Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Sydney
Sites within roughly 110 km straight-line distance of central Sydney, ordered by how regularly they are dived and how well they are documented.
Sydney has more dive sites within a two-hour drive than any other capital in the world, and most of them are shore dives. This list ranks the sites within about 110 km of the CBD by how regularly they are dived and how well they are documented, from the Harbour and Botany Bay to the Central Coast and Wollongong.
Winter westerlies (June–September) give the flattest seas and clearest water; in summer dive early before the nor'easter.
Updated daily from the directory. 30 sites listed.
1. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Chowder Bay / Clifton Gardens
5 km from Sydney · Seahorses, anglerfish and decorator crabs on every pile and net – Sydney's definitive muck and night dive, with a car park that is free after 8 pm.
2. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Balmoral Baths
6 km from Sydney · Dozens of White's seahorses on the net of a Middle Harbour swimming enclosure in under 5 m – Sydney's easiest and most famous seahorse night dive.
3. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Camp Cove
7 km from Sydney · Seahorses in the kelp, squid hunting under torchlight and 1788 history on a sheltered beach inside South Head – the eastern suburbs' classic night dive.
4. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Gordons Bay
7 km from Sydney · Australia's first underwater nature trail – a 620 m chain loop around a sheltered bay that makes a foolproof training or night dive.
5. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Clovelly Pool / Clovelly Bay
7 km from Sydney · Sydney's classic training and night-dive inlet with tame blue gropers and dense fish schools in 10–15 m visibility.
6. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
Old Man's Hat (North Head)
9 km from Sydney · Sydney's finest sea-fan and sponge gardens with swim-throughs and canyons under North Head's hat-shaped rock, diveable when everything else is blown out.
7. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Fairlight
10 km from Sydney · A sheltered harbour wall with two small boat wrecks, soft corals and winter PJ sharks – Manly's all-weather training and night-dive site.
8. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Manly Cove (Oceanworld nets)
10 km from Sydney · White's seahorses on the swimming-net mesh two metres deep, 200 m from the Manly ferry – the easiest seahorse dive in Australia.
9. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
Bluefish Point
11 km from Sydney · A sponge-covered vertical wall from 5 to 22 m with cuttlefish, sea dragons, kingfish and seasonal grey nurse sharks, 15 minutes from Manly.
10. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
Fairy Bower
11 km from Sydney · The dusky whaler side of Cabbage Tree Bay – a quiet, shallow wall-and-kelp reef along the Manly promenade that comes alive at night.
11. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Magic Point
11 km from Sydney · Grey nurse sharks 20 minutes from the Sydney CBD, resting in a shallow overhang at Maroubra.
12. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
Shelly Beach / Cabbage Tree Bay (Manly)
11 km from Sydney · The classic Sydney shore dive. A no-take aquatic reserve with blue gropers, dusky whalers in summer and easy entry.
13. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Bare Island – Left (Eastern Side)
14 km from Sydney · The easiest Bare Island route – a 6–12 m reef edge with a canyon and cave, seadragons and pygmy pipehorses, ideal for training and night dives.
14. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Bare Island
14 km from Sydney · Botany Bay's most-dived site: red Indianfish, pygmy pipehorses and sea dragons on the western side.
15. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
The Monument / Sutherland Point (Kurnell)
15 km from Sydney · Sydney's most southerly-proof shore dive – a 3 m wall of sponge gardens and overhangs with breeding seadragons, dived as a gentle drift on the flood.
16. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
The Steps (Kurnell)
15 km from Sydney · Sydney's definitive weedy seadragon dive – a sand edge at 10–15 m below superb boulder sponge gardens, opposite Bare Island.
17. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
The Leap (Kurnell)
15 km from Sydney · Leap off the rocks, drop to a 22 m wall and drift the flood tide west over sponge gardens and seadragons to The Steps – Sydney's classic committing shore dive.
Shore/Rock PlatformMax 22 mAdvancedAdvanced Open WaterShore accessMore in Sydney South & Botany Bay →
18. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Oak Park (Cronulla)
23 km from Sydney · Sydney's classic training and night dive: an arcing wall of low caverns, the Meditation Cave, sea dragons and famously friendly blue gropers.
19. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Shiprock (Port Hacking)
23 km from Sydney · Sydney's iconic high-tide estuary dive: a wall dropping to 15 m with bommies, a bubble cave, prolific protected fish and superb macro.
20. Central Coast · NSW
Terrigal Haven
52 km from Sydney · The Central Coast's most accessible and heavily used dive site — a sheltered bay doubling as training ground and boat-charter departure point.
21. Wollongong & Kiama · NSW
Bass Point Gravel Loader
85 km from Sydney · Shallow, sheltered jetty dive with a resident group of grey nurse sharks and outstanding night diving.
22. Wollongong & Kiama · NSW
Bushrangers Bay
86 km from Sydney · Protected amphitheatre bay with sea dragons, pygmy pipehorses, cuttlefish and seasonal grey nurse sharks – a no-take aquatic reserve.
23. Wollongong & Kiama · NSW
The Gutter (Bass Point)
86 km from Sydney · Sheltered gutter and canyon system with sea dragons and sponge gullies – diveable even in a southerly gale.
24. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
North Head Sponge Gardens
10 km from Sydney · Continuous sponge and soft-coral mosaic on a sheltered boulder slope, reliably diveable and reliably colourful – Manly's standard second dive.
25. Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
The Waterfall (North Head)
10 km from Sydney · A sheltered 45-degree boulder slope beneath a cliff spring, coated in sponges and sea fans – the easiest of the North Head sponge dives.
26. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
North Bondi (Ben Buckler Point)
7 km from Sydney · Reliable weedy seadragons on the sand edge and a protected boat-ramp exit, under Sydney's most famous headland.
Shore/Rock PlatformMax 21 mBeginnerAdvanced Open WaterShore accessMore in Sydney South & Botany Bay →
27. Sydney Harbour · NSW
Green Point (Camp Cove)
7 km from Sydney · Overhangs, small caves and a boulder field to 15–19 m off the Camp Cove headland – the deepest shore dive inside the harbour's eastern shore.
28. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Bondi Wall / North Bondi Reef
8 km from Sydney · A long, sponge-covered north–south wall from 21 to 27 m off the North Bondi headland; excellent nudibranch macro.
29. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
The Gap (South Head)
8 km from Sydney · Room-sized boulders, caves and swim-throughs directly under The Gap cliffs, with schooling kingfish and a sheltered aspect in southerly swell.
30. Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
Shark Point (Clovelly)
8 km from Sydney · Boulder field, walls and a 26 m reef edge dense with sponge life, blue devils and seadragons – the best shore dive in the Bronte–Coogee reserve.
Shore/Rock PlatformMax 26 mAdvancedAdvanced Open WaterShore accessMore in Sydney South & Botany Bay →
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dive site near Sydney?
The top of this list is the most regularly dived, well-documented site within weekend range of Sydney. Scroll for shore dives you can do without a charter.
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