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
WreckBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Bulwer Wrecks
Three 1880s-1900-built steamers scuttled in 1933-35 as a breakwater, now an easy shallow snorkel off Bulwer beach.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Butterfly Bay (Hook Island)
Sheltered bareboat anchorage with coral outcrops and shallow walls along its edges – an easy dive from an overnight yacht.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Bylund's Pass (Heron Island)
A hard-coral slope right outside the harbour where turtles feed in the current and great barracuda hang in the blue.
WallLady Musgrave & Bunker Group
Campgrounds (Lady Musgrave)
An untouched outer-reef wall drift past isolated coral formations, with pelagics brought in by the current.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Cateran Bay (Border Island)
Beautiful shallow plate-coral gardens in a sheltered bay on the outer edge of the Whitsunday group.
WreckBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Cementco Wreck
An inverted ex-Army support ship and coral barge north-east of Flinders Reef, with crayfish-lined interiors and big groupers.
WreckBundaberg & Agnes Water
Cetacea Wreck
A tiny 13 m trawler in 30 m carrying at least 40 estuary cod plus gropers, cobia and big rays.
Cave/CavernBrisbane & Moreton Bay
Cherubs Cave
A 20 x 15 m cave with six exits, surrounded by gullies where grey nurse sharks gather in winter.
WallBrisbane & Moreton Bay
China Wall
A sheer granite wall topped by kelp and a 2 m swim-through, with crayfish, fans and pelagics on Moreton's ocean side.
ReefCapricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
Clam Bay (Great Keppel Island)
A quiet southern bay with a broad reef flat and coral trout breeding ground, at its best when northerlies blow out the western…
WallCairns
Clipper & Super Cat (Saxon Reef)
A reliable sweetlips school, a friendly resident turtle and occasional winter dolphins on Saxon's wall and bommies.
ReefCairns
Club 10 (Milln Reef)
Acres of shallow coral and two coral-draped bommies – ideal for snorkellers and relaxed divers.
ReefRibbon Reefs & Lizard Island
Cobia Hole
A tiny boulder pile teeming with fish – giant groupers, barracuda and nurse sharks – 10 minutes from the resort.
Artificial ReefBundaberg & Agnes Water
Cochrane Artificial Reef
Bundaberg's best boat dive: sunken barges, a dredge, light ships and three aircraft (two Mohawks and a King Air) in 15-18 m, home…
ReefSunshine Coast
Coral Gardens (Gneerings)
The Gneerings' shallow coral gardens in 10-15 m – the classic easy reef dive of the Sunshine Coast.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Coral Gardens (Heron Island)
A gentle, coral-carpeted slope on the Wistari Channel wall – Heron's pick for divers who just love coral.
ReefHeron Island & Capricorn Group
Coral Grotto (Heron Island)
Zig-zag through coral gutters on a wall where turtles rest, feed and swim past on almost every dive.
ReefPort Douglas
Coronation Corner (Agincourt Reef 3)
Clear-water southern corner of Agincourt 3 where sharks and barracuda work the current.
ReefMackay
Credlin Reef
Mackay's best outer reef – walls, canyons and plateaus with barracuda schools, sharks and turtles in 15–25 m visibility.
ReefCairns
Darth Vader (Pellowe Reef)
Deep, shadowy valleys cut into a near-pristine shelf-edge reef.
ReefTownsville & Magnetic Island
Davies Reef
Excellent western wall with soft corals and gorgonians, detached pinnacles near the AIMS weather station and usually clear water.
ReefWhitsundays & Bowen
Dolphin Point (Hayman Island)
House-sized boulders and coral outcrops at Hayman's north-west tip, with trevally, barracuda and sharks.
WreckGold Coast
Dragin II Wreck
An intact 1983 steel trawler listing to port in 24 m, with baitfish clouds and numbfish on the sand.
IslandMission Beach & Cassowary Coast
Dunk Island
An easy, scenic snorkel from national-park beaches 4 km off Mission Beach, with turtles and fringing coral.