External Territories
Diving in Christmas Island
Christmas Island is the top of a volcanic seamount, so the fringing reef gives way to a wall within 20–50 m of the shore and keeps falling to 500 m. The diving is drift and wall diving in exceptional visibility, with sea caves such as Thundercliff, the endemic dragon moray, grey reef and silvertip sharks, spinner dolphins and, from November to January, whale sharks that arrive to feed on red crab spawn.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Understand the options around Christmas Island
Resolve island logistics before selecting individual sites
Build a Christmas Island trip around confirmed transport, accommodation and a local operator’s current programme. Ask about equipment availability and baggage arrangements before deciding how much personal kit to carry. Treat the regional map as an orientation tool and discuss actual departures with the provider. An island stay benefits from a clear plan for delayed connections and activities that do not depend on a particular dive taking place.
One useful question: Which bookings depend on the arrival connection, and what are the agreed alternatives if it changes?
What this regional directory records Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 42 published site records in Christmas Island. The recorded categories include reef (13), wall (9), cave/cavern (8), shore/rock platform (5). These categories reflect the database; they are not a ranking, a conditions report or an assessment of your suitability.
Use the Christmas Island site cards to compare recorded access and depth, then open the individual pages for the map accuracy and source notes. Sites grouped in a region are not necessarily close enough to combine in one day.
Research operators in External Territories →Ask before booking
- Which territory and jurisdiction does this itinerary visit?
- What park or access permissions apply to the exact location?
- What is the contingency if transport changes?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in Christmas Island?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 42 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 Christmas Island 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: Parks Australia — Australian Marine Parks ↗. Directory counts come from published YouDive records. Individual site claims remain subject to their source and review notes.
Dive sites in this region
DriftChristmas Island
Coconut Point
The island's classic drift: swirling currents, eel gardens, gorgonians and a chance of hammerheads, ten minutes from the jetty.
WreckChristmas Island
Eidsvold Wreck
WWII history in 5–18 m: the broken-up Norwegian freighter Eidsvold, torpedoed in Flying Fish Cove in 1942, now overgrown with…
Shore/Rock PlatformChristmas Island
Flying Fish Cove
Arguably Australia's best shore dive: a pristine coral slope and wall 50 m from the car park, endemic and hybrid reef fish, and…
Pinnacle/BommieChristmas Island
Million Dollar Bommie
A solitary coral bommie rising from sand, with a dense garden eel colony and outstanding photography on the summit.
WallChristmas Island
Perpendicular Wall
A true vertical wall into the abyss at the island's north-western tip, with colourful fans, schooling fish and a real chance of…
WallChristmas Island
Rhoda Wall
Coral slope, sheer wall and a quarry-like ramp, with schooling grey reef sharks and some of the island's closest whale shark…
ReefChristmas Island
The Morgue
A macro-rich slope with giant Acropora and feather stars, ribbon eels and Spanish dancers – the island's favourite boat night…
Cave/CavernChristmas Island
Thundercliff Cave
Swim into the cliff and surface inside air-filled chambers decorated with stalactites – reef, wall and cave in one dive.
ReefChristmas Island
West White Beach
Shallow coral reef with anemone fields off a remote rainforest beach, where whale sharks and dolphins are regular visitors.
Cave/CavernChristmas Island
West White Beach Cave
A huge, bright sea cavern with twin entrances and a pillar, its roof and walls a riot of colour.
WallChristmas Island
Admin Wall
A sheer, effectively bottomless wall reached from the beach, with trevally, reef sharks and seasonal whale sharks.
Cave/CavernChristmas Island
Boat Cave
A sea cave big enough to park the boat in, with a floor carpeted in plate corals and colourful whips on the walls.
WallChristmas Island
Chicken Farm
A vertical north-coast wall with exceptionally large gorgonian fans below 33 m.
Cave/CavernChristmas Island
Daniel Roux Cave
A sea cave that connects to one of the island's best-known land caves, with an anchialine pool and swiftlet colony above.
WallChristmas Island
Egeria Point
Rated one of the island's best shark dives, with open-ocean pelagics and 40 m+ visibility at the south-west corner of the west…
ReefChristmas Island
Ethel Beach
A colourful sloping reef off one of Australia's best beaches – the island's wet-season shore dive and a red crab spawning site.
ReefChristmas Island
Fuel Buoys
Healthy coral reef beneath the Navy refuelling buoys, with a surreal straight trench carved by the giant mooring chain.
DriftChristmas Island
Leanne's Leap
An easy one-way drift from drop-off into a lush coral garden, often linked with Submarine Rock.
Cave/CavernChristmas Island
Lost Lake Cave
Entrance zone of one of Christmas Island's largest submarine cave systems, with overhangs, gullies and light shafts.
WallChristmas Island
Lost Lake East
Typical north-coast reef and wall with dense fish life, next to the Lost Lake caves.
ReefChristmas Island
North West Point
Sandy reef ledges with sleeping reef sharks and dense schools – the gentler companion dive to Perpendicular Wall.
ReefChristmas Island
Pig Rock
Towering gorgonian fans on dramatic west-coast reef structures – a wide-angle photographer's site.
ReefChristmas Island
Resort Lagoon / Waterfall Bay
Scenic ledges, boulders and a drop-off on the east coast – a wet-season refuge when the north coast is blown out.
WallChristmas Island
Submarine Rock
A submarine-shaped reef and 50 m drop-off with healthy boulder corals and passing mantas, eagle rays and grey reef sharks.