Scuba diving in Cairns

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Diving in Cairns

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When to go to Cairns

The climate is tropical. Cairns offers very good diving conditions all year round, with the average air temperature around 30C/86F. The dry season is from May to September and the wet season runs from November to March. The water temperature at the local dive sites varies from 25-30C/77-86F. The current is generally gentle. The water visibility at the local dive sites is not great and ranges from 5-20m/16-66ft, but the best visibility (around 40m/139ft) is in June and from September to November.

 

What to see

Marine life is abundant here and is great for micro and macro photography. Reef sharks, cuttlefish, cod, hawkfish, fusiliers, clownfish, rays, pelagics, turtles, grouper, garden eels, reef fish, barracudas, trevallies, tuna, snappers, surgeonfish, wrasses, razorfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, hard and soft corals, gorgonians, sea fans, and much more can be found there.

Scuba diving in Cairns

Cairns is a regional city in the far north of Queensland, Australia and is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. Cairns International Airport is located here. Besides tourism, the city is supported by agricultural activities, including sugar cane, bananas, coffee, tea, and the world's first tropical fruit wine region. Cairns serves as a starting point for divers wanting to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Far North Queensland. It is a major international destination for scuba diving.

 

Most popular dive sites

There are so many wonderful and different dive sites: Flynn Reef, Milln Reef, Ribbon Reef, Osprey Reef, Thetford Reef, and Pellowe Reef. Milln Reef offers a number of exciting dive sites such as Whale Bommie, Petaj Mooring, Swimming Pools I, Swimming Pools II, and the Three Sisters. Well-known dive sites at Flynn Reef are Tracey’s Bommie, Gordon’s Mooring, Tennis Court, and the Coral Gardens. Cathedral and Blue Lagoon are the main dive sites in Thetford. Most of the dive sites are suitable for beginner divers and don’t go below 20m/66ft deep. Divers can explore swim-throughs, walls, rocks, pinnacles, cracks, overhangs, and a clean, sandy bottom.

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