Manta ray
Reef mantas visit cleaning stations year-round at Coral Bay and Lady Elliot Island, and in summer along the NSW and Queensland coasts.
Mobula alfredi and M. birostris
Australia has two manta hotspots with resident populations. Lady Elliot Island on the southern Great Barrier Reef hosts reef mantas at the Lighthouse Bommies cleaning station, with numbers peaking from May to August and some animals present in every month; Project Manta has identified more than 1,000 individuals there. Coral Bay at the southern end of Ningaloo has mantas feeding and being cleaned in Bateman Bay year-round, seen on daily snorkel tours. Elsewhere mantas are summer visitors: Manta Bommie at North Stradbroke Island, Julian Rocks at Byron Bay, the Solitary Islands and South West Rocks see them from December to May, and the Coral Sea reefs and Cocos (Keeling) have them on the outer walls.
Field notes
How to find manta ray on the dive
- Depth
- 8–20 m at cleaning stations; anywhere in the water column on a feed.
- Habitat
- Cleaning stations on isolated bommies: Lady Elliot's Lighthouse Bommies, Manta Bommie at North Stradbroke, Coral Bay's stations at Ningaloo. Feeding aggregations in plankton-rich channels and off headlands.
- The tell
- A shadow moving across the reef too smoothly to be a fish. At a cleaning station, settle on the sand a few metres back from the bommie and wait: rays circle in, hover with wingtips lifted while wrasse work their gills, and circle again. Ten minutes of patience beats ten minutes of swimming.
- Behaviour
- Curious and unafraid at cleaning stations; they will pass close overhead and often return several times. Feeding rays barrel-roll through plankton with the cephalic fins unrolled. Each has a unique belly pattern used for identification; Project Manta collects photos.
- Etiquette
- Never swim after a manta or position yourself over it; approach from the side, stay low, do not touch, and do not block the cleaning station. If it leaves, wait; it usually comes back.
- Photographing them
- Wide lens from below and to the side, natural light, capture the belly pattern for identification.
Season heat map
When manta ray sites are in season
Share of the 65 manta ray sites with a stated best season that includes each month.
Stated season: Year-round at Lady Elliot and Coral Bay (peak May–August at Lady Elliot); December–May on the NSW and south Queensland coasts.
Best sites for manta ray127 sites
Ordered by how regularly the site is dived and how well it is documented. The species is listed in each site's recorded marine life; sightings are never guaranteed.
All other sites recording manta ray
- Flinders Reef · Max 28 m · Brisbane & Moreton Bay
- Harry's Bommie (Agincourt Reef 4) · Max 16 m · Port Douglas
- Heron Bommie · Max 20 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Hiro's Cave (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 25 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Lighthouse Bommie · Max 30 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- Lighthouse Bommies (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 18 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Manta Bommie · Max 18 m · North Stradbroke Island
- Manta Bommies (Lady Musgrave) · Max 23 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Manta Ray Bay (Hook Island) · Max 25 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Marine World Wall (Moore Reef) · Max 18 m · Cairns
- Ngaro Underwater Sculpture Trail · Max 10 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- North Bommie (Heron Island) · Max 18 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Pam's Point (Heron Island) · Max 20 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Severance Wreck (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 21 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Shag Rock · Max 20 m · North Stradbroke Island
- The Pinnacles (Hook Island) · Max 20 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Three Pyramids (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 18 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Wolf Rock · Max 38 m · Rainbow Beach
- Ningaloo Humpback Whale Swim · Depth not published · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Ningaloo Whale Shark Swim · Depth not published · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Campgrounds (Lady Musgrave) · Max 18 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Coral Gardens (Heron Island) · Max 15 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Coral Grotto (Heron Island) · Max 18 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Encounters (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 20 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Fitzroy Island · Max 12 m · Cairns
- Hole in the Wall (Heron Island) · Max 20 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Plate Ledge (Heron Island) · Max 16 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Scattered Bommies (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 19 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Sunset Drift (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 18 m · Lady Elliot Island
- The Apartments (Lady Musgrave) · Max 22 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- The Junction (Heron Island) · Max 14 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Tubes (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 25 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Turtle Cleaning Station (Flinders Reef) · Max 14 m · Brisbane & Moreton Bay
- Bill's Bay Coral Gardens · Max 5 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- Coral Bay Manta Ray Swim (Bateman Bay) · Depth not published · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- Tantabiddi Sanctuary Zone (Staghorns & The Bombies) · Max 3.5 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Admiralty (Osprey Reef) · Max 40 m · Coral Sea
- False Entrance (Osprey Reef) · Max 40 m · Coral Sea
- Million Dollar Bommie · Max 26 m · Christmas Island
- North Horn (Osprey Reef) · Max 40 m · Coral Sea
- North Horn Wall (Osprey Reef) · Max 40 m · Coral Sea
- Perpendicular Wall · Max 40 m · Christmas Island
- South Solitary Island – Manta Arch · Max 30 m · Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
- Coral Kingdom · Max 25 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- ex-HMAS Tobruk · Max 28.5 m · Hervey Bay & K'gari
- Gary's Lagoon (Bait Reef) · Max 18 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Gotham City · Max 30 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- Jew Shoal · Max 16 m · Sunshine Coast
- Manta Ray Drop-off (Bait Reef) · Max 36 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Pixie Wall · Max 30 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- Stepping Stones (Bait Reef) · Max 30 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Blizzard Ridge · Max 14 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Cod Spot · Max 20 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Around the Bend (Osprey Reef) · Max 35 m · Coral Sea
- Leanne's Leap · Max 25 m · Christmas Island
- Manta Service Station · Max 12 m · Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Resort Lagoon / Waterfall Bay · Max 20 m · Christmas Island
- Secret Caves (Osprey Reef) · Max 30 m · Coral Sea
- Submarine Rock · Max 30 m · Christmas Island
- Two Ridges · Max 25 m · Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Banana Bommie (Michaelmas Reef) · Max 15 m · Cairns
- Barren Island · Max 30 m · Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
- Briggs Reef · Max 28 m · Cairns
- Butterfly Bay (Hook Island) · Max 12 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Cochrane Artificial Reef · Max 20 m · Bundaberg & Agnes Water
- Parker Bommie (Great Keppel Island) · Max 17 m · Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
- Southern Face (Bait Reef) · Max 30 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- The Gulch (Barren & Child Islands) · Max 30 m · Capricorn Coast & Keppel Islands
- 23rd Parallel · Max 24 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- Gulliver's · Max 14 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Keyhole · Max 20 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Point Maud Manta Cleaning Station · Max 15 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- The Elbow · Max 18 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- The Gap (Muiron Islands) · Max 20 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Devils Marbles (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 18 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Forty Five (Lady Elliot Island) · Max 18 m · Lady Elliot Island
- Luncheon Bay (Hook Island) · Max 15 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Dinner Plates · Max 18 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Vertical Gardens · Max 40 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- Wheeler Reef · Max 25 m · Townsville & Magnetic Island
- Chicken Farm · Max 40 m · Christmas Island
- Egeria Point · Max 22 m · Christmas Island
- North West Point · Max 14 m · Christmas Island
- North West Solitary Island · Max 18 m · Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
- Fairfax Islands Reef · Max 20 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Knuckle Reef Lagoon · Max 20 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Southern Ledges (Lady Musgrave) · Max 26 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Sykes Reef · Max 30 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Taylor Reef · Max 22 m · Mission Beach & Cassowary Coast
- Bundegi Reef · Max 10 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Central Station · Max 15 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Pebbles Beach (King Bay) · Max 6 m · Pilbara & Dampier
- Ranger's Bommies · Max 8 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Big Softy · Max 30 m · Ribbon Reefs & Lizard Island
- Cardabia Passage · Max 20 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- The Canyons (Coral Bay) · Max 22 m · Ningaloo – Coral Bay
- North Solitary Island – Anemone Bay · Max 30 m · Coffs Harbour & Solitary Islands
- RMS Quetta wreck · Max 24 m · Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
- Fitzroy Reef Lagoon · Max 15 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Pelorus Island – Front Reef · Max 10 m · Townsville & Magnetic Island
- Raine Island · Depth not published · Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
- South Gorge (Point Lookout) · Max 15 m · North Stradbroke Island
- Montgomery Reef · Max 10 m · Broome & Kimberley
- Tantabiddi North Reef Break · Max 15 m · Ningaloo – Exmouth
- Steep Point · Max 30 m · Christmas Island
- Bromby Islands · Max 35 m · East Arnhem Land & Gove
- Cape Arnhem · Depth not published · East Arnhem Land & Gove
- Boult Reef · Max 25 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Creech Reef · Depth not published · Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
- Evans Patch · Max 23 m · Bundaberg & Agnes Water
- Fitzroy Reef – South-East Gardens · Max 12 m · Lady Musgrave & Bunker Group
- Four Mile Reef (Bargara) · Max 13 m · Bundaberg & Agnes Water
- Gannet Cay (Swain Reefs) · Max 35 m · Swain Reefs
- Haslewood Island – Waite Bay · Max 18 m · Whitsundays & Bowen
- Manta Channel (North Reef) · Max 15 m · Heron Island & Capricorn Group
- Mystery Cay (Swain Reefs) · Max 20 m · Swain Reefs
- Shark Alley (Wheeler Reef) · Max 22 m · Townsville & Magnetic Island
- Three Mile Opening (TMO) · Depth not published · Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
Frequently asked questions
How do I find manta ray on a dive?
Cleaning stations on isolated bommies: Lady Elliot's Lighthouse Bommies, Manta Bommie at North Stradbroke, Coral Bay's stations at Ningaloo. Feeding aggregations in plankton-rich channels and off headlands. A shadow moving across the reef too smoothly to be a fish. At a cleaning station, settle on the sand a few metres back from the bommie and wait: rays circle in, hover with wingtips lifted while wrasse work their gills, and circle again. Ten minutes of patience beats ten minutes of swimming.
Where is the best place to see manta ray in Australia?
Lady Elliot Island; Coral Bay; Manta Bommie (North Stradbroke); Julian Rocks; Lady Musgrave; Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
When is the best time to see manta ray?
Year-round at Lady Elliot and Coral Bay (peak May–August at Lady Elliot); December–May on the NSW and south Queensland coasts.
How should I approach manta ray?
At a cleaning station, stay low on the bottom at the edge and keep still; mantas will circle back repeatedly if not chased.