Diving Australia

When diving in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the most prominent diving location.

Diving in Australia you must hold a current Scuba Diving license to dive unsupervised.
Water Temperature:  The tropical waters of Queensland range in temperature from 23 to 28 degrees and a 3mm wetsuit is the recommended thickness.

Equipement Hire: Most equipment is available for hire, but it is suggested that if you can bring your wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and dive computer this is an advantage. Underwater cameras can also be hired in most locations but not everywhere.

There are a number of different dive options available within Australia.
Boat Dives: The GBR lies between 60 and 270km off the coast of Queensland, so the dives on this reef are mostly boat dives.

Island resorts which have both dive shops and dive instructors, and usually arrange 2 dives per day.

Day Trips to the reef are also available, and these are most popular from Cairns and Townsville in northern Queensland. These trip usually allow a maximum of 3 dives per day

Live Aboard trips to the reef are also available and these offer the most diving opportunities. Usually with a planned 3 day dives and 1 night dive.

Expectations: It doesn't matter where you dive in Australia, if you go on an arranged trip you can expect to receive dive briefings prior to your dive. Most locations are restricted to one or two boats visiting that site. The majority of dives on the Great Barrier Reef can be done by a diver at any level, so an Open Water Diver can achieve most dives on the reef. The other advantage of a live aboard is that most companies offer a range of scuba diving courses to further expand your scuba diving education and enjoyment.

Average Depth: Most dives along the reef are between the 0 - 40MT depth. Yes there are deeper dives, absolutely, but most of the reef dives lie between the ranges of 0 - 40 meters

Aside from the Great Barrier Reef, there are some other fantastic locations all over Australia suited for all types of diving, both in the ocean and freshwater.

NB: A coral bommie in Australia is the common term for a coral tower.