Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Adelaide
Sites within roughly 120 km straight-line distance of central Adelaide, ordered by how regularly they are dived and how well they are documented.
Adelaide sits between two of the best jetty-diving coasts in the world. Within about 120 km: the metro wrecks and reefs, the Fleurieu's leafy seadragon sites at Rapid Bay and Second Valley, the ex-HMAS Hobart and Port Noarlunga.
February to May gives the calmest gulf water.
Updated daily from the directory. 30 sites listed.
1. Adelaide Metro · SA
Port Noarlunga Reef & Jetty
28 km from Adelaide · South Australia's most popular shore dive: a sheltered reef lagoon reached by jetty stairs, with an underwater trail, nudibranchs galore and Port Jackson shark aggregations in early summer.
2. Adelaide Metro · SA
Port Noarlunga Reef Underwater Trail
28 km from Adelaide · Australia's pioneering 1994 underwater interpretive trail: 12 marked plinths leading from the sheltered lagoon through the Gap to the outer reef.
3. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Rapid Bay Jetty
76 km from Adelaide · The most reliable leafy seadragon dive in the world, on the pylons of the old and new jetties.
4. Yorke Peninsula · SA
Edithburgh Jetty
80 km from Adelaide · A macro photographer's jetty: blue devils, pyjama squid, seahorses, tasselled anglerfish and nudibranchs in 6–9 m.
5. Adelaide Metro · SA
Glenelg Barge
16 km from Adelaide · Adelaide's first purpose-sunk wreck, a 1911 hopper barge in 20 m that can be combined with the Dredge on a single dive via a star-dropper trail.
6. Adelaide Metro · SA
Glenelg Dredge (SS South Australian)
16 km from Adelaide · A near-intact 1911 Dutch-built dredge sitting upright in 20 m and packed with fish – Adelaide's most dived boat wreck, easily combined with the Barge.
7. Adelaide Metro · SA
HA Lumb Wreck
28 km from Adelaide · A 1943 US Navy tug scuttled in 1994 with cut deck holes for easy penetration, lying beside the Seawolf and the Noarlunga Tyre Reef.
8. Adelaide Metro · SA
MV Seawolf Wreck
28 km from Adelaide · A 1940s Japanese tuna boat lying on its side in 20 m, a club-built wreck that forms a two-wreck dive with the HA Lumb.
9. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Star of Greece Wreck
38 km from Adelaide · An 1868 Belfast-built iron ship wrecked in 1888 with the loss of 17 lives, lying in snorkelling depth 200 m off Port Willunga with a mast showing at low tide.
10. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
The Bluff (Rosetta Head)
73 km from Adelaide · Arguably the most reliable leafy seadragon dive in South Australia, among stacked granite boulders below a historic whaling headland.
Shore/Rock PlatformMax 18 mIntermediateOpen WaterShore accessMore in Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor →
11. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Ex-HMAS Hobart
74 km from Adelaide · A 133 m Adams-class destroyer off Yankalilla with wide-open penetration routes and a resident school of bullseyes.
12. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Second Valley
74 km from Adelaide · Small caves and a right-angled swim-through in folded cliffs, with occasional seadragons, at one of the Fleurieu's most scenic coves.
Shore/Rock PlatformMax 9 mIntermediateOpen WaterShore accessMore in Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor →
13. Yorke Peninsula · SA
Port Victoria Jetty
113 km from Adelaide · A short, pretty jetty dive in a historic windjammer port, best on easterly days, and the base for the Wardang Island wreck trail.
14. Yorke Peninsula · SA
Point Turton Jetty
114 km from Adelaide · The lower Yorke Peninsula's go-to sheltered dive and a first-class night dive, with pyjama squid, slipper lobsters and nudibranchs under a long jetty.
15. Kangaroo Island · SA
Kingscote Jetty
119 km from Adelaide · Leafy seadragons, seahorses and giant cuttlefish under an easy town jetty – Kangaroo Island's reliable fall-back dive.
16. Adelaide Metro · SA
MV Andrew Wilson Wreck
18 km from Adelaide · A 1962 grab hopper dredger scuttled in September 2026 as Adelaide's newest wreck, with bridge, galley and engine room accessible.
17. Adelaide Metro · SA
Port Noarlunga Southern Reef
28 km from Adelaide · A quieter, beach-accessed section of Adelaide's most popular reef, away from the jetty crowds.
18. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Second Valley Jetty
74 km from Adelaide · A shallow, easy jetty and seagrass site with a good chance of leafy seadragons, ideal for snorkellers and new divers.
19. Yorke Peninsula · SA
Wool Bay Jetty
77 km from Adelaide · One of the most reliable leafy seadragon sites in South Australia, in water so shallow a single tank can last well over an hour.
20. Adelaide Metro · SA
Seacliff Reef
16 km from Adelaide · Adelaide's most highly rated natural reef: a curving ancient shoreline with gutters and ledges and 'thousands of fish'.
21. Adelaide Metro · SA
Norma Wreck
20 km from Adelaide · The dynamited remains of an 1893 Glasgow-built four-masted barque sunk in a collision in 1907, now a fish-rich heritage trail wreck with an interpretive plaque.
22. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Aldinga Pinnacles
41 km from Adelaide · Ten limestone pinnacles with swim-throughs and overhangs, dense relaxed fish and good visibility in a no-take zone.
23. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Aldinga Drop-off
41 km from Adelaide · A 10 m limestone cliff riddled with caverns and overhangs in a no-take sanctuary zone – one of the most spectacular dives near Adelaide.
24. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Whale Bones
71 km from Adelaide · A honeycomb of limestone caves and swim-throughs beneath a 2-3 m reef top, with harlequin fish and seadragons.
25. Fleurieu Peninsula & Victor Harbor · SA
Lasseter's Reef
73 km from Adelaide · A compact kelp-covered dome off Second Valley surrounded by seagrass where leafy seadragons are resident.
26. Yorke Peninsula · SA
SS Clan Ranald Wreck
93 km from Adelaide · The only turret ship lost in Australian waters, lying upside down in 18-21 m inside an aquatic reserve – a haunting and fish-rich wreck with 40 lives lost in 1909.
27. Adelaide Metro · SA
Glenelg Blocks
10 km from Adelaide · Wobbegongs almost guaranteed among historic concrete mooring blocks in 5 m, and one of the best night and muck dives near the city.
28. Adelaide Metro · SA
Glenelg Tyre Reef
15 km from Adelaide · An early South Australian artificial reef of tyre tetrahedrons at 18 m, with whiting, crabs and cuttlefish, next to the Dredge and Barge.
29. Adelaide Metro · SA
Horseshoe Reef
26 km from Adelaide · A shallow horseshoe-shaped reef off Christies Beach that is ideal for snorkelling and part of the summer Port Jackson shark aggregation area.
30. Adelaide Metro · SA
Christies Beach Ledges
27 km from Adelaide · Dozens of Port Jackson sharks resting in a few metres of water in early summer, reachable with a short walk from the car.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dive site near Adelaide?
The top of this list is the most regularly dived, well-documented site within weekend range of Adelaide. Scroll for shore dives you can do without a charter.
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