New South Wales
Diving in Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
The Solitary Islands Marine Park is where the tropics meet the temperate zone: hard corals grow alongside kelp, anemonefish share ledges with blue gropers, and grey nurse sharks, turtles, mantas and leopard sharks all pass through. North Solitary's Anemone Bay has the densest carpet of anemones and clownfish in the country; South Solitary has the lighthouse, Manta Arch and Buchanan's Wall. Split Solitary and North West Solitary are closer in and quieter.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Understand the options around Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
What this regional directory records Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 38 published site records in Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands. The recorded categories include reef (20), pinnacle/bommie (5), cave/cavern (4), wall (4). These categories reflect the database; they are not a ranking, a conditions report or an assessment of your suitability.
Use the Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands 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 New South Wales →Ask before booking
- Where does the trip meet, and is parking or a transfer needed?
- Which alternative itinerary might be offered?
- What local park or access information should we check?
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 Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 38 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 Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands 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: Destination NSW — beaches and water activities ↗. Directory counts come from published YouDive records. Individual site claims remain subject to their source and review notes.
Dive sites in this region
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
North Solitary Island – Anemone Bay
Claimed to hold the densest population of anemones and clownfish on the Australian mainland coast, on the sheltered side of…
Cave/CavernCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
North Solitary Island – Elbow Cave
An easy, current-free swim-through cave surrounded by extraordinarily dense anemone beds and a 1980s trawler wreck, allowing…
Pinnacle/BommieCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Pimpernel Rock
A remote, U-shaped pinnacle with a semi-trailer-sized tunnel through its base, huge jewfish and kingfish schools, and grey nurse…
WallCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – Buchanan's Wall
The best macro and invertebrate photography wall at South Solitary Island, with abundant nudibranchs and Spanish dancers.
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – Cleaner Station
A natural cleaning station with long-resident, well-known turtle and groper 'characters', plus excellent macro life including…
Pinnacle/BommieCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – Manta Arch
The signature dive of the Solitary Islands Marine Park: a natural arch through a boulder field with one of the most reliable…
WallCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – North Boulder Wall
A sheltered, boulder-covered wall on the lee side of the island with reliably high fish density — the easy, dependable South…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – Shark Gutters
A shallow, swim-through gutter that has historically been one of the most productive grey nurse shark sites at South Solitary…
WallCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – South Boulder Wall
Sheltered boulder wall with abundant reef fish, linking with North Boulder Wall for a longer drift along the island's lee side.
Pinnacle/BommieCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Split Solitary Island – Cod Rock
A compact bommie separated from the plateau by a deep gutter, home to a resident two-metre black cod under its overhangs.
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Split Solitary Island – Coral Corner
A rare, close overlap of kelp forest and plate coral growth in a single easy dive, illustrating the tropical/temperate transition…
WallCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Split Solitary Island – South Side Moorings
The closest and most reliably diveable island in the Solitary Islands Marine Park, with a rich, densely encrusted drop-off…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Black Rock (Coffs Harbour)
Gutters and grottos with a good torch-and-search macro dive, used when the islands are unreachable.
Shore/Rock PlatformCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Diggers Beach (Coffs Harbour)
A sheltered training/skills site used for open-water course transitions, of limited interest to certified divers.
Shore/Rock PlatformCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Mutton Bird Island (Coffs Harbour)
An easy, boat-free island shore dive right at the end of Coffs Harbour's breakwall, with turtles, groper and good macro life on…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
North Solitary Island – Fish Soup
A small point where an extraordinary density of fish concentrates in the current — one of the most photogenic schooling-fish…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
North Solitary Island – The Boulders
Massive boulder topography and a canyon-like channel between the island's two sections, with grey nurse sharks and giant groper —…
IslandCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
North West Solitary Island
The best hard-coral gardens in the Solitary Islands Marine Park with regular summer manta ray sightings, in a quieter,…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – Cable Trail
A boulder-and-gutter site with the remains of an old trawl cable, a resident giant black stingray, and a reputation among…
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South Solitary Island – The Gantry
Historic lighthouse-supply gantry wreckage, now a sheltered artificial-reef-style dive below South Solitary Island's 1880…
IslandCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
South West Solitary Island (Groper Island)
Extensive plate coral cover and a reputation for unusual fish sightings, in shallow, sheltered water close to the coast.
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Split Solitary Island – Turtle Cove
One of the most reliable turtle encounter sites in the Solitary Islands Marine Park, in a sheltered, life-filled gutter.
ReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Boambee Beach reef
A minor, essentially undocumented headland reef between Sawtell and Bonville Creek.
Details need confirmationReefCoffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
Bullocky Reef
A local backup reef used by Jetty Dive Centre when the Solitary Islands are inaccessible.
Details need confirmation