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.

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SSI Open Water Diver Course

SSI Open Water Diver Course

Become a certified Open Water Diver with SSI at The Scuba Dive ShopThis globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver. Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.Your Adventure starts hereHere are the benefits you can expect from attending this training program:Discover a completely new world hidden just below the surfaceLearn about new environments and exotic new speciesExperience the nearly weightless sensation of flightFacts and Training StandardsMinimum Age - 10Amount of Academic Sessions - 6Amount of Pool/Confined Water Sessions - 6Amount of Open Water Sessions - 4Maximum Training Depth - 18 m / 60 ftSuggested duration (h) - 16-32Certification Prerequisites - Fit to swim (200m swim and 10 minute float), No certification prerequisitesMore InformationTraining PrerequisitesSSI 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 AssessmentSurvival FloatTechnical RequirementsTo 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 RequirementsEach 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 CodeSSI Responsible Diver Code - Scuba DivingSSI Responsible Diver Code - FreedivingSSI Responsible Diver Code - Extended Range DivingDiver 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)

The Scuba Dive Shop aka The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop, 2447 Point Nepean Road, 3941, RYE, VIC, AUS
October 3, 2026 +10 More
$557.89
A$795.00

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.

Dive Centers

Dive Sites

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!

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 approx.: 300

Octopus

Octopus

348 Sightings
J
34
F
51
M
56
A
44
M
31
J
11
J
11
A
15
S
13
O
24
N
20
D
38

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

Total number of species approx.: 600

Wrasse

Wrasse

51 Sightings
J
0
F
15
M
10
A
14
M
3
J
2
J
0
A
0
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 approx.: 80

Stingrays

Stingrays

1k Sightings
J
157
F
168
M
152
A
110
M
56
J
30
J
27
A
28
S
49
O
69
N
76
D
98
Weedy Seadragon

Weedy Seadragon

477 Sightings
J
76
F
46
M
57
A
36
M
29
J
14
J
18
A
24
S
16
O
36
N
48
D
77
Common Seahorse

Common Seahorse

427 Sightings
J
50
F
72
M
87
A
72
M
30
J
20
J
19
A
20
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 approx.: 130

Pufferfish

Pufferfish

395 Sightings
J
65
F
67
M
78
A
62
M
11
J
3
J
8
A
11
S
28
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 approx.: 7000

Crab

Crab

329 Sightings
J
50
F
46
M
59
A
56
M
31
J
21
J
8
A
6
S
23
O
15
N
10
D
4

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

Total number of species approx.: 3000

Nudibranch

Nudibranch

252 Sightings
J
40
F
39
M
38
A
16
M
17
J
12
J
8
A
13
S
14
O
26
N
25
D
4

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

Total number of species approx.: 9

Fur Seal

Fur Seal

98 Sightings
J
20
F
15
M
33
A
0
M
4
J
0
J
3
A
0
S
13
O
0
N
0
D
10

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

Total number of species approx.: 120

Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish

67 Sightings
J
8
F
21
M
21
A
1
M
0
J
1
J
0
A
2
S
3
O
2
N
4
D
4

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

Total number of species approx.: 90

Goatfish

Goatfish

60 Sightings
J
0
F
25
M
17
A
7
M
0
J
3
J
0
A
6
S
2
O
0
N
0
D
0

Curated by Interest

Events by Lifestyle Category

Underwater Beginner