Coral Sea dive sites

False Entrance (Osprey Reef)

Spectacular bommies and blue-water swim-throughs in a blind gully, with schooling trevally and barracuda and dense grey…

WreckMax 25 m

MV Antonio Tarabocchia wreck

Engine block, propeller and scattered hull of a 1961 Italian freighter on coral terraces in very clear water, with a…

North Horn (Osprey Reef)

Australia's most famous shark dive – 10–30 reef sharks around a controlled feed in a 12 m amphitheatre at the top of a…

Admiralty (Osprey Reef)

A coral village of huge bommies with a centuries-old anchor in a swim-through, flashlight fish at night and a sheer…

DriftMax 35 m

Around the Bend (Osprey Reef)

Osprey's most challenging drift, where current brings barracuda, hunting predators and mantas to a cleaning station.

Cave/CavernMax 35 m

Dungeons & Dragons (Bougainville Reef)

A maze of caves and tunnels in the reef top, opening onto a 1,000 m wall patrolled by sharks and barracuda.

WallMax 20 m

Amazing (Holmes Reef)

A shallow wall riddled with soft-coral-lined archways, swim-throughs and caves where sharks rest.

Pinnacle/BommieMax 36 m

Nonki Bommie (Holmes Reef)

A split pinnacle with a canyon between its two fingers, draped in giant sea fans and soft corals.

Half Way Wall (Osprey Reef)

Osprey's gentler wall, with bommies on the lip of a 1,000 m drop and the chance of hammerheads.

North Horn Wall (Osprey Reef)

A sheer drift along a wall dropping more than 1,000 m, with caves, overhangs, mantas and tuna.

Build your own Coral Sea plan: pick days, level and must-dive sites →

Suggested trip

A 3-day dive trip to Coral Sea

Built from the sites in this region: an easy start, the signature dives, then something deeper or further. Swap days around the weather; the site pages say which winds and swell close each one.

Day 1 · Settle in

Start with the gentler sites while you get used to local conditions and the operator's routine.

Turtle Cave (Holmes Reef)Reef · Max 26 m · Advanced Open Water
Wreck of the Atlas (Bougainville Reef)Wreck · Max 15 m · Open Water

Day 2 · The signature dives

A charter day on the sites people travel to Coral Sea for, including MV Antonio Tarabocchia wreck.

False Entrance (Osprey Reef)Wall · Max 40 m · Deep/Advanced + experience
MV Antonio Tarabocchia wreckWreck · Max 25 m · Advanced Open Water

Day 3 · Deeper or further

For divers with the certification and the weather: the deeper walls, pinnacles or less-visited sites of Coral Sea.

North Horn (Osprey Reef)Wall · Max 40 m · Deep/Advanced + experience
Admiralty (Osprey Reef)Wall · Max 40 m · Deep/Advanced + experience

Dive centres and charters in Coral Sea

All External Territories operators →

Operators recorded as running sites in this region. Each profile lists the specific sites it goes to.

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions

Liveaboard4 services106 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A long-running expedition liveaboard operation associated with Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea itineraries, including minke whale season trips.

mikeball.com · (07) 4053 0500

Spirit of Freedom

Liveaboard4 services56 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

An expedition liveaboard associated with Ribbon Reefs, Osprey Reef and Coral Sea itineraries.

spiritoffreedom.com.au · (07) 4047 9150

Passions of Paradise

CharterDestination2 services45 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns sailing catamaran day trip combining reef diving and snorkelling.

passions.com.au · (07) 4041 1600

Divers Den

TrainingCharterLiveaboard4 services34 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns operation running both day-boat and liveaboard products alongside a training business and retail presence.

diversden.com.au · (07) 4046 7333

Down Under Cruise & Dive

CharterTraining3 services33 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns day-boat operator offering reef diving, snorkelling and introductory diving.

downundercruiseanddive.com.au · (07) 4052 8300

Reef Encounter

Liveaboard3 services33 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns-based liveaboard vessel offering multi-day reef stays with day-boat transfers.

reefencounter.com.au · (07) 4037 2700

Pro Dive Cairns

TrainingLiveaboardCharter4 services21 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A long-established Cairns operation best known for multi-day liveaboard certification trips that combine Open Water training with outer Great Barrier Reef diving.

prodivecairns.com · (07) 4031 5255

Ocean Free & Ocean Freedom

CharterDestination2 services2 sites

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

Small-vessel Cairns day trips, positioned around lower passenger numbers than the large reef catamarans.

oceanfree.com.au · (07) 4052 1111

Coral Sea Dreaming

LiveaboardCharter2 services

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A small-vessel overnight Cairns trip format, sitting between a day boat and a full liveaboard.

coralseadreaming.com.au · 0474 727 777

Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel

CharterDestination2 services

Cairns · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns day-boat operation with an Indigenous cultural element alongside reef diving and snorkelling.

dreamtimedive.com · (07) 4030 7920

SCUBABO Cairns

Manunda · Cairns · QLD

A Cairns training operation. Current course range and agency affiliation require verification.

cairns.scubabo.com · 0448 097 746

Training1 services

Ocean Voyager

Unconfirmed

Cairns · QLD

A Cairns liveaboard operation running multi-day Great Barrier Reef itineraries.

Liveaboard3 services

Map of Coral Sea dive sites

Click a pin for the site. 25 sites without published coordinates are not shown.

Loading map…

36 pinned sites. Pins marked approximate on their pages show the general area only; not for navigation.

All 61 Coral Sea dive sites

Admiralty (Osprey Reef)

A coral village of huge bommies with a centuries-old anchor in a swim-through, flashlight fish at night and a sheer…

WallMax 20 m

Amazing (Holmes Reef)

A shallow wall riddled with soft-coral-lined archways, swim-throughs and caves where sharks rest.

WallMax 28 m

Anchors Away (Bougainville Reef)

Old anchors from wrecks, embedded and overgrown in a steep coral wall.

Pinnacle/BommieMax 25 mArea view

Anemone City (Flinders Reef)

Five lagoon pinnacles carpeted in purple anemones and clownfish.

Advanced Open WaterBeginner

DriftMax 35 m

Around the Bend (Osprey Reef)

Osprey's most challenging drift, where current brings barracuda, hunting predators and mantas to a cleaning station.

DriftMax 40 m

Between the Wrecks (Bougainville Reef)

A clear-water wall drift between Bougainville's two freighter wrecks.

Cathedral (Holmes Reef)

A deep Holmes Reef wall where a golden anthias species was first recorded in Australia, with sharks, tuna and potato…

ReefMax 25 m

Cato Reef

A remote southern Coral Sea reef with giant bommies, flat reef at 10–15 m and 40 m-plus visibility.

China Wall (Flinders Reef)

A 1,000 m wall with some of the largest gorgonian fans in Australian waters.

Cod Wall (Flinders Reef)

An ancient gorgonian fan more than 5 m across on a soft-coral wall with 40 m visibility.

Coral Canyons (Osprey Reef)

A network of coral canyons leading to the edge of a drop of more than 1,400 m, with schooling jacks and reef sharks.

WallMax 30 mArea view

Corner Shop (Bougainville Reef)

A moored wall around a reef corner with reef sharks, Maori wrasse and clown triggerfish.

Crystal Plateau (Bougainville Reef)

A clear-water hard-coral terrace on the edge of the abyss, with sharks and giant potato cod.

Deep Six (Bougainville Reef)

A seldom-described Bougainville Reef site (marinelife.org.au's list of additional Bougainville sites and Mike Ball's…

Cave/CavernMax 35 m

Dungeons & Dragons (Bougainville Reef)

A maze of caves and tunnels in the reef top, opening onto a 1,000 m wall patrolled by sharks and barracuda.

ReefMax 35 m

Fairy Grotto (Osprey Reef)

A range of big coral bommies with caverns and swim-throughs beside a 1,000 m wall.

False Entrance (Osprey Reef)

Spectacular bommies and blue-water swim-throughs in a blind gully, with schooling trevally and barracuda and dense grey…

Fan Fair (Flinders Reef)

A Flinders Reefs site on Mike Ball's Yongala & Coral Sea expedition, named for its sea fans.

Flora Reef

A tiny, rarely visited atoll with a sharp drop-off, silvertips and unusual lava-tube-like caves.

Golden Wall (Holmes Reef)

A sheer wall glowing with golden sea whips and gorgonians, with pelagic schools off the edge.

Half Way Wall (Osprey Reef)

Osprey's gentler wall, with bommies on the lip of a 1,000 m drop and the chance of hammerheads.

IslandMax 40 m

Herald Cays

Some of Australia's most isolated reefs and cays, with nesting turtles, seabird colonies and the Coral Sea's last…

Pinnacle/BommieMax 35 mArea view

Leopard's Lair (Holmes Reef)

Numbers of leopard sharks resting on the sand around a coral pinnacle.

Lihou Reef

The Coral Sea's largest atoll – a vast, rarely visited lagoon with historic wrecks and untouched reef.

Advanced Open WaterAdvanced

DriftMax 30 mArea view

Line of Sight (Holmes Reef)

A drift along the ridge in the channel between the two Holmes atolls.

Marion Reef

A vast, remote atoll with excellent soft-coral walls, lagoon pinnacles and three sand cays.

Advanced Open WaterAdvanced

ReefMax 30 m

Mellish Reef

Australia's most remote Coral Sea reef, with a sheltered 12 m lagoon and seabird colonies.

Pinnacle/BommieMax 40 mArea view

Mid Reef (Flinders Reef)

45 m bommies and a current-swept gully alive with feather stars, fans and soft corals.

DriftMax 40 mArea view

Middle Earth (Bougainville Reef)

A rarely described Bougainville drift site on Mike Ball's Far Northern expedition.

WreckMax 25 m

MV Antonio Tarabocchia wreck

Engine block, propeller and scattered hull of a 1961 Italian freighter on coral terraces in very clear water, with a…

Nautilus Wall (Osprey Reef)

A wall named for Osprey's isolated dwarf nautilus population, historically the site of dawn nautilus releases for…

Pinnacle/BommieMax 36 m

Nonki Bommie (Holmes Reef)

A split pinnacle with a canyon between its two fingers, draped in giant sea fans and soft corals.

North Horn (Osprey Reef)

Australia's most famous shark dive – 10–30 reef sharks around a controlled feed in a 12 m amphitheatre at the top of a…

North Horn Wall (Osprey Reef)

A sheer drift along a wall dropping more than 1,000 m, with caves, overhangs, mantas and tuna.

DriftMax 35 mArea view

Northern Lights (Holmes Reef)

A strong-current drift through gutters between very large pinnacles.

ReefMax 15 mArea view

Predators Playground (Holmes Reef)

A historic Coral Sea shark-feed arena on sand at 9 m.

Open WaterBeginner

DriftMax 40 m

Rapid Horn (Osprey Reef)

A rarely dived, current-swept southern horn with dense fish schools on the plateau and a sheer wall.

Rock Arch (Flinders Reef)

An arch, caves and a daylit cavern under a sheer south-west wall, with a ledge of big gorgonians at 40 m.

ReefMax 30 m

Saumarez Reef

A remote crescent reef with vast coral meadows, turtles and a Second World War Liberty ship wreck.

ReefMax 18 mArea view

Scuba Zoo (Boomerang Reef)

A historic caged shark-feed site with four permanent cages on sand at 15 m.

Open WaterBeginner

WallMax 30 m

Secret Caves (Osprey Reef)

Caves along Osprey's walls, especially good in the late afternoon and at night.

Silver City (Osprey Reef)

Silvertip sharks, volcano-shaped bommies and caves on a slope that ends at a 1,000 m wall.

Silver Slope (Bougainville Reef)

A seldom-described Bougainville Reef site (a list of possible Bougainville sites on Dive the World).

Pinnacle/BommieMax 30 mArea view

Soft Spot (Flinders Reef)

Pinnacles covered in hundreds of colourful soft coral trees.

Southern Wall (Bougainville Reef)

A seldom-described Bougainville Reef site (a list of possible Bougainville sites on Dive the World).

WreckMax 15 mArea view

SS Francis Preston Blair wreck (Saumarez Reef)

The collapsed remains of a Second World War Liberty ship on a remote Coral Sea reef edge.

Open WaterIntermediate

The Abyss (Holmes Reef)

A dramatic drift along a 1,000 m wall cut with caves, gutters and canyons.

The Castles (Osprey Reef)

Coral turrets, gullies and fan-filled overhangs above a 1,000 m wall.

The Junkyard (Bougainville Reef)

A seldom-described Bougainville Reef site (marinelife.org.au's list of additional Bougainville sites).

DriftMax 40 mArea view

The Sticks (Bougainville Reef)

A clear-water wall drift with sharks, rays and schooling fish.

The Zoo (Bougainville Reef)

Bougainville's signature site, crowded with sharks, turtles and schooling reef fish in clear oceanic water.

ReefDepth not publishedArea view

Trigger Happy (Flinders Reef)

A Flinders Reefs site on Mike Ball's Yongala & Coral Sea expedition.

Pinnacle/BommieMax 35 m

Turbo (Holmes Reef)

A lagoon pinnacle that comes alive with pelagic fish when the tide runs.

Advanced Open WaterBeginner

ReefMax 26 m

Turtle Cave (Holmes Reef)

Shallow bommies on sand at the Holmes overnight mooring – excellent visibility by day and a superb night dive.

Walmart (Bougainville Reef)

A 700 m wall covered in colourful invertebrates and swarming basslets.

Pinnacle/BommieMax 40 mArea view

Watanabe Bommie (Flinders Reef)

An office-block-sized pinnacle in open water, draped in soft corals and circled by pelagics and sharks.

West Point (Bougainville Reef)

A seldom-described Bougainville Reef site (marinelife.org.au's list of additional Bougainville sites).

Whaler Station (Flinders Reef)

A seldom-described site associated with China Wall in the Flinders group.

IslandMax 30 m

Willis Islets

A remote sunken atoll with a shallow lagoon and the Coral Sea's only inhabited island.

WreckMax 15 m

Wreck of the Atlas (Bougainville Reef)

A shallow, coral-covered 1945 freighter wreck spread across Bougainville's reef top and slope.

Open WaterBeginner

WreckMax 25 m

Wreck Reef (HMS Porpoise and Cato wreck sites)

The 1803 wreck sites of Matthew Flinders' HMS Porpoise and the Cato, on a remote reef with outstanding visibility.