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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

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

  1. Is this trip inside the bay, at the Heads or on the open coast?
  2. Who determines the current and weather window?
  3. 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.

Prepare for this destination

Find your region

Bass Coast8 sitesEast Gippsland4 sitesGeelong & Bellarine22 sitesMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay44 sitesMornington Peninsula58 sitesPhillip Island & Western Port27 sitesPort Phillip Heads118 sitesPortland & the West19 sitesShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool33 sitesSurf Coast & Great Ocean Road27 sitesWilsons Promontory35 sites

Dive sites to explore

Find local operators
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Mornington Peninsula

Diamond Bay, Sorrento

The most accessible back-beach dive: ledges, kelp, bommies and caves around a small sandy cove with a staircase entry.

ShoreUp to 10 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteJetty/Pier

Mornington Peninsula

Dromana Pier

Ultra-shallow training and night dive with the pylons and rail wheels of the old jetty 200 m out; sheltered from southerlies by…

ShoreUp to 5 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Dunloe

An 1870 Clyde-built iron barque and coal hulk whose 1947 scuttling nearly ended in disaster – intact bow, blown-out stern, in…

Boat (day trip)Up to 46 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteShore/Rock Platform

Surf Coast & Great Ocean Road

Eagle Rock, Aireys Inlet

A volcanic sea stack and basalt table below the Split Point lighthouse, ringed by kelp, crays, catsharks and seals inside a…

ShoreUp to 10 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Eliza Ramsden

Upright iron barque lost in 1875 after striking Corsair Rock: intact starboard plating and decking, bluestone ballast and a…

BoatUp to 22 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Empress of the Sea

The burnt-out remains of a Donald McKay clipper beached in Nepean Bay in 1861 after an arson fire – keel, frames, copper…

BoatUp to 7 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Euro

A remarkably complete 1897 steam tug – triple-expansion engine, boilers, tow anchor, steering quadrant and even the toilets –…

Boat (day trip)Up to 50 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Fawkner

Sister to the Batman with the hopper strongback still spanning the hold, a boiler at the stern and the propeller in place; a…

Boat (day trip)Up to 46 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteReef

Mornington Peninsula

Fishermans Beach and Point Linley Reef

Boulder reef to 10 m with more fish than the piers; easy loop navigation around the marker post; good night dive.

Shore or BoatUp to 10 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteJetty/Pier

Mornington Peninsula

Flinders Pier

The weedy seadragon capital of the world – dozens of residents in seagrass at 3–4 m under a heritage pier, plus cowfish, big rays…

ShoreUp to 6 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Port Phillip Heads

Foggy Reef

Shallow-topped end of Lonsdale Wall with heavy soft-coral and gorgonian cover, an embedded admiralty anchor and two cannons in…

BoatUp to 30 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteJetty/Pier

Mornington Peninsula

Frankston Pier

Closest pier dive to Melbourne; seahorses and globefish on the pylons; easy training and night dive with facilities on the beach.

ShoreUp to 6 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteMuck/Sand

Mornington Peninsula

Geoffs Scallop Hole

Traditional Port Phillip scallop drift over open sand between Rye and Blairgowrie, with rays and spider crabs for company.

BoatUp to 17 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Phillip Island & Western Port

George Kermode

A 70 m steam bucket dredge scuttled in 1976 as Victoria's first artificial reef – huge boilers, giant cogs and dredge buckets in…

Boat (day trip)Up to 20 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

George Roper

An 83 m four-masted iron barque wrecked on her maiden voyage in 1883 – keelsons, bow winches and slate cargo in 4–6 m on the…

Shore or BoatUp to 6 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

HMAS Goorangai

Scattered remains of the auxiliary minesweeper cut in two by MV Duntroon in November 1940 with the loss of all 24 crew – the…

BoatUp to 15 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay

HMVS Cerberus

The world's first breastwork monitor and only survivor of the type, scuttled as a breakwater in 1926 – now collapsed, protected…

ShoreUp to 7 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

Holyhead

A 90 m four-masted iron barque lost on her maiden voyage in 1890 – rudder and steering gear, windlass, mast stumps and…

Shore or BoatUp to 10 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay

Hurricane

An 1853 iron clipper lying in 8–12 m of sheltered bay water – stern rising 3 m with a heritage cairn, a capstan at the bow and…

Boat (day trip)Up to 12 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWall

Port Phillip Heads

Inner Corsair Wall

Ledge-and-cave wall from a kelp-topped 10 m reef down to 60 m between Nepean Wall and Corsair Rock, with RMS Australia wreckage…

BoatUp to 60 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

J1 Submarine

An intact 84 m WWI submarine standing upright in 38 m and blanketed in yellow zoanthids; hatch access into the control room for…

Boat (day trip)Up to 38 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

J2 Submarine

A WWI J-class submarine snapped in two, with the open cross-section of the pressure hull visible at the break; rarely crowded.

Boat (day trip)Up to 39 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay

J3 Submarine (Swan Island)

The most complete J-class submarine in Victoria, upright with its deck above water 100 m off Swan Island and resting on the hulk…

BoatUp to 8 m
VICYouDive mascot illustration; not a photograph of the siteWreck

Port Phillip Heads

J4 Submarine

The most accessible of Victoria's WWI submarines – intact conning tower, exposed torpedo tubes and open hatches in 19–28 m; a…

Boat (day trip)Up to 28 m