Pirate Cove is a small, sheltered corner at the southern end of Flying Fish Cove, just past the boat ramp. The Christmas Island Tourism Association describes it as a place of mesmerising submerged rock formations in a sheltered bay, with rock pools to explore at low tide and snorkelling and swimming on the rising tide; there is shade on the beach, and reef shoes are recommended.

For snorkellers it is one of the easiest and most rewarding spots on the island. Eroded limestone boulders and ledges sit in shallow, clear water, and the gaps between them are busy with damsels, butterflyfish, wrasse, surgeonfish and parrotfish, while the fringing reef of the main cove – with its hard corals and the endemic Christmas Island (Cocos) angelfish – is only a short swim away. Turtles often feed along this end of the cove. At low tide the rock pools hold small fish, crabs and molluscs and are a good place for children.

Divers rarely treat Pirate Cove as a standalone site. Instead it is the far end of an independent Flying Fish Cove dive: enter at the ramp, follow the reef edge south-west and look over the drop-off, then come back shallow along the reef. The water is shallow near the rocks, so it is more of a snorkel and freedive spot than a scuba destination, but the scenery of rock and coral in bright light makes it popular with photographers.

It is sheltered for most of the year, but like the rest of the cove it takes north-west swell in the wet season, when surge through the rocks makes it unsafe. Documentation of the site as a dive is thin; treat it as a snorkel and shallow shore spot beside the island's main dive site.

Fly from Perth (about 4 hours, two to three flights a week, some via Cocos Islands) and hire a car – there is no public transport. Drive to Flying Fish Cove in The Settlement and park in the beach car park by the boat ramp. Walk south-west along the shore past the ramp for a few minutes to the small beach at the southern tip of the cove.

Carry gear only as far as you need – most people snorkel here, and divers usually enter at the boat ramp and swim along the reef to this end of the cove. Reef shoes are essential.

Flying Fish Cove faces north-west and is the most protected water on the island through the south-east trade season (roughly April/May–November), when it is diveable almost every day. In the wet season (December–March/April) north-westerly monsoon swell, and swell from distant cyclones, rolls straight into the cove – the beach then becomes a surf break, the entry over the reef flat is dangerous and boat launching can be suspended; Extra Divers treat February–April as peak swell season. Avoid entering when waves are breaking on the reef flat; low tide makes the inner reef very shallow (snorkel it at high tide).

Tides are small (about 1 m). Visibility drops after heavy rain run-off and during red crab spawning (October–January), when crabs release eggs into the cove before dawn and whale sharks are most often seen off the drop-off. Night dives are best on calm dry-season nights.

Snorkellers enter at mid to high tide and explore the rock formations and pools close in. Divers usually enter at the boat ramp, follow the reef south-west towards Pirate Cove at 5–10 m, look over the drop-off, and return the same way to the ramp.

No regular guided dives – a snorkel spot and an extension of independent Flying Fish Cove shore dives. Tanks can be hired from Extra Divers or CI Wet'n'Dry Adventures.