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
IslandEast Gippsland
Gabo Island (Santa Barbara Bay)
A sheltered granite bay and jetty on a lighthouse island 14 km off Mallacoota, with blue groper, banded morwong, dolphins, seals…
Details need confirmationPinnacle/BommiePhillip Island & Western Port
Golden Bommies
Deep bommies off Phillip Island's south coast rising from 38 m to 20 m in clear Bass Strait water; an adventurous, rarely dived…
Details need confirmationIslandWilsons Promontory
Great Glennie Island
Granite boulder slopes, kelp forests and walls with seals in clear water 5 km off Tidal River; the offshore island most Prom club…
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformBass Coast
Harmers Haven
Rugged sandstone gutters and ledges rich in crustaceans and molluscs at a quiet dead-end settlement beside the Artisan wreck…
Details need confirmationReefSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road
Ingoldsby Reef
Lush shallow kelp-and-limestone reef inside Point Addis Marine National Park where crays walk in the open, scattered with iron…
Details need confirmationWreckPortland & the West
Isabella, Cape Nelson
The 1837 wreck of the barque whose captain mistook Cape Nelson for Julia Percy Island – one of the oldest located wrecks in…
Details need confirmationWreckShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
John Scott
Iron fastenings and ballast of an 1858 brig in the platform gutters at Bold Projection – a remote heritage snorkel on the…
Details need confirmationReefPortland & the West
Jones Bay, Cape Nelson
The western-side Cape Nelson reef – an abalone and crayfish ground in 2–15 m that is diveable when easterly weather shuts the…
Details need confirmationWreckSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road
Joseph H Scammell
Torquay's founding shipwreck story on a shallow sanctuary reef; anchor and scattered iron among kelp gutters within a surface…
Details need confirmationWreckPort Phillip Heads
Leeuwin
An 1876 Western District coastal steamer turned coal hulk, scuttled in 1934 and lying in 62 m near the Hygeia – one of the…
Details need confirmationReefPortland & the West
Leopard Seal Reef, Lady Julia Percy Island
Giant swell-scoured rock pools floored with car-sized boulders in 10–14 m on the wild southern side of Deen Maar, beside a sea…
Details need confirmationPinnacle/BommiePort Phillip Heads
Lonsdale Rock
A kelp-topped rock at the mouth of The Rip whose canopy shows as an oily slick on the surface; a shallow, rarely dived pinnacle…
Details need confirmationReefPhillip Island & Western Port
Mandeville Road, Summerlands
Dramatic basalt canyons, bommies and gullies in 2–12 m off the closed Summerland penguin reserve; a rarely dived, high-energy…
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Mount Martha, Burdoo Way
Central gully of the Mount Martha cliffs with reef in both directions; the quietest of the five entries.
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Mount Martha, Deakin Drive
Northern gateway to eight kilometres of undived cliff-foot reef; long, shallow, solitary dives closest to Mount Martha village.
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Mount Martha, Hearn Road
Middle-north gully of the Mount Martha cliffs; a link in one-way dives between Deakin Drive and Burdoo Way.
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Mount Martha, Ian Road
Southern end of the Mount Martha cliff reef, nearest Martha Point and the Safety Beach marina; pairs with Stanley Crescent.
Details need confirmationShore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Mount Martha, Stanley Crescent
Southern pair with Ian Road, 320 m apart – two entries for one stretch of Mount Martha cliff reef.
Details need confirmationWallPort Phillip Heads
Olympic Wall
A short 12–18 m wall inside the bay off Queenscliff – one of the only Heads walls fully within Open Water limits, rarely dived…
Details need confirmationReefPhillip Island & Western Port
Phelan Bluff
Large basalt blocks and kelp-filled gullies beneath the eroded cliffs of Phelan Bluff on Phillip Island's closed southern shore;…
Details need confirmationReefPort Phillip Heads
Portsea Cray Reef
Kelp-covered ledges in 5–12 m a short swim off the end of Portsea Pier – a sheltered, convenient crayfish-and-seadragon reef and…
Details need confirmationWreckPort Phillip Heads
Quarantine Station Anchor
A large concreted Admiralty-pattern anchor from the quarantine-station era standing alone on the sand at 11 m off Point Nepean –…
Details need confirmationCave/CavernSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road
Ramsden Cave
A 60 m sea cave hidden at the base of the Cape Patton cliffs, reached by an exposed reef swim past the Speculant wreck – one of…
Details need confirmationJetty/PierGeelong & Bellarine
Rippleside Jetty, Geelong
Tiny, sheltered fishing jetty in Rippleside Park; a quick local Geelong dive or snorkel paired with Rippleside Pier.
Details need confirmation