Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Cairns
Sites within roughly 120 km straight-line distance of central Cairns, ordered by how regularly they are dived and how well they are documented.
Cairns is the busiest dive hub in Australia. Within about 120 km (which on the reef means a 60–90 minute boat ride) are the outer-reef day-boat sites, the Port Douglas Agincourt reefs, Fitzroy and Green islands and the Mission Beach reefs.
June to November is the dry season and the best time.
Updated daily from the directory. 30 sites listed.
1. Cairns · QLD
Green Island
27 km from Cairns · The easiest reef diving from Cairns: guided beach dives on a national-park coral cay, with drift options to 21 m for certified divers.
2. Cairns · QLD
Upolu Cay
32 km from Cairns · The closest reef to Cairns: a sheltered sand-cay lagoon with soft corals, turtles and giant clams, ideal for beginners.
3. Cairns · QLD
Michaelmas Cay
41 km from Cairns · A seabird-sanctuary sand cay with shallow coral gardens and giant clams more than 60 years old – a classic introductory dive and snorkel.
4. Cairns · QLD
Blue Lagoon (Thetford Reef)
44 km from Cairns · A calm, shallow lagoon ringed by bommies, with giant clams and blacktip reef sharks – ideal for beginners and snorkellers.
5. Cairns · QLD
Cathedral (Thetford Reef)
44 km from Cairns · Cathedral-like gaps and swim-throughs between tall bommies on bright sand, with an outer gorgonian bommie to 30 m.
6. Cairns · QLD
City Hall (Moore Reef)
47 km from Cairns · A pinnacle with ten-plus swim-throughs and a resident population of 18 turtles, guided from the Sunlover pontoon.
7. Cairns · QLD
Marine World Wall (Moore Reef)
47 km from Cairns · A horseshoe wall that has regrown to around 80 per cent coral cover since Cyclone Yasi, with sharks and occasional mantas.
8. Cairns · QLD
Fish Bowl (Hastings Reef)
51 km from Cairns · An enclosed 5 m coral bowl packed with reef fish, giant clams, a friendly Maori wrasse and early-morning bumphead parrotfish.
9. Cairns · QLD
Petaj Mooring (Milln Reef)
55 km from Cairns · Resident turtles and whitetip sharks on a wall with a swim-through; a favourite liveaboard night dive.
10. Cairns · QLD
Swimming Pools (Milln Reef)
55 km from Cairns · Sheltered bommies on sand with big schools of diagonal-banded sweetlips and plenty of nudibranchs.
11. Cairns · QLD
Three Sisters (Milln Reef)
55 km from Cairns · Three towering bommies and the narrow Gorgonian Gorge between them – one of the best dives off Cairns.
12. Cairns · QLD
Whale Bommie (Milln Reef)
55 km from Cairns · An isolated pinnacle from 30 m to the surface with black coral, sleeping whitetips and one of the best night dives off Cairns.
13. Cairns · QLD
Twin Peaks (Saxon Reef)
56 km from Cairns · Two coral peaks with a narrow swim-through and a wedged tree trunk, pygmy seahorses on the seagrass edges and morays at the mooring.
14. Cairns · QLD
Coral Gardens (Flynn Reef)
56 km from Cairns · A 30 m wall with swim-throughs and overhangs beside a shallow garden of staghorn and plate corals; a favourite liveaboard night dive.
15. Cairns · QLD
Gordon's Mooring (Flynn Reef)
56 km from Cairns · A field of small bommies and swim-throughs with a shallow giant-clam garden and frequent turtles.
16. Cairns · QLD
Tracey's Bommie (Flynn Reef)
56 km from Cairns · A photogenic bommie on white sand with active cleaning stations, a resident Maori wrasse and one of the best night dives on Flynn.
17. Cairns · QLD
Caves (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · A sheltered bay with rays and cuttlefish between two deep walls with devilfish in the ledges.
18. Cairns · QLD
Clipper & Super Cat (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · Swim-throughs, a beginner-friendly canyon and a small glass-bottom boat wreck on one Norman mooring.
19. Cairns · QLD
Plate Top (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · A massive coral range off the main reef where fish crowd the northern corner at low tide.
20. Cairns · QLD
Playground (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · Divers Den's overnight liveaboard mooring – sandy valleys, Lionfish Bommie and Split Bommie with leafy scorpionfish; a superb night dive.
21. Cairns · QLD
Shark Mountain (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · A coral mountain range with resident grey reef sharks and a small fishing-boat wreck at 14 m.
22. Cairns · QLD
Troppos (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · A sheltered bay full of nudibranchs, pipefish and razorfish, with a wall to deeper water on its northern edge.
23. Cairns · QLD
Turtle Bay (Norman Reef)
59 km from Cairns · A shallow sandy bay where large green turtles feed around the coral margin.
24. Port Douglas · QLD
Bashful Bommie (Opal Reef)
79 km from Cairns · Double-sided bommie with a sea-fan wall on a deep channel, a sheltered clam garden, and a very friendly Maori wrasse.
25. Port Douglas · QLD
Castle Rock (Agincourt Reef 1)
95 km from Cairns · A 24 m exposed wall on one side and a sheltered coral garden on the other; one of the better Agincourt sites for sharks and big groper.
26. Port Douglas · QLD
Whaler Point (Agincourt Reef 1)
95 km from Cairns · Coral-rich southern point of Agincourt 1 with sharks, rays and barracuda passing along the edge; easy out-and-back layout.
27. Port Douglas · QLD
Barracuda Bommie (Agincourt Reef 2)
99 km from Cairns · Circling barracuda school over a coral pinnacle; excellent snorkelling on the shallow garden around it.
28. Port Douglas · QLD
Horseshoe Reef (Agincourt Reef 2)
99 km from Cairns · Drift along a wall covered in shimmering blue fusilier schools with trevally and mackerel hunting through them.
29. Port Douglas · QLD
Nursery Bommie (Agincourt Reef)
99 km from Cairns · Stunning 24 m pinnacle draped in fans and soft corals, circled by sharks, barracuda and schooling fish – regarded as one of the best dives out of Port Douglas.
30. Port Douglas · QLD
The Gardens (Agincourt Reef 2)
99 km from Cairns · Bright, shallow boulder-coral garden with excellent visibility; often done as an effortless drift.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dive site near Cairns?
The top of this list is the most regularly dived, well-documented site within weekend range of Cairns. Scroll for shore dives you can do without a charter.
More rankings
- The 25 Deepest Dive Sites in Australia
- Australia's Most Remote Dive Sites
- The Longest Boat Rides to a Day Dive
- The Warmest Dive Sites in Australia
- The Coldest Dive Sites in Australia
- Australia's Clearest-Water Dive Sites
- The Most Biodiverse Dive Sites in Australia
- The Oldest Shipwrecks You Can Dive in Australia
- All rankings →