Ranked by recorded winter water temperature: Tasmania, Victoria, the South Australian sinkholes and the Southern Ocean coast, where 11–13 °C is the winter norm and drysuits are standard equipment.
Updated daily from the directory. 25 sites listed.
1. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Emily Bay
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Calm, sheltered lagoon snorkel over coral outcrops with Norfolk's endemic fish, in a World Heritage convict setting.
2. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Slaughter Bay
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Sheltered sand-and-coral lagoon snorkel beside Kingston, with night snorkelling possible and the Sirius wreck site beyond the reef.
3. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Anson Bay
Winter water: 18-19 °C · A spectacular cliff-framed beach with a shallow coral wall – but with dangerous undercurrents.
4. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Black Bank
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Colourful boulder reef riddled with caves, arches and swim-throughs.
5. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Cascade Pier
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Easy shore dive over sand, rock outcrops and coral heads with visibility often over 40 m, sheltered in south-easterlies.
6. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Claytons Wreck (Nepean Island)
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Rugged, coral-covered reef at the exposed southern tip of Nepean Island – good for photography.
7. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Cooks Arch
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Swim through an arch in a 12 m-high rock that drops to 21 m, with caves and crevices nearby.
8. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Crystal Pool
Winter water: 18-19 °C · A small, crystal-clear rock pool at Point Ross – one of Norfolk's favourite shallow dives when the swell is down.
9. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Fireplace
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Distinctive rock formations with coral on the eastern side of Duncombe Bay.
10. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Fish Bowl (Nepean Island)
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Pretty cave-riddled reef with eight Galapagos sharks and close to 40 m visibility on Nigel Marsh's dive.
11. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Johnnystone Rock
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Pinnacle from 2 m to 30 m with caverns, swim-throughs and enveloping coral.
12. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Kingston Pier
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Historic convict-built pier – departure point for boat dives and a shallow reef-and-wall shore dive.
13. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Little Organ
Winter water: 18-19 °C · A huge arch and swim-through cave with a drummer school at the entrance and resident boarfish.
14. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Longnose Reef
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Coral-rich wall to 30 m with a shallow inshore reef for the second half of the dive.
15. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Policemans Helmet
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Easy wall dive with overhangs beneath a helmet-shaped rock.
16. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Reids Folly (Nepean Island)
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Rock pinnacle with a large coral-covered swim-through arch.
17. Norfolk Island · External Territory
South Rock (Phillip Island)
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Current-swept pinnacle to 40 m off Phillip Island, with black coral and abundant fish.
18. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Steels Point
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Three surfacing rock pinnacles with lots of coral – scenic but surge-prone.
19. Norfolk Island · External Territory
The Crack (Nepean Island)
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Drift along a bay of gutters and caves over a carpet of hard coral, with goldribbon cod, black cod and green turtles.
20. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Turtle Arch
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Turtle-shaped pinnacle near Cooks Arch covered in coral and marine growth, to 21 m.
21. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Duncombe Bay
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Quiet cliff-ringed bay with a sandy slope, a coral wall, boulders and swim-through arches.
22. Norfolk Island · External Territory
HMS Sirius wreck site
Winter water: 18-19 °C · The remains of the First Fleet flagship, lost off Slaughter Bay in 1790 – Australia's most significant colonial shipwreck.
23. Norfolk Island · External Territory
Pel-Air Westwind wreck
Winter water: 18-19 °C · Largely intact Westwind medevac jet at 48 m from the 2009 night ditching in which all six aboard survived.
24. Coral Sea · External Territory
Cod Wall (Flinders Reef)
Winter water: 23-25 °C · Flinders Reef's potato cod wall, far from the day-boat crowds.
25. Coral Sea · External Territory
Anemone City (Flinders Reef)
Winter water: 23-25 °C · Five lagoon pinnacles carpeted in purple anemones and clownfish.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the coldest diving in Australia?
Tasmania's east coast and Port Phillip Bay drop to 11–13 °C in August; the Mount Gambier sinkholes are a constant 14–16 °C. A drysuit is the norm from May to November.
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
- Australia's Clearest-Water Dive Sites
- The Most Biodiverse Dive Sites in Australia
- The Oldest Shipwrecks You Can Dive in Australia
- WWII and Wartime Wrecks You Can Dive in Australia
- All rankings →