AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS
Diving in Western Australia
Explore 434 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Choose a region before planning a coast-to-coast itinerary
Western Australia’s directory ranges from Perth and Rottnest to Ningaloo, offshore groups and the south coast. Use those regions as separate planning units. A long list of attractive places can hide a demanding transport schedule, especially when boat departures, equipment collection and onward travel must all connect.
Choose the setting, then the trip Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 434 published site records across Western Australia. The recorded categories include reef (125), wreck (95), shore/rock platform (86), island (34). 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 Western Australia →Ask before booking
- Which town is the practical base for this departure?
- What transport and baggage limits apply?
- What is the plan if the departure is delayed?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Perth and nearby regions
Compare local operators, Rottnest departures and shore records by the actual meeting point. Confirm whether transport is included.
Ningaloo and the north
The Exmouth and Coral Bay pages provide different starting points. Ask which activity and departure you are booking rather than assuming every wildlife experience is a scuba dive.
South coast and offshore groups
Resolve travel, equipment support and departure availability early. An offshore destination in a directory does not establish a regularly available visitor service.
Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in Western Australia?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 434 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 Western Australia 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 Western Australia — maritime heritage and shipwrecks ↗. 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
WreckPerth
ALC40 & Gay Dragon Wrecks (Bicton)
A WWII landing craft and a sunken junk-style pleasure boat that together are the Swan River's most reliable seahorse site.
WreckMargaret River & Augusta
Agincourt Wreck
An 1863 wooden barque with its cargo of timber sleepers still stacked in the hull, 100 m off the beach in 5 m.
WreckAlbany & Great Southern
Ahwina Tug Wreck (Gull Rock)
A 1936 tug boiler breaking the surface 50 m off a sheltered beach – Albany's easiest wreck snorkel.
WreckPerth
Alkimos Wreck
The collapsed Liberty ship behind Perth's best-known shipwreck legends, with its engine still breaking the surface off Alkimos…
Jetty/PierPerth
Ammo Jetty
Perth's classic easy shore and night dive: century-old pylons encrusted with sponges and corals that hold excellent macro life,…
Freshwater Lake/RiverBroome & Kimberley
Argyle Downs Homestead (Lake Argyle)
A drowned 1880s outback station: windmill, sheds, tractors and petrol bowsers in a Kimberley lake.
ReefNingaloo – Coral Bay
Asho's Gap
Grey reef sharks hovering to be cleaned at a coral outcrop — Coral Bay's must-do dive.
WreckGeraldton & Abrolhos Islands
Batavia Wreck Site (Morning Reef)
Cannons and anchors of the 1629 Batavia – Australia's most notorious shipwreck and mutiny – in 7 m on Morning Reef.
WreckNingaloo – Coral Bay
Benan
A large, clean iron barque wreck with anchors and masts on the reef.
Freshwater Lake/RiverPerth
Blackwall Reach (Swan River)
The deepest shore dive in the lower Swan River, with sunken cars, a barge and breeding cardinalfish below the Blackwall Reach…
ReefNingaloo – Exmouth
Blizzard Ridge
Lighthouse Bay's standout site: a simple reef crack swarming with fish, with turtles, sharks and a manta cleaning station.
Shore/Rock PlatformKalbarri & Shark Bay
Blue Holes (Kalbarri)
Sheltered, fish-filled lagoon pools in a no-fishing protection area, minutes from Kalbarri town.
ReefRowley Shoals
Blue Lagoon (Clerke Reef)
Sheltered lagoons with walls, coral heads and 40 m visibility — the Rowleys' easy classic.
ReefPerth
Boyinaboat Reef
A compact sanctuary-zone reef with passages, ledges and an underwater plaque trail, 100 m off the Hillarys Boat Harbour wall.
Jetty/PierPerth
Bulk Jetty (Kwinana)
A sheltered industrial jetty with gently sloping pylons, heavy encrustation and some very large sea stars; a dependable…
Jetty/PierGeographe Bay & Busselton
Busselton Jetty
A 1.8 km heritage jetty whose end is a forest of sponge- and coral-covered piles at 8 m, with an Underwater Observatory and…
Artificial ReefGeographe Bay & Busselton
Busselton Jetty Underwater Sculpture Park
Thirteen WA artworks on the seabed at 8 m beside Busselton Jetty, visible to snorkellers and slowly becoming reef.
WreckPerth
Carlisle Castle Wreck
The scattered cargo and iron plates of an 1899 barque lost with all hands, on an exposed reef that can be dived only on the…
WreckPerth
Centaur Wreck (Marmion)
Galena cargo and scattered remains of an 1874 iron brig under a reef break, with good shallow swim-throughs nearby.
WreckTurquoise Coast
Cervantes Wreck (Thirsty Point)
The timbers of the 1844 American whaler that gave the town of Cervantes its name.
WreckPerth
Chalmers Wreck
The ballast mound and scattered fittings of an 1874 barque whose captain mistook a bushfire for the Rottnest light.
WreckMargaret River & Augusta
Chaudiere Wreck
An 1863 Sunderland-built barque with stacked sleepers and copper sheathing, the closest wreck to the Hamelin Bay ramp.
WreckAlbany & Great Southern
Cheynes III Wreck
Reputedly the first purpose-sunk dive wreck in the southern hemisphere – a 1943 whale chaser from Australia's last whaling…
WreckNingaloo – Coral Bay
Chofuku Maru
The largest wreck on Ningaloo: propeller, 40 m shaft, engine, boilers and bow on the reef.