In the water

Scuba diving

Dive the legendary Navy Pier — among the world's best shore dives — plus the soft-coral gardens and swim-throughs of the Muiron Islands and Lighthouse Bay.

Ningaloo is one of the world’s great fringing reefs (almost 300 km long, with 500+ fish species and hundreds of corals), and Exmouth is the natural base for diving it. The diving ranges from a world-famous structure dive to colourful island reefs and limestone labyrinths — mostly boat-based, with a couple of standout shore-accessible sites.

The signature dive is the Exmouth Navy Pier, regularly voted one of the top shore dives anywhere. The appeal isn’t open-reef scenery but the extraordinary life packed onto the pylons — frogfish, nudibranchs, wobbegongs, schooling snapper, reef sharks, rays and sea snakes. The Muiron Islands, ~10 nm offshore, are famous for soft corals and swim-through caves, while Lighthouse Bay offers accessible sites like The Labyrinth, a turtle cleaning station.

Across the season divers may also meet Ningaloo’s headliners — whale sharks, manta rays, humpbacks and turtles.

When to go

Year-round; most settled and clearest autumn–spring (~March–October). Water ~19–24°C winter, ~25–29°C summer. The Navy Pier is dived only at slack tide, so timing shifts daily.

See the full when-to-visit calendar →

Where

How it works

  • Mostly boat-based (Muiron Islands, Lighthouse Bay, outer reef); the Navy Pier is a shore-entry structure dive booked through the sole licensed operator.
  • Certification required (PADI Open Water and up); some operators run shallow intro "Try Scuba" dives and courses.
  • Broadly all-levels — sites are mostly shallow (8–20 m) with gentle currents, though the Navy Pier’s strong tides reward good buoyancy.

Book a tour

Independent listings.

More info

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