Balnarring Reef is the eastern of the two Western Port shore dives The Scuba Doctor lists on the peninsula's Western Port coast, off Balnarring Beach between Merricks and Somers. The description is identical to Point Leo's – weed and rock patches down to 8 m with a good range of marine critters, a safe and shallow site ideal for newcomers to snorkelling and scuba – and the two sites share a character: low sandstone reef broken into patches by sand and seagrass, brown algae and Sargassum on the rock, and a community of small fish and invertebrates that rewards slow, close looking rather than distance. Leatherjackets, magpie perch, old wives, wrasse and cowfish hold over the rock, decorator crabs, hermit crabs, small octopus and abalone live in the crevices, fiddler rays, stingarees and flathead settle on the sand, and in winter giant cuttlefish come inshore.

Weedy seadragons are recorded along this seagrass-rich coast and are an occasional bonus. Because Balnarring sits deeper inside Western Port than Point Leo it is better sheltered from ocean swell and is the more reliable of the two on a marginal day, at the cost of visibility that is rarely better than a few metres and often worse after rain. The dive is a simple out-and-back over the reef patches with the beach as the constant reference, which is why it is recommended for newcomers, and the Cliff Road access is short and flat.

Balnarring Beach itself is a quiet holiday hamlet with a general store, toilets and a camping reserve, and the reef makes a relaxed second dive after Flinders Pier or Point Leo. It suits Open Water divers, snorkellers in summer, and instructors wanting a Western Port alternative to the bay piers for a first open-water dive.

From Frankston–Flinders Road at Balnarring take Balnarring Beach Road to the coast and turn into Cliff Road; park in the Cliff Road car park and take the track down to the beach, a walk of about 100 m. Enter from the sand and swim out over the weed and rock patches, which begin close inshore and extend to about 8 m. Exit back onto the beach.

Balnarring Beach has toilets and a general store nearby.

Balnarring Beach faces south-east across Western Port toward Phillip Island and is more sheltered from Bass Strait swell than Point Leo, but south-easterly and southerly winds still put a chop and shore break onto it and stir the shallow sand; dive on northerly to westerly winds, at or near high tide for depth over the inner reef and near slack water to minimise the tidal stream that runs along this shore. Visibility is modest at the best of times and drops for days after rain because Western Port's catchment drains silt into the bay. The WillyWeather Balnarring Beach forecast is the reference.

Enter from the beach at high tide, swim out to 3–4 m and follow the reef patches seaward to 8 m, then turn parallel to the beach for a fixed time with the shore on one side. Turn at half gas, return along the same line slightly shallower and surface in front of the track.

No regular operator; independent divers, local snorkellers and occasional club or training groups.