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
WallRottnest Island
Parker Point Drop-off
An easy-to-follow limestone wall with ledges, gutters and protected crayfish in the Parker Point Sanctuary Zone.
Shore/Rock PlatformRottnest Island
Parker Point Snorkel Trail
Snorkel trail with seabed plaques over the southernmost pocillopora coral reef, in a sanctuary zone 5 km from the ferry.
WreckMargaret River & Augusta
Peak Island & Toba Wreck
A 1907 Aru Islands-built pearling ketch against the reef at Peak Island, with overhangs and hard corals around it.
Shore/Rock PlatformPerth
Point Peron
Perth's best natural shore dive in the south: limestone pinnacles, arches, caves and swim-throughs in 3–10 m, with sheltered…
DriftNingaloo – Coral Bay
Purdy Point
An easy, no-boat drift over staghorn and cabbage coral straight back to town.
WreckPerth
RMS Orizaba Wreck
The boilers, engine and steering gear of a 140 m Orient liner wrecked in 1905, swarming with fish on shallow Five Fathom Bank.
WreckNingaloo – Coral Bay
Rapid
One of WA's oldest wrecks, once carpeted with Spanish silver coins.
Jetty/PierPerth
Robb Jetty
A quiet line of historic jetty pylons in 5–8 m off the CY O'Connor statue, with good macro life, seagrass edges and better…
Artificial ReefPerth
Rockingham Wreck Trail
Perth's most-dived shore site: two light aircraft, small scuttled boats and steel structures joined by rope lines in 10–17 m,…
ReefRottnest Island
Roe Reef
Limestone arches, caverns and maze-like swim-throughs at 10-15 m, a short run from Thomson Bay and sheltered from the south-west…
Aircraft WreckBroome & Kimberley
Roebuck Bay Flying Boat Wrecks (deep-water Catalinas)
WWII Catalina flying boats sunk in the 1942 Broome raid, with engines and turret still recognisable.
WreckRottnest Island
Rottnest Wreck Trail
Thirteen historic wrecks linked by plaques and plinths, with two easy snorkel wrecks and a land trail from the museum to Bathurst…
WreckNingaloo – Coral Bay
SS Fin
A whale chaser's boiler and engine above water beside a collapsed lighthouse.
WreckRottnest Island
SS Macedon Wreck
The most intact iron wreck at Rottnest: a 63 m 1883 steamer upright on the reef with ribs, gunwales and boiler in 3-7 m, beside…
WreckMargaret River & Augusta
SS Pericles Wreck
Three boilers and 10 m-high engines of a 152 m Edwardian liner in 35 m off Cape Leeuwin - all 413 aboard survived.
WreckEsperance & Recherche Archipelago
Sanko Harvest Wreck
Australia's largest wreck dive – a 174 m bulk carrier broken into giant sections in 13-44 m, protected by a 500 m no-take zone.
WreckPerth
Saxon Ranger Wreck
An intact 38 m trawler scuttled as a dive wreck in 18–20 m, with public moorings and cut access holes, only minutes from the…
WreckPerth
Sepia Wreck
An 1898 iron barque whose stern hold still holds hundreds of neatly stacked bottles and barrels.
Cave/CavernRottnest Island
Shark Cave
Protected grey nurse sharks resting in an arc-shaped cave at 24-26 m off the West End - Rottnest's premier shark dive.
WreckRottnest Island
Shark Hopper Barge (Henrietta Rocks)
A 1939 hopper barge sitting partly out of the water a few strokes from the beach - an easy and photogenic wreck snorkel.
WreckGeraldton & Abrolhos Islands
South Tomi Wreck
A toothfish poacher caught after a 6,000 km naval chase, now an upright 57 m wreck with engine-room access in 25 m.
WreckNingaloo – Coral Bay
Stefano
An 1875 wreck with one of WA's most remarkable survival stories.
WreckPerth
Stragglers Dredge
The stripped hull, rudder post and steering quadrant of a dredge that helped build Fremantle Harbour, next to reef with caves and…
ReefNingaloo – Exmouth
The Labyrinth
A maze of limestone gutters and swim-throughs with a turtle cleaning station.