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. Perth · WA
ALC40 & Gay Dragon Wrecks (Bicton)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · A WWII landing craft and a sunken junk-style pleasure boat that together are the Swan River's most reliable seahorse site.
2. Perth · WA
Bicton Baths (Swan River)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · Perth's classic river macro and night dive, with seahorses on the pylons and weed at the Point Roe narrows.
3. Perth · WA
Blackwall Reach (Swan River)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · A river dive in Perth's suburbs with cliffs, caves and unexpected marine life.
4. Perth · WA
The Coombe Shallow Wrecks (Swan River)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · A cluster of small timber boat wrecks within easy reach of a grassy kit-up area on the Swan River.
5. Perth · WA
Rocky Bay (Swan River)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · A steep river drop-off close to Fremantle with seahorses and toadfish, useful when the coast is closed.
6. Perth · WA
The Coombe Deep Wrecks (Swan River)
Winter water: 13–17 °C · A deep, very dark river dive to two unidentified wrecks in 19–22 m, a genuine test of low-visibility skills.
7. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Greens Pool & Elephant Rocks (William Bay)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · A turquoise granite-sheltered pool with easy, shallow snorkelling – one of WA's best-known beaches.
8. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Breaksea Island
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Granite boulders, gutters and caves with gorgonians and plate corals, seals at the NE haul-out, and a sheltered site for most wind directions.
9. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Cheynes III Wreck
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Reputedly the first purpose-sunk dive wreck in the southern hemisphere – a 1943 whale chaser from Australia's last whaling station, now a fish-packed artificial reef.
10. Albany & Great Southern · WA
HMAS Perth Wreck
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Albany's 133 m guided-missile destroyer in cold, clear water, scuttled in 2001.
11. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Little Boat Harbour Dive Trail (Bremer Bay)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · WA's premier leafy seadragon shore dive, with weedy seadragons, cuttlefish and nudibranchs in under 10 m.
12. Albany & Great Southern · WA
The Cables (Breaksea Island)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Tall granite bommies with large fans and plate corals under Breaksea lighthouse, with resident big blue groper.
13. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Ahwina Tug Wreck (Gull Rock)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · A 1936 tug boiler breaking the surface 50 m off a sheltered beach – Albany's easiest wreck snorkel.
14. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Blue's Canyon (Breaksea Island)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · A 300 m granite canyon only 5-6 m wide, lined with sponges and crayfish, with resident wobbegongs and huge blue groper.
15. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Frenchman Bay & Whaling Cove
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Clear, sheltered granite coves beside Australia's last whaling station, with buried whaling-era wrecks.
16. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Little Beach & Waterfall Beach (Two Peoples Bay)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Tropical-looking clear water over white sand and granite boulders at one of WA's most beautiful beaches.
17. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Michaelmas Island Eastern End & Fingers
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Big gorgonian fans and black coral on a granite wall, granite fingers to 30 m, and the surge-driven 'Grinding Rock' caves.
18. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Michaelmas Reef
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Broad, shallow limestone reef with kelp tops and sponge-lined ledges – a macro photographer's site in the middle of the sound.
19. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Middleton Beach & Ellen Cove
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Sheltered town beach with a heritage jetty, pontoon, shark barrier and full facilities.
20. Albany & Great Southern · WA
North Michaelmas Island
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Sheltered granite walls and small caves with gorgonians and plate corals, diveable in most winds, next door to the Cheynes III wreck.
21. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Seal Island (King George Sound)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Sheltered granite reef beside the HMAS Perth with pineapple fish and blue devils – one of Albany's best night dives.
22. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Athena Wreck (Ledge Point)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Surprisingly substantial timber remains of an 1869 barque and coal hulk, including stem, breast hook and windlass.
23. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Kingfisher Wreck (Princess Royal Harbour)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · One of WA's oldest iron wrecks, an 1854 barque partly exposed at low water in Princess Royal Harbour.
24. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Lady Lyttleton Wreck (Emu Point Channel)
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Buried hull, windlass and whaling trypots of an 1867 barque, 15 m off Emu Point.
25. Albany & Great Southern · WA
Mistaken Island
Winter water: 14-16 °C · Sheltered granite reef beside a little penguin colony, 10 minutes from Albany's town ramp.
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 →