AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS
Diving in Victoria
Explore 395 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Separate bay, Heads and open-coast diving
Victoria’s directory includes Port Phillip Bay, the Heads, peninsula piers and the open coast. Those labels describe different settings, not interchangeable levels of difficulty. Start by identifying the precise location and proposed trip. A record near Melbourne should not be read as an easy shore dive simply because it is close to a city.
Choose the setting, then the trip Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 395 published site records across Victoria. The recorded categories include wreck (98), reef (95), shore/rock platform (74), wall (38). 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 Victoria →Ask before booking
- Is this trip inside the bay, at the Heads or on the open coast?
- Who determines the current and weather window?
- Which exposure protection and equipment arrangements should we discuss?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Bay and peninsula
Compare Melbourne, Mornington and Bellarine records by access and facilities. Check the current status of piers and nearby works with the relevant manager.
Port Phillip Heads
Take tide and current questions to an experienced local operator. A tide-table time or a historical site note does not establish a suitable diving window.
Open coast and wrecks
Discuss the actual route, vessel, training and exposure protection with the provider. A wreck listing is background information, not permission to enter a structure.
Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in Victoria?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 395 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 Victoria 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: Visit Victoria — scuba diving ↗. 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
DriftGeelong & Bellarine
Sponge Garden Drift, Queenscliff
A sheltered ebb-tide drift over massive, brilliantly coloured sponge gardens inside Port Phillip Heads; the gentlest of the Heads…
Cave/CavernMornington Peninsula
Spray Point Caverns, Blairgowrie
Deep undercuts, overhangs and sea caverns packed with crayfish and abalone on the Blairgowrie ocean coast.
Jetty/PierMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
St Kilda Pier
Extensive seagrass nursery beside a landmark pier reachable by tram; good macro and night diving close to the city.
Shore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
St Pauls Rock, Sorrento
A tunnel under the rock stack and a maze of small caves in shallow kelp reef on the Sorrento ocean coast.
Jetty/PierMornington Peninsula
Stony Point Pier
A current-swept ferry pier on Western Port's main channel; a slack-water dive for tidal specialists with the French Island ferry…
Shore/Rock PlatformPhillip Island & Western Port
Sunderland Bay
An easy, shallow basalt-reef shore dive and snorkel in a gap in the south-coast bluffs; close parking and a quick swim to gutters…
Shore/Rock PlatformPhillip Island & Western Port
Surfies Point
Extensive basalt platforms and gutters off a south-coast surf point; a shallow, adventurous rock-platform dive for flat,…
ReefPort Phillip Heads
Sweep Reef
The prominent centre of a 1 km ocean-side reef system behind Point Nepean – sweep schools, crayfish gutters and clear Bass Strait…
WreckPhillip Island & Western Port
TSS Coramba
A Western District coastal steamer lost with all 17 hands in a 1934 storm, found by Southern Ocean Exploration in 2011 lying…
WreckWilsons Promontory
TSS Kanowna
A 126 m WWI hospital ship and coastal liner lost in fog in 1929, found in 2005 and lying largely recognisable in 80–82 m of clear…
Artificial ReefMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Tedesco Reef, Seaford
Concrete-module fishing reef off Seaford named for a local diver; a flat, easy, fishy 11 m small-boat dive.
Shore/Rock PlatformBass Coast
The Caves (Bunurong)
A large natural rock pool in the intertidal platform, diveable at low tide and opening onto the Bunurong reef; a sheltered…
Shore/Rock PlatformMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
The Jawbone, Williamstown
Basalt boulder reef inside an urban marine sanctuary where abalone and sharks are returning; sheltered but requires a long carry.
Cave/CavernPortland & the West
The Nursery, Lawrence Rocks
Four sea caves at 14 m in a sponge-lined boulder field, including The Cockpit with its air chamber for four divers – Lawrence…
Artificial ReefGeelong & Bellarine
The Pipelines, Indented Head
Abalone-farm intake pipes 500 m long that have become a sponge-and-kelp reef line with abundant rays; a simple out-and-back night…
WallPort Phillip Heads
The Playground
A less-visited east–west wall at the entrance with small caves and overhangs from 15 m to 50 m, dived only on the flood slack and…
ReefPortland & the West
The Saddle, Lawrence Rocks
Watch the swell wash through the gap between the two rocks in a sponge-lined gully full of fish and seals – and swim through the…
ReefSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road
The Steps, Jan Juc
Cavernous limestone reef in 8-10 m off a famous surf break; the deepest of the Jan Juc shore dives, possible only on flat days.
WallPort Phillip Heads
The Swim Through
A short, safe cleft through the Lonsdale Wall face at 25–30 m, its walls carpeted in zoanthids and anemones – a natural focal…
WreckShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
Thistle, Port Fairy
Timbers of the Henty family's Indian-built brigantine, which carried the first settlers to Portland Bay in 1834, in the wading…
Shore/Rock PlatformShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
Thunder Point
The wildest of Warrnambool's shore dives: isolated reefs on a sloping seafloor to 20 m off a thundering headland, on the edge of…
ReefMornington Peninsula
Toms Reef
Broken limestone reef with swim-throughs and overhangs, dived alongside the Back Beach Wall; lobsters, blue devils and seals.
ReefBass Coast
Twin Reefs (Bunurong)
Undercut offshore sandstone reefs where Port Jackson sharks rest in groups beside big crayfish; the Bunurong coast's best ledges,…
Artificial ReefMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Tyre Reef
Victoria's surviving 1973 tyre reef, now a fish-packed overgrown mound in 10 m off Chelsea; a quick and fishy small-boat dive.