Explore Adelaide

The capital city of South Australia, Adelaide, is known for being one of the nicest places to live in the world. The festival atmosphere mean that many flock here during the summer months for the festivities - as well as the miles of untouched, white beaches. But what few holiday makers, and locals, know is that beneath the ocean waves is some excellent diving.

There are lots of dive centres in Adelaide, both in the city centre and out towards the coast in places like Glenelg and Rapid Bay. These offer most dive courses, up to divemaster and instructor and specialist centres offer technical diving courses too. There are no dive resorts or liveaboards operating here, as all dive sites are close to shore.

Jetty dives are popular here, with many interesting critters to find lurking in the seaweed, including the rare and beautiful leafy sea dragon. There are also lots of shipwrecks that have met their demises on this stretch of rocky coastline, and which now provide excellent diving opportunities. These include the HMAS Hobart off the coast of Rapid Bay.

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Diving in Adelaide

Jetty diving is one of the most popular in Adelaide. It is the most easily accessible for many people and makes for great muck diving amongst the seaweed and artificial structures.

There are also numerous reefs in the area which host many species of animals, fish and plant life. Noarlunga is  popular with training dives due to its shallow and protected conditions. Glenelg also has an artificial reef constructed of old tires.

Wreck diving is ever popular here, with so many options, it is unsurprising. There are several shipwreck trails that you can do here. This entails a trail of shipwrecks dotted along the coast defined with underwater markers with information on each ship, making this is a fun and historical option.

Dive Centers

Dive Sites

The best Months to dive in Adelaide

Due to its Mediterranean-type climate, diving in Adelaide is a great option all year round. It must be said that the winter time has less tourists and therefore less divers but most sites are still accessible. The water in mid-winter (August) will be around 13oC so a thick wetsuit or semi-dry suit will be required. Occasionally strong southerly winds can cause swell which will prevent dive trips, but storms are short-lived.

The summer time is a beautiful time to dive Adelaide. Though it’s the busiest season, especially around holidays like Christmas, New Year and Easter, most dive sites here remain quiet. The air temperatures in mid-summer (December - February) are regularly in the low 30s and rise above 40oC for around 5 days each year. The water temperature at this time is 21oC, which still necessitates a wetsuit but it is more comfortable.

Top Wildlife Sightings in Adelaide

The cool waters of Adelaide mean that the reefs are healthy and host a large number of species among the corals, sponges and sea weed. Several sites are famous for their large number of diverse nudibranch, perfect for photographers. There are also abundant crustaceans, such as the huge spider crabs that can be seen off Glenelg Beach. One of the most famous species which can be seen here is the leafy sea dragon. Well camouflaged against the seaweed, these beautiful creatures are a bucket list sight.

Large schools of fish like leather jackets, whiting, strongies, bullseyes, silver dimmer and old wives are common. Blue devils, pipefish, blue ringed octopus and cuttlefish are frequent visitors to most locations. Larger species also visit - bull rays swoop overhead and Port Jackson and wobbegong sharks stalk the reefs. Larger species like great whites, dolphins and even southern right whales have been sighted, though you would have to be lucky! You might even hear a whale song during the right season.

Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 7000

Crab

Crab

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The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species approx.: 3500

Soft Corals

Soft Corals

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