow swim-through and a wedged tree trunk, pygmy seahorses on the seagrass edges and morays at the…
Pinnacle/BommieRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Two Towers
Twin pinnacles capped with some of the best new Acropora growth on the Ribbons and a large Pavona clavus colony.
ReefCairns
Upolu Cay
The closest reef to Cairns: a sheltered sand-cay lagoon with soft corals, turtles and giant clams, ideal for beginners.
WallRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Vertical Gardens
A fan- and soft-coral-covered wall likened to Osprey's North Horn, open only in rare calm windows.
Artificial ReefGold Coast
Wave Break Island
A sheltered island rock wall inside the Seaway with swarms of hand-fed fish – the Gold Coast's favourite snorkel and…
ReefPort Douglas
West End (Agincourt Reef 2)
The largest swim-through caves on Agincourt plus a very large, friendly Maori wrasse.
WallRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
West End (Ribbon Reef 9)
Two contrasting walls – gorgonian fans on one, chromis-topped Acropora on the other – plus dusk mandarinfish.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
Whale Bommie (Milln Reef)
An isolated pinnacle from 30 m to the surface with black coral, sleeping whitetips and one of the best night dives off Cairns.
ReefPort Douglas
Whaler Point (Agincourt Reef 1)
Coral-rich southern point of Agincourt 1 with sharks, rays and barracuda passing along the edge; easy out-and-back layout.
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Wheeler Reef
Small reef with every habitat within reach of one mooring – deep bommies, sand, gutters and a cleaning station – plus good shark…
WallCairns
Wild Side (Norman Reef)
Twin bays on Norman's weather side with deepening walls, rare sand stars and seasonal juvenile harlequin sweetlips.
WallHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Wistari 1 (Wistari Reef)
A steep channel wall from 18 m to 25 m capped with thriving branching coral, with unpredictable visitors from the blue.
WallHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Wistari 2 (Wistari Reef)
A deep wall dive from a 24 m mooring, looking out into the blue for rays, sharks and pelagics.
Pinnacle/BommieRainbow Beach
Wolf Rock
Australia's premier grey nurse shark dive and the only known gestation site for the east-coast population, with dozens of sharks…
Artificial ReefGold Coast
Wonder Reef
Nine floating spiral sculptures rising to 8 m from 30 m – the world's first buoyant reef, opened in 2022.
WreckHervey Bay & K'gari
ex-HMAS Tobruk
Australia's largest military dive wreck – a 127 m landing ship lying on her side, with the shallowest point at 11 m for Open…
ReefCairns
1770 (Hastings Reef)
A sheltered central lagoon for snorkellers plus the 20 m 'Twins' bommies for advanced divers.
ReefCairns
360 (Thetford Reef)
A lagoon of swim-through bommies on a swing mooring that works in almost any wind.
Pinnacle/BommieCairns
5 Ways (Moore Reef)
Five swim-throughs linking a cluster of coral bommies at around 12 m.