Fitzroy Island is a steep, rainforest-covered continental island about 29 km from Cairns and only 4 km off the mainland, and it is the only reef island near Cairns where certified divers can simply walk in from the beach and dive the fringing reef. Welcome Bay, on the sheltered western side where the ferries arrive, has the resort, the jetty, the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and the island's dive shop, run by Cairns Dive Centre, which hires full gear to certified divers and offers guided beach dives, introductory dives and PADI courses. Its website highlights abundant macro life and seasonal sightings of manta rays, humpback whales and schooling barracuda.

The reef in the bay is a typical inshore fringing reef: seagrass and sand close to the beach, where green turtles graze, giving way to a coral fringe with hard and soft corals and a gentle slope into deeper water. Snorkel guides note that the coral nearest the beach has suffered some damage and that the bay is best at high tide. Clownfish, parrotfish, wrasse, rays and turtles are the most common sightings, and Fitzroy has a giant-clam research history, so clams are well represented.

Because the island is close to the mainland, visibility is modest, often 5-10 m, and it drops after rain. The site's strengths are access and flexibility: no boat, unlimited time and the chance to dive several times a day during a stay. It suits new divers, snorkellers and anyone wanting a relaxed, independent shore dive in the tropics.

White Rock and Nudey Beach, the island's other shore sites, have their own entries.

Take a ferry from the Reef Fleet Terminal, Cairns: Fitzroy Island Ferry (Fitzroy Flyer, first departure about 7:30-8:00 am) and Sunlover (8:45 or 10:15 am) take about 45 minutes and berth at the jetty in Welcome Bay; paid parking near the terminal. The dive shop (Cairns Dive Centre) is beside the resort pool, a two-minute walk from the jetty, and hires full gear to certified divers and runs guided beach dives. Carry your gear about 100 m to the beach and enter from the sand either side of the resort, keeping clear of the jetty.

Exit on the same beach. Resort guests and campers can dive on multiple days.

Fitzroy's western side, where Welcome Bay and Nudey Beach lie, is sheltered from the prevailing south-east trade winds, so shore diving and snorkelling are possible on most days; strong northerlies or north-westerlies make the bay choppy. Visibility is typically 5-15 m and falls after heavy rain and in strong winds because the island is only about 4 km from the mainland coast. Box jellyfish are rare this far offshore but have been recorded, and Irukandji are possible: wear a stinger suit from November to May.

Cyclone season runs November-April. Enter at mid to high tide, as the reef flat is shallow at low water. The main beach is best at high tide; at low tide the coral near shore is very shallow and some has been damaged.

Enter at mid to high tide from the beach beside the resort, surface-swim out over the seagrass and reef flat, descend at the reef edge (3-5 m) and follow it north or south at 5-10 m, keeping well away from the jetty. Turn at half gas, return along the edge and exit on the beach.

Cairns Dive Centre (Fitzroy Island dive shop beside the resort pool) – guided beach dives, introductory dives and PADI courses; Fitzroy Island Sports Hub – snorkel and stinger-suit hire; Sunlover and Fitzroy Island Ferry – daily ferries