Explore Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula has some of the best beaches across Southern Australia. Located on the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, avid divers come to the area to dive over sixty incredible wrecks, extraordinary vertical wall dives, and shallow sites with an abundance of marco life. With such a range of sites, from calm to those with ripping currents, Mornington Peninsula diving is accessible for divers of all levels whether you’re planning your first dive or are a seasoned veteran.

Scuba diving in Mornington Peninsula is possible from a number of dive centres in the area with dive resorts less common. If you want to venture further into VIC diving, hop on visiting liveaboards to explore Australia’s southern coast.

Courses and Events

Scuba Skills Update

It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI Scuba Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time. This scuba refresher course allows you to review and practice scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional. This is a great course to take just before a dive holiday, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life. If you are a non-certified Open Water Diver student, a Scuba Skills Update is ideal for practicing your dive skills before your open water training dives. With no fixed course duration, you can take your time and focus on the skills you need help with.

11 February
EUR 118.89
AUD 200.00

Night & Limited Visibility Explorer

Night diving requires different skills from diving during the day. The SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty is the best way to learn about night diving and practice the techniques you will need to become a safe and confident night diver. In this program, you will be provided with all the knowledge and skills you need to safely and comfortably dive at night or in limited visibility conditions. With a combination of online learning and open water training dives, you will learn how to enter and exit the water, use specialized equipment, and how to communicate with your buddy easily at night or in limited visibility. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty certification and be ready to go night diving with confidence. Discover a hidden world Here are the benefits you can expect from attending this training program: Discover creatures that are only seen at night Learn about specialized equipment like lights and reels Learn to plan and safely complete your night or limited visibility dive adventures Facts and Training Standards Minimum Age - 10 Amount of Academic Sessions - 5 Amount of Open Water Sessions - 2 Maximum Training Depth - 30 m / 100 ft Suggested duration (h) - 5-10 Certification Prerequisites - Open Water Diver certification More Information Training Prerequisites SSI Entry-Level Programs – Open Water Diver, Freediver, or Mermaid require students to complete a water fitness evaluation prior to open water training. The goal of this evaluation is to determine a comfort level baseline consisting of: Swim Assessment Survival Float Technical Requirements To start training, students must create a MySSI profile. This can either be done via the SSI website at www.divessi.com/register or by installing the MySSI App. Simply download the app for either iOS or Android, set up the user profile, and access the world of diving in minutes! The MySSI App safely stores everything in one place, online or offline – training materials, logbook, and certification cards. This includes Recreational Scuba, Extended Range, Freediving and Mermaid. Medical & Administrative Requirements Each student or candidate must complete the required SSI Training Record Forms prior to participating in any SSI training program. The forms for minors must be reviewed and signed by a parent or guardian. Responsible Diver Code SSI Responsible Diver Code - Scuba Diving SSI Responsible Diver Code - Freediving SSI Responsible Diver Code - Extended Range Diving Diver Medical Statement & Questionnaire or Physician’s Approval to Dive (where required) Training Assumption of Risk, Liability Release, & Liability Release, & Hold Harmless Agreement (where required / not applicable within the European Union) Program-specific Completion Record (done by the Instructor prior to certification)

28 February
EUR 255.02
AUD 429.00

Night Diving & Limited Visibility

Night diving requires different skills from diving during the day. The SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty is the best way to learn about night diving and practice the techniques you will need to become a safe and confident night diver. In this program, you will be provided with all the knowledge and skills you need to safely and comfortably dive at night or in limited visibility conditions. With a combination of online learning and open water training dives, you will learn how to enter and exit the water, use specialized equipment, and how to communicate with your buddy easily at night or in limited visibility. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty certification and be ready to go night diving with confidence.

28 February
EUR 255.02
AUD 429.00

Dive Activity

Diving in Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula has over sixty nineteenth-century shipwrecks and four submarines sunken during World War I. While many of these wrecks such as the SS Coogee are reserved for experienced divers, beginner divers are invited to explore the marine life under Mornington’s many piers. In Flinders, Mornington, Dromana and Portsea Pier visitors can discover scuba diving for the first time and take part in a variety of dive courses. Even if you are not ready to fully submerge underwater, the 200-metre long Octopus Garden trail has fun underwater signs for snorkelers. At the Portsea Hole and Port Phillip Heads, there are impressive vertical wall dives with thriving underwater communities and strong currents.

Top Wildlife Sightings in Mornington Penisula

While scuba diving in Mornington Peninsula you are likely to spot lots of crayfish among interesting rock formations carpeted-thick with soft coral and kelp. It is not unusual to see bottlenose dolphin while at deep sites and sharks can often be seen swimming alongside you at vertical wall dives. Weedy sea dragons are common in shallow sites along with nudibranch, flounder, gurnards while angel sharks are seen resting on rocks or sandy flats. Port Jackson shark are known to the area and you may even witness seahorse, bobtail squid and the Moreton bay bug.

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: 300

Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl

Octopus
295 Sightings
J
33
F
47
M
50
A
37
M
24
J
4
J
4
A
7
S
11
O
24
N
20
D
34

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

Total number of species: 600

iStock/ultramarinfoto

Wrasse
56 Sightings
J
2
F
17
M
10
A
10
M
3
J
6
J
0
A
1
S
7
O
0
N
0
D
0

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

Total number of species: 80

iStock/Extreme-Photographer

Stingrays
879 Sightings
J
154
F
133
M
116
A
88
M
42
J
25
J
18
A
20
S
43
O
69
N
74
D
97
iStock-Rob Peatling

Weedy Seadragon
401 Sightings
J
71
F
28
M
35
A
24
M
21
J
13
J
18
A
20
S
15
O
36
N
47
D
73
Alamy-WaterFrame

Common Seahorse
360 Sightings
J
49
F
57
M
67
A
60
M
29
J
16
J
14
A
11
S
8
O
12
N
14
D
23

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

Total number of species: 130

AdobeStock-JirinaVFR

Pufferfish
334 Sightings
J
59
F
40
M
66
A
52
M
11
J
2
J
6
A
9
S
27
O
21
N
19
D
22

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

Total number of species: 7000

iStock-Michael Zeigler

Crab
288 Sightings
J
48
F
35
M
40
A
50
M
25
J
15
J
8
A
5
S
23
O
17
N
10
D
12

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

Total number of species: 3000

SSI-Peter-Schinck

Nudibranch
208 Sightings
J
40
F
32
M
27
A
13
M
14
J
4
J
5
A
9
S
12
O
26
N
22
D
4

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

Total number of species: 120

SSI-Peter-Schinck

Cuttlefish
60 Sightings
J
5
F
18
M
19
A
4
M
0
J
1
J
0
A
2
S
3
O
2
N
3
D
3

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

Total number of species: 90

Shutterstock-Levent Konuk

Goatfish
46 Sightings
J
0
F
15
M
12
A
4
M
0
J
3
J
1
A
9
S
2
O
0
N
0
D
0

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

Total number of species: 9

AdobeStock-Dmitry Kokh

Fur Seal
45 Sightings
J
20
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
13
O
2
N
0
D
10

The best Months to dive in Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula diving is best during the summer season from November through to April. Outside of these times, the weather can cause choppy seas and swells that make it unsuitable for diving. To view pods of dolphins, head to the peninsula from October through to April, where you may even be lucky enough to see them on your dive!

Dive Centers

SCUBABO, Dive Victoria

37 Learmonth Street, 3225 QUEENSCLIFF, VIC - AUS

The Scuba Dive Shop aka The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop, The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop

49 PENINSULA AVENUE, 3941 RYE, VIC - AUS

Dive Sites

AQUATIC ADVENTURES, 3178 ROWVILLE

Blairgowrie Pier (★3.8)

Blairgowrie Pier is located in Camerons Bight on the southern shore of Port Philip between Sorrento and Rye, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. There is so much to see in this constantly changing, colorful environment across all of the different habitat types.
ADRENO MELBOURNE, 3192 CHELTENHAM

Popes Eye (★4.2)

Pope’s Eye is a sandy shoal with a partially completed bluestone fortification called the Annulus. It was to be the foundation of an island fort in the 1880’s to protect the bay.
Mares

Flinders Pier (★3.7)

Flinders Pier is the perfect alternative when Port Phillip is blown out due to northerly winds. This site is protected from these winds and is best dived during high tide. There is very little depth at low tide.
Scubapro

Rye Pier (★3.9)

Rye Pier is an L-shaped pier approximately 500 meters long. It was built in 1860 to service the lime trade. The pier points North-Northeast so it is not diveable in strong northerly winds. A long walk to the lower landing located 50 meters from the end of the pier. Much better dive at night as more things come out then.
Mares

Portsea Hole (★4.0)

Portsea Hole is about 500m from the Portsea Pier and is a remnant of the old Yarra River. The top of the hole is at 14m and to the north there is a vertical wall approximately 75m(250ft) long which drops to sand at 27m (90ft), then into a sand bowl which bottoms at 33m(110ft).
Scubapro

The Plateau (★4.3)

This is a dive in the middle of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park. The plateau is a huge rocky platform in around the 16-meter range winding its way around the edge of the platform. This is the deepest water in Victoria, originally part of the river Yarra.
Mares

Eliza Ramsden, wreck (★4.2)

Constructed in Glasgow Scotland in 1874 for Samuel Ramsden of Melbourne and named after his wife, this ship cost 10,000 pounds. She was a three-masted iron barque 151 ft long and 27 ft wide with a gross tonnage of 415 tons. The vessel sunk in 1875 on her first voyage out of Melbourne when she struck Corsair rock.
Scubapro, Stephen Frink

Spectacular Reef (★4.3)

Spec Reef (aka Spectacular Reef) is part of the former Yarra River bed and lies in the South Channel, Port Phillip, Victoria. It is, therefore, subject to shipping traffic. The area is quite large and offers many different dive sites.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Captain Nitros' Drop-off (★4.2)

The Drop-off is located on the western end of Spectacular Reef, and consists of a series of walls thatplunge to over 60 meters in 5-10m increments. This makes it a great dive for all levels. Huge boulders the size of houses are scattered over the area, lying where the ancient Yarra River deposited them.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Portsea Pier (★4.0)

Accessible, full of life, and consistently rewarding, Portsea Pier captures the very best of Mornington Peninsula diving. It’s the perfect site for relaxed dives, photography, and unforgettable encounters with Victoria’s famous Weedy Seadragons, amongst numerous other marine species.