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
WreckShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
Fiji
Bow plating, chain mound and cargo of a Harland and Wolff barque in a surf gully under Moonlight Head, with her anchor standing…
ReefMornington Peninsula
Fingal Beach, Cape Schanck
Ledges and gullies below spectacular rock pools on the Cape Schanck coast, dived only on the calmest days of the year.
ReefPortland & the West
Flat Rock, Cape Nelson
Swim-throughs, drop-offs and ledges in the shallows and rock walls to 24 m on the sheltered side of Cape Nelson – the cape's most…
ReefMornington Peninsula
Flinders Cray Reef
Ledges and overhangs full of crayfish just outside the Mushroom Reef sanctuary, a short boat run from Flinders.
ReefPhillip Island & Western Port
Flynns Reef
A clear-water, colourful shallow reef on Phillip Island's sheltered western shore, with locally named bommies and 'Coral Gardens'…
Shore/Rock PlatformMornington Peninsula
Fossil Beach, Mornington
Historic fossil cliffs above a quiet shallow reef; easiest entry to the Mornington cliff-coast reefs.
Jetty/PierMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Gem Pier
One of Victoria's oldest piers, dived under the bow of HMAS Castlemaine; a silty urban structure dive for calm winter days.
WreckPort Phillip Heads
Glaneuse
The buried remains of a French barque wrecked in 1886, exposed in the surf line off Point Lonsdale only after storms – a…
ReefGeelong & Bellarine
Governor Reef
Shallow natural shoal off Indented Head with a southern drop-off and squid on top; a boat snorkel and easy dive when southerlies…
Shore/Rock PlatformMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Green Point, Brighton
Easy reef dive beside Brighton Beach station with simple navigation; a good beginner and night site minutes from the bathing…
ReefPhillip Island & Western Port
Gull Island (Bird Rock)
Sheltered, shallow rock in the lee of Cape Woolamai with colourful crevices and a circumnavigation any Open Water diver can…
WreckPort Phillip Heads
H.C. Piggot
A 1912 Paisley-built hopper barge broken in two – the forward half standing proud with anchor, hatch coaming and open deck beams…
WreckPort Phillip Heads
HMAS Bayonet
An Attack-class patrol boat scuttled in 1999 and found in 2001 – upright and clean in 82 m off Cape Schanck with waterline marks…
Jetty/PierMornington Peninsula
Hastings Pier
Historic fishing-port pier in a sheltered tidal bay; a curiosity dive on the top of a spring tide.
ReefShipwreck Coast & Warrnambool
Hopkins Reef
A horseshoe reef with a high wall, ledges and gutters full of Port Jackson sharks and wobbegongs, off the Hopkins River mouth…
ReefWilsons Promontory
Horn Point
A rocky wall to 20 m with basket stars, sea spiders, large sponges and occasional weedy seadragons and southern coralfish; the…
WreckMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
J7 Submarine (Sandringham)
The last J-class submarine in commission, scuttled as a marina breakwater in 1930 and visible from the Sandringham foreshore – a…
Shore/Rock PlatformMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Jawbone Marine Sanctuary
Urban sanctuary with lava-flow boulders, seagrass, saltmarsh and small kelp in one shallow dive; the western suburbs' best…
WreckPort Phillip Heads
John Nimmo
An 1887 Footscray-built Harbour Trust bucket dredge standing 4–5 m proud in 68 m – possibly the best-preserved wreck in the…
ReefMornington Peninsula
Jubilee Point, Sorrento
A maze of curving gutters and alleyways full of fish off a Sorrento headland; better by boat on a flat day.
IslandWilsons Promontory
Kanowna Island, Seal Colony
Diving with thousands of Australian fur seals on a kelp-covered granite slope in clear water off the Prom's southern tip;…
IslandWilsons Promontory
Kanowna Island, Seal School
The nursery side of Kanowna Island, where young fur seals mob divers in kelp gullies; the more sheltered of the island's two seal…
WallWilsons Promontory
Kanowna Island, South East
A granite wall plunging to 55 m with caves and swim-throughs on the exposed corner of Kanowna Island, with prolific fish life and…
Jetty/PierMelbourne & Port Phillip Bay
Kerferd Road Pier
Twenty minutes from the CBD; a rebuilt, well-lit pier with reliable critter life on the piles for easy night and training dives.