Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Perth
Sites within roughly 110 km straight-line distance of central Perth, ordered by how regularly they are dived and how well they are documented.
Perth's metropolitan limestone reefs, the Rockingham and Coogee wreck trails, the Swan River, and Rottnest Island are all within about 110 km. Autumn mornings before the sea breeze are the time.
Everything here is temperate with a tropical accent from the Leeuwin Current.
Updated daily from the directory. 30 sites listed.
1. Perth · WA
Mettams Pool
14 km from Perth · A sheltered, accessible lagoon for families and an outer reef with swim-throughs, ledges, an arch and colourful sea fans.
2. Perth · WA
MAAC Dive and Snorkel Trail
16 km from Perth · A 400 m interpretive underwater trail with about 20 plinths, weedy seadragons and a wheelchair-accessible entry.
3. Perth · WA
Boyinaboat Reef
19 km from Perth · A compact sanctuary-zone reef with passages, ledges and an underwater plaque trail, 100 m off the Hillarys Boat Harbour wall.
4. Perth · WA
Omeo Wreck & Coogee Maritime Trail
20 km from Perth · A 1858 iron steamer lying 25 m off the beach in 3 m of water, with a 200 m trail of reef modules and sculptures running seaward from it: one of the best-developed underwater trails in WA.
5. Perth · WA
Ammo Jetty
22 km from Perth · Perth's classic easy shore and night dive: century-old pylons encrusted with sponges and corals that hold excellent macro life, in a sheltered bay that is diveable when most other sites are not.
6. Rottnest Island · WA
SS Macedon Wreck
29 km from Perth · The most intact iron wreck at Rottnest: a 63 m 1883 steamer upright on the reef with ribs, gunwales and boiler in 3-7 m, beside the Denton Holme.
7. Rottnest Island · WA
Denton Holme Wreck
29 km from Perth · The standing bow of an 1890 iron barque rising almost to the surface, a spread of cargo and plates, and a shallow cave system on the reef beside it.
8. Rottnest Island · WA
Uribes Wreck
29 km from Perth · A 1942 schooner filled with sand in 2.5-4 m just metres from the beach - Rottnest's easiest wreck snorkel.
9. Rottnest Island · WA
Rottnest Wreck Trail
31 km from Perth · Thirteen historic wrecks linked by plaques and plinths, with two easy snorkel wrecks and a land trail from the museum to Bathurst Lighthouse.
10. Rottnest Island · WA
Roe Reef
31 km from Perth · Limestone arches, caverns and maze-like swim-throughs at 10-15 m, a short run from Thomson Bay and sheltered from the south-west swell.
11. Rottnest Island · WA
Shark Hopper Barge (Henrietta Rocks)
31 km from Perth · A 1939 hopper barge sitting partly out of the water a few strokes from the beach - an easy and photogenic wreck snorkel.
12. Perth · WA
Kwinana Grain Terminal Jetty
31 km from Perth · An 800 m working jetty whose pylons are densely encrusted and full of macro life, with deeper, fish-filled structure at the T-head.
13. Rottnest Island · WA
Parker Point Snorkel Trail
32 km from Perth · Snorkel trail with seabed plaques over the southernmost pocillopora coral reef, in a sanctuary zone 5 km from the ferry.
14. Perth · WA
Rockingham Wreck Trail
38 km from Perth · Perth's most-dived shore site: two light aircraft, small scuttled boats and steel structures joined by rope lines in 10–17 m, sheltered in almost all weather.
15. Perth · WA
Peters Pool (North Cottesloe)
11 km from Perth · A reef-ringed sandy lagoon straight off North Cottesloe Beach, one of Perth's most popular and easiest snorkels.
16. Rottnest Island · WA
The Basin
30 km from Perth · A reef-ringed natural pool of clear, shallow water 20 minutes' walk from the ferry - Rottnest's easiest snorkel.
17. Rottnest Island · WA
Pinky Beach
30 km from Perth · A wide, sheltered beach with an undulating coral reef beside the Bathurst Lighthouse, ten minutes from the ferry.
18. Rottnest Island · WA
Fay's Bay
32 km from Perth · A quiet bay with seagrass and shallow limestone caves and channels, 2 km from the settlement.
19. Rottnest Island · WA
Little Salmon Bay
32 km from Perth · A sheltered south-coast lagoon with coral bommies in a few metres of water and a snorkel trail, diveable in most winds.
20. Rottnest Island · WA
Geordie Bay
33 km from Perth · Deeper north-coast snorkelling with limestone caves, octopus and stingrays beside the Geordie Bay settlement.
21. Rottnest Island · WA
Little Parakeet Bay
33 km from Perth · A tiny, calm, shallow bay with coral gardens, starfish and stingrays - ideal for young children.
22. Rottnest Island · WA
Salmon Bay
34 km from Perth · A broad south-coast bay with shallow coral ledges and schools of bream, excellent in easterly winds.
23. Rottnest Island · WA
Little Armstrong Bay
34 km from Perth · Calm, shallow seagrass maze in the Armstrong Bay Sanctuary Zone - an easy north-coast snorkel.
24. Perth · WA
ALC40 & Gay Dragon Wrecks (Bicton)
12 km from Perth · A WWII landing craft and a sunken junk-style pleasure boat that together are the Swan River's most reliable seahorse site.
25. Perth · WA
North Mole & North Mole Barge
17 km from Perth · An upright, partly penetrable hopper barge in 8 m, reached by a pole trail from the North Mole, and the main sheltered shore wreck north of the Swan River.
26. Perth · WA
Robb Jetty
18 km from Perth · A quiet line of historic jetty pylons in 5–8 m off the CY O'Connor statue, with good macro life, seagrass edges and better average visibility than Ammo Jetty.
27. Rottnest Island · WA
Janet Wreck
29 km from Perth · Admiralty anchors, davit and boiler of Fremantle's largest vessel of 1887, plus a small reef cave, a short swim from the Macedon.
28. Perth · WA
Bulk Jetty (Kwinana)
30 km from Perth · A sheltered industrial jetty with gently sloping pylons, heavy encrustation and some very large sea stars; a dependable bad-weather shore dive.
29. Rottnest Island · WA
Lady Elizabeth Wreck
30 km from Perth · Substantial remains of an 1878 composite barque on clean sand in calm, clear water behind Dyer Island, with caves nearby.
30. Rottnest Island · WA
Crystal Palace
31 km from Perth · Rottnest's signature cavern reef: hundreds of metres of limestone chambers and swim-throughs lit by light shafts and full of schooling fish.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dive site near Perth?
The top of this list is the most regularly dived, well-documented site within weekend range of Perth. Scroll for shore dives you can do without a charter.
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