Manta rays
Book a tourSwim with manta rays
📍 Bill’s BayHover above the reef as resident manta rays bank and barrel-roll below you — Coral Bay’s signature.
Wildlife encounters
Calm, sheltered waterThis is what Coral Bay is famous for. Unlike the seasonal whale sharks, Coral Bay’s reef manta rays are resident year-round, feeding and visiting cleaning stations on the Bateman Bay reef just north of town — which makes it one of the most reliable big-animal snorkels in Australia. Researchers have identified well over a thousand individuals from their unique belly markings.
A typical day is a boat eco-safari with a couple of reef snorkels while a spotter plane searches overhead; once it finds a manta, the boat repositions and small groups slip in to watch it glide and somersault beneath them. The encounter is gentle and safe — mantas are filter feeders with no barb or sting.
How it works
- Boat eco-safari (roughly 6–7½ hrs) with a spotter plane, gear and guides; sightings are very reliable year-round (weather permitting).
- Calmest seas are in the winter months (May–Sep); the mantas are here whatever the season.
Book a tour
- Ningaloo Marine InteractionsNingaloo Marine InteractionsYear-round manta swims with a spotter plane — guides who’ve worked Ningaloo for decades.Tour operator
- coralbayCoral Bay EcotoursThe daily Marine Eco Safari — manta swims plus turtle and coral-garden snorkels.Tour operator
Ningaloo Reef DiveNingaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel — manta daySnorkel or scuba the reef, then swim with mantas — the dive shop’s take on the classic day.Tour operator
Independent listings.
Part of
Swimming with manta raysMarine wildlifeMore to do at Bill’s Bay
- Bill’s Bay reef snorkelWade off the town beach and you’re over coral and fish within a few fin-kicks.
- Bill’s Bay swimA calm, shallow town lagoon — safe and easy for a family dip.
- Coral Bay kayak trailPaddle to numbered moorings on the reef, then drop in and snorkel.
- Bill’s Bay SUPGlassy, protected lagoon water for an easy stand-up paddle.
- Whale shark swimSnorkel alongside the world’s biggest fish on the outer reef — from a quieter base than Exmouth.
- Swim with humpback whalesOne of the only places in WA you can legally swim with humpback whales — and Coral Bay opens first.
- Glass-bottom boat tourSee the coral gardens and turtles without getting wet — a Coral Bay staple since 1973.
- Outer-reef snorkel cruiseA relaxed boat snorkel over coral the boats reach that you can’t from shore.
- Scuba divingDive grey-reef-shark cleaning stations and coral bommies off the southern reef.
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