Port Lincoln is Australia's tuna and seafood capital and the base for the Neptune Islands and sea lion trips, but it also has easy diving right in town. The Marine Life Society describes the town jetty as an easy shore dive in the centre of Port Lincoln, in about 4 m, whose pylons are covered with colourful marine life and which is good for photography by day or night. The piles carry sponges, ascidians, bryozoans and algae in reds, oranges and yellows, and they host the usual jetty cast: nudibranchs, decorator and spider crabs, small octopus, seahorses and pipefish, with leatherjackets, cowfish, magpie perch and schools of tommy ruff and yellowtail.

Squid gather under the lights at night, and the sandy bottom holds rays, flathead and the chance of a Port Jackson shark. Boston Bay's sheltered water means it can be dived in most conditions. It is the obvious place for a check-out dive or a night dive for visitors in town for the shark and sea lion tours, and it is popular with locals for training.

Kirton Point jetty, a short drive east, offers a deeper reef dive with better visibility, and the scuttled tug Bronzewing lies out in Boston Bay for those with a boat. Air fills and gear hire are available in town, and the jetty's central location means cafes and the foreshore are a few steps away, which makes it a convenient dive for groups with non-diving companions.

Port Lincoln is about 650 km (7 hours) by road from Adelaide via Port Augusta and the Lincoln Highway, or a 45-50 minute flight (Rex/QantasLink). The town jetty is on the Port Lincoln foreshore off Tasman Terrace in the city centre. Park on the foreshore and carry gear a short distance to the jetty; enter via the steps/ladder or from the beach alongside.

The deeper Kirton Point jetty is a few kilometres east (see separate entry).

Boston Bay and the waters around Port Lincoln are sheltered from Southern Ocean swell by Boston Island and the Lincoln National Park coast, so the town jetties can be dived in most weather; strong south-easterly and easterly winds are what chop them up. The islands of Thorny Passage and the lower Eyre coast are progressively more exposed to south-westerly swell and strong tidal streams, and need swell under about 1.5-2 m and light winds. Winter (May-August) brings frequent cold fronts with big south-westerly swell but also calm, clear spells; summer has more reliable weather but regular afternoon south-easterly sea breezes.

Water is cooler than the gulfs, around 13-15°C in winter and 17-20°C in summer.

Enter by the steps, swim out along one side of the piles to the end at about 4 m, inspecting the growth for nudibranchs and small life, and return along the other side. Slow down at night.

No charter needed; local divers and Port Lincoln dive shop customers use it for training, check-outs and night dives.