Diggers Beach, a well-regarded surf beach a short drive north of Coffs Harbour, hosts a shallow, low-key dive site used almost exclusively for skills practice and the confined-to-open-water transition dives that follow classroom and pool sessions in a typical Open Water course. There is little to recommend it as a destination dive for certified divers: depths rarely exceed 6 m, the bottom is mostly sand and weed with limited structure, and the marine life is correspondingly sparse compared with anywhere else covered in this region. What the site does offer is safe, predictable, easily supervised shallow water close to a car park, ideal for practising mask clears, buoyancy control, navigation and other fundamental skills in genuine ocean conditions before students move on to more interesting sites like Mutton Bird Island or the Solitary Islands themselves.

Small reef fish, weed beds and the occasional ray make up the modest marine life list, and visibility is generally lower here than at the rockier sites nearby, since the sandy bottom stirs easily in any swell or surge. The main hazard at Diggers Beach is not depth or marine life but the surf itself: as a genuine ocean beach it can develop rip currents of 2-4 knots on the outgoing tide, and instructors choose their exact entry point in the lee of the northern headland specifically to manage this risk. Anyone diving here independently, rather than as part of a supervised course, should treat it with the same caution as any other surf beach and check conditions carefully before entering.

For visiting recreational divers, Diggers Beach is not worth a special trip, but it remains a useful, low-cost local option for course students and instructors based in Coffs Harbour.

From Coffs Harbour, drive north on the Pacific Highway to the Diggers Beach turn-off and follow signs to the beach car park. A short walk over sand leads to the water at the northern end of the beach, near the headland; there are no steps or rock scrambles, just a straightforward beach entry.

Diggers Beach is a surf beach with a rip current of 2-4 knots reported on the outgoing tide, so this site is used specifically for its predictable, controlled surf-entry practice value rather than for sightseeing; only dive on days with small surf and be alert to the rip.

Enter from the beach in the lee of the northern headland, practise basic skills and orientation in 2-6 m over sand and weed, and exit well clear of any rip forming on the outgoing tide.

Jetty Dive Centre uses Diggers Beach for open-water course confined/shallow skills sessions; not used for recreational sightseeing dives given the limited depth and marine life.