Rottnest Island dive sites

Denton Holme Wreck

The standing bow of an 1890 iron barque rising almost to the surface, a spread of cargo and plates, and a shallow cave…

SS Macedon Wreck

The most intact iron wreck at Rottnest: a 63 m 1883 steamer upright on the reef with ribs, gunwales and boiler in 3-7…

WreckMax 10 mShore

Rottnest Wreck Trail

Thirteen historic wrecks linked by plaques and plinths, with two easy snorkel wrecks and a land trail from the museum…

Roe Reef

Limestone arches, caverns and maze-like swim-throughs at 10-15 m, a short run from Thomson Bay and sheltered from the…

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 12 mShore

Parker Point Snorkel Trail

Snorkel trail with seabed plaques over the southernmost pocillopora coral reef, in a sanctuary zone 5 km from the ferry.

WreckMax 4 mShore

Shark Hopper Barge (Henrietta Rocks)

A 1939 hopper barge sitting partly out of the water a few strokes from the beach - an easy and photogenic wreck snorkel.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 6 mShore

Little Salmon Bay

A sheltered south-coast lagoon with coral bommies in a few metres of water and a snorkel trail, diveable in most winds.

Pinky Beach

A wide, sheltered beach with an undulating coral reef beside the Bathurst Lighthouse, ten minutes from the ferry.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 4 mShore

The Basin

A reef-ringed natural pool of clear, shallow water 20 minutes' walk from the ferry - Rottnest's easiest snorkel.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 8 mShore

Geordie Bay

Deeper north-coast snorkelling with limestone caves, octopus and stingrays beside the Geordie Bay settlement.

Build your own Rottnest Island plan: pick days, level and must-dive sites →

Suggested trip

A 3-day dive trip to Rottnest Island

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 Rottnest Island's easier shore dives: check your weighting, get used to the water temperature and dive the sheltered side of the coast.

Denton Holme WreckWreck · Max 7 m · Open Water
SS Macedon WreckWreck · Max 7 m · Open Water

Day 2 · The signature dives

A charter day on the sites people travel to Rottnest Island for, including Rottnest Wreck Trail.

Rottnest Wreck TrailWreck · Max 10 m · Snorkel/Any
Shark Hopper Barge (Henrietta Rocks)Wreck · Max 4 m · Snorkel/Any

Day 3 · Deeper or further

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

HNLMS K XI Submarine WreckWreck · Max 38 m · Technical (decompression)
Shark CaveCave/Cavern · Max 26 m · Advanced Open Water

Dive centres and charters in Rottnest Island

All Western Australia operators →

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

Perth Scuba

Profiled

Full serviceTechnicalTrainingPADI14 services133 sites

Canning Vale · Perth · WA

One of the most fully documented operations in Western Australia, covering recreational, professional, technical and freediving training alongside substantial equipment facilities.

perthscuba.com · (08) 9455 4448

Dolphin Scuba Diving

Profiled

Full serviceTrainingRetailTDI9 services101 sites

Welshpool · Perth · WA

A Perth business providing training, equipment and service support.

dolphinscuba.com.au · (08) 9353 2488

ADRENO Perth

RetailFreediving1 services

O'Connor · Perth · WA

An equipment retailer with a spearfishing and freediving emphasis. Primarily retail rather than a training centre.

adreno.com.au/pages/contact-us-perth · (08) 6424 8480

Dive Imports

Mt Hawthorn · Perth · WA

A Perth equipment business. Retail range, servicing and training availability require verification.

diveimports.com · (08) 9443 1657

Retail1 services

Dolphin Dive Fremantle

TrainingFull serviceCharter5 services

South Fremantle · Perth · WA

A Fremantle operation serving local divers, with proximity to Rottnest Island departures.

dolphindive.com.au

Perth Diving Academy

TrainingFull service5 services

Hillarys · Perth · WA

A Perth training business serving the metropolitan recreational market.

perthdiving.com.au · (08) 9448 6343

Spear West

RetailFreediving2 services

Perth · WA

A Perth spearfishing and freediving business. This serves a different customer from a conventional scuba centre.

spearwest.com.au · 0411 063 351

Bucket List Diver

Fremantle · Perth · WA

bucketlistdiver.com · (08) 9200 4447

99 sites

UWA Underwater Club

Crawley · Rottnest Island · WA

University of Western Australia dive club (operating since 1968); club, not a shop.

uwauc.org.au

55 sites

Image Dive & Charters

Hillarys · Perth · WA

Image Dive Pty Ltd trading as Image Dive and Charters; boat dive charters from Hillarys.

imagedive.com.au · 0417 957 870

50 sites

Pedal & Flipper

Rottnest Island · Rottnest Island · WA

Bike and snorkel gear hire run by the Rottnest Island Authority; not a dive shop.

rottnestisland.com/see-do/hire/pedal-flipper-hire · (08) 9292 5105

17 sites

Rottnest Snorkel tours

Rottnest Island · Rottnest Island · WA

Guided snorkel tours departing Fremantle and Thomson Bay; not a dive shop.

rottnestsnorkel.com.au · 0499 523 166

16 sites

Map of Rottnest Island dive sites

Click a pin for the site. 3 sites without published coordinates are not shown.

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

All 52 Rottnest Island dive sites

Pinnacle/BommieMax 27 m

10 Metre Spire

An offshore spire with big overhangs and a fish-packed cave, rising to 10 m off the West End.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

ReefMax 32 m

20 Metre Ridge

A deep offshore ridge at 20-32 m north of Rottnest for experienced divers seeking bigger fish and quiet water.

Cave/CavernMax 18 m

Cathedral Rocks Caverns

Cathedral-like caverns lit by beams through roof windows at the West End, with seals nearby - diveable only a few days…

ReefMax 26 mArea view

Cigar Reef

An offbeat reef with thermoclines, odd currents and a reputation for unusual creatures.

WreckMax 10 m

City of York Wreck

Masts, yards, rigging, windlass, anchor, stern and rudder of an 1899 iron barque spread down a shallow reef slope.

Crystal Palace

Rottnest's signature cavern reef: hundreds of metres of limestone chambers and swim-throughs lit by light shafts and…

Denton Holme Wreck

The standing bow of an 1890 iron barque rising almost to the surface, a spread of cargo and plates, and a shallow cave…

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 6 mShore

Duck Rock & Transit Plinth

A genuine walk-in reef dive near the ferry, with caves off the rock and the plinth marking Rottnest's first shipwreck…

Fay's Bay

A quiet bay with seagrass and shallow limestone caves and channels, 2 km from the settlement.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 10 mShore

Fish Hook Bay

A remote West End bay with turquoise water, extensive reef and excellent visibility in a sanctuary zone.

Snorkel/AnyIntermediate

WreckMax 6 m

Gem Wreck

The plinth and scant timbers of an 1876 cutter lost with all ten aboard, completing the Transit Reef wreck circuit.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 8 mShore

Geordie Bay

Deeper north-coast snorkelling with limestone caves, octopus and stingrays beside the Geordie Bay settlement.

ReefMax 10 mShore

Green Island (Rottnest)

A sanctuary-zone reef where endangered Australian sea lions haul out, with a chance of an in-water encounter.

Snorkel/AnyIntermediate

WreckMax 38 m

HNLMS K XI Submarine Wreck

A 1924 Dutch colonial submarine, lost for almost 80 years and found in 2025, lying in 38 m with torpedo tubes still…

ReefMax 27 m

Jack's Patch

A linear limestone reef with corals, ledges, swim-throughs and a large cave at 13-17 m off Salmon Point.

Jackson's Rock

An isolated reef of ledges, gullies and caves 'packed with marine life', closer to Fremantle than most Rottnest sites.

Janet Wreck

Admiralty anchors, davit and boiler of Fremantle's largest vessel of 1887, plus a small reef cave, a short swim from…

Kingston Spit

A less-visited north-east reef with Roe Reef-style ledges and caves and better fish life because of low traffic.

WreckMax 9 m

Kiryo Maru I Wreck

Scattered remains of a 1984 Japanese tuna longliner in the white water beside Cathedral Rocks.

WreckMax 10 m

Lady Elizabeth Wreck

Substantial remains of an 1878 composite barque on clean sand in calm, clear water behind Dyer Island, with caves…

Little Armstrong Bay

Calm, shallow seagrass maze in the Armstrong Bay Sanctuary Zone - an easy north-coast snorkel.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 4 mShore

Little Parakeet Bay

A tiny, calm, shallow bay with coral gardens, starfish and stingrays - ideal for young children.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 6 mShore

Little Salmon Bay

A sheltered south-coast lagoon with coral bommies in a few metres of water and a snorkel trail, diveable in most winds.

Longreach Bay

A broad, calm north-coast bay close to the settlement with corals, tropical fish and occasional dolphins.

Mary Cove

A quiet, clear-water south-coast cove with rocky outcrops away from the crowds.

WreckMax 10 m

Mira Flores Wreck

Intact stern of an 1886 German barque in a sand hole on Horseshoe Reef, with hull sections scattered through kelp.

WreckMax 11 m

Miwok II Barge

A seldom-visited 1983 crane barge used for SAS demolition training, in clear 11 m water off Bickley Point.

Cave/CavernMax 26 m

North Point Hole

A cavern dropping through the reef to 26 m, 'full of marine life', beside the North Point ravine.

ReefMax 26 m

North Point Reef

A narrow limestone ravine 8 m deep, lit by shafts of sunlight, cutting through an offshore mound at 18-26 m.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

ReefMax 31 mArea view

Opera House

A sloping reef with a maze of caves and cavern lighting to 31 m, with reports of grey nurse sharks.

ReefMax 10 m

Outer Transit Caves

Shallow limestone swim-throughs and overhangs with often excellent visibility, minutes from the Thomson Bay wrecks.

WallMax 22 m

Parker Point Drop-off

An easy-to-follow limestone wall with ledges, gutters and protected crayfish in the Parker Point Sanctuary Zone.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 12 mShore

Parker Point Snorkel Trail

Snorkel trail with seabed plaques over the southernmost pocillopora coral reef, in a sanctuary zone 5 km from the ferry.

Pinky Beach

A wide, sheltered beach with an undulating coral reef beside the Bathurst Lighthouse, ten minutes from the ferry.

ReefMax 15 m

Porpoise Bay Caves

A quieter reef of overhangs and small caves beside Crystal Palace, 'packed with marine life'.

WreckMax 7 m

Raven Wreck

A hunt through kelp for the ballast stones and sheathing of an 1891 barque lost under a drunken skipper.

Rocky Bay

Remote, secluded lagoons behind rocks with turtles, octopus and stingrays - best on northerly mornings.

Roe Reef

Limestone arches, caverns and maze-like swim-throughs at 10-15 m, a short run from Thomson Bay and sheltered from the…

WreckMax 200 m

Rottnest Ships' Graveyard

Dozens of deliberately scuttled vessels, mostly unseen, in 46-200 m - Perth's frontier for technical wreck exploration.

WreckMax 10 mShore

Rottnest Wreck Trail

Thirteen historic wrecks linked by plaques and plinths, with two easy snorkel wrecks and a land trail from the museum…

Salmon Bay

A broad south-coast bay with shallow coral ledges and schools of bream, excellent in easterly winds.

WreckMax 26 m

Salmon Bay Unidentified Wreck

A lone boiler, shaft and propeller of unknown origin in clear 26 m water off Salmon Bay.

Cave/CavernMax 26 m

Shark Cave

Protected grey nurse sharks resting in an arc-shaped cave at 24-26 m off the West End - Rottnest's premier shark dive.

WreckMax 4 mShore

Shark Hopper Barge (Henrietta Rocks)

A 1939 hopper barge sitting partly out of the water a few strokes from the beach - an easy and photogenic wreck snorkel.

SS Macedon Wreck

The most intact iron wreck at Rottnest: a 63 m 1883 steamer upright on the reef with ribs, gunwales and boiler in 3-7…

Cave/CavernMax 19 m

Swirl Reef

A crater-shaped reef with a huge light-shafted cave and multiple swim-throughs - Rottnest's most unusual formation.

Shore/Rock PlatformMax 4 mShore

The Basin

A reef-ringed natural pool of clear, shallow water 20 minutes' walk from the ferry - Rottnest's easiest snorkel.

WreckMax 65 mArea view

The Clipper (Maranda, Graveyard Site 06)

A deep, intact iron sailing-ship hull in 65 m, the best known of the Rottnest graveyard wrecks among Perth tech divers.

WreckMax 46 m

Thornliebank Wreck (Graveyard Site 44)

Standing masts on an 1886 Glasgow-built barque hulk, discovered in 2024 - the shallowest known wreck in the Rottnest…

Tuna Hut

Caves, swim-throughs and crayfish near the West End seal colony - the classic second dive after Shark Cave.

WreckMax 4 mShore

Uribes Wreck

A 1942 schooner filled with sand in 2.5-4 m just metres from the beach - Rottnest's easiest wreck snorkel.