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
Shore/Rock PlatformGeographe Bay & Busselton
Meelup Beach
Calm, family-friendly beach with lawns, toilets and granite outcrops for easy snorkelling.
WallAlbany & Great Southern
Michaelmas Island Eastern End & Fingers
Big gorgonian fans and black coral on a granite wall, granite fingers to 30 m, and the surge-driven 'Grinding Rock' caves.
ReefAlbany & Great Southern
Michaelmas Reef
Broad, shallow limestone reef with kelp tops and sponge-lined ledges – a macro photographer's site in the middle of the sound.
Shore/Rock PlatformAlbany & Great Southern
Middleton Beach & Ellen Cove
Sheltered town beach with a heritage jetty, pontoon, shark barrier and full facilities.
WallNingaloo – Exmouth
Milyering Wall
A west-side wall with a soft coral shelf and passing pelagics.
WallRowley Shoals
Minis & Mighties (Clerke Reef)
Clear-water slope to a drop-off.
IslandAlbany & Great Southern
Mistaken Island
Sheltered granite reef beside a little penguin colony, 10 minutes from Albany's town ramp.
WreckRottnest Island
Miwok II Barge
A seldom-visited 1983 crane barge used for SAS demolition training, in clear 11 m water off Bickley Point.
IslandPilbara & Dampier
Montebello Islands Lagoons
Remote, rarely dived lagoons and reefs in a large sanctuary-zone marine park.
WallPilbara & Dampier
Montebello Islands – North West Island Drop-off
A 30 m gorgonian-covered drop-off with groper and sharks on the remote Montebellos.
ReefBroome & Kimberley
Montgomery Reef
The world's largest inshore reef, draining in waterfalls on a 10 m tide.
Cave/CavernNullarbor Caves
Murra-El-Elevyn Cave
Massive creamy-grey formations in a clear, relatively accessible Nullarbor cave – often the first dive of a Nullarbor trip.
ReefMargaret River & Augusta
Mushroom Rock
An overhang with colourful invertebrates and narrow channels full of fish, a 200 m swim from the Hamelin Bay ramp.
ReefNingaloo – Exmouth
Nick's Lumps
Close-to-ramp west-side reef of cracks and ledges with potato cod, sharks and turtles.
IslandAlbany & Great Southern
North Michaelmas Island
Sheltered granite walls and small caves with gorgonians and plate corals, diveable in most winds, next door to the Cheynes III…
ReefRottnest Island
North Point Reef
A narrow limestone ravine 8 m deep, lit by shafts of sunlight, cutting through an offshore mound at 18-26 m.
Cave/CavernNullarbor Caves
Olwolgin Cave
Australia's longest known underwater cave – over 11 km of shallow phreatic passage on the Roe Plain.
ReefNingaloo – Exmouth
Osprey Bay
Calm bay with resident turtles.
Cave/CavernNullarbor Caves
Pannikin Plains Cave
The deep Nullarbor cave where a 1988 collapse trapped an expedition, inspiring the film 'Sanctum'.
DriftNingaloo – Coral Bay
Paradise Beach Drift
A 1.8 km beginner drift ending back in Bill's Bay.
Shore/Rock PlatformPilbara & Dampier
Pebbles Beach (King Bay)
Epaulette sharks among shallow rocks on the Burrup.
WallGeraldton & Abrolhos Islands
Pelsaert Island & Drop-off
A sanctuary drop-off with 20 m-plus visibility, crays, morays and baldchin groper.
IslandPerth
Penguin Island
A snorkel trail and low limestone reefs around WA's largest little penguin colony, with sea lions and dolphins regularly nearby.
Shore/Rock PlatformPerth
Peters Pool (North Cottesloe)
A reef-ringed sandy lagoon straight off North Cottesloe Beach, one of Perth's most popular and easiest snorkels.