Heron Island Diving

Renowned for it's stunning natural environment and pristine tropical landscape, Heron Island's underwater landscape is just as impressive. Located on the Great Barrier Reef, Heron Island's dive sites are some of the best in the world. Expansive coral gardens meet deep pinnacles and an endless array of marine life. In fact, around 60% of the 1,500 species of fish and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef reside in the waters circling Heron Island.

Suitable for divers of all skill levels, there are over 20 diving sites available at Heron Island. The waters are relatively shallow with an average depth of 10-25 metres and are bursting with turtles, tropical fish, manta rays and reef sharks. You can experience the breathtaking Heron island diving with a a great range of dive packages offering everything from equipment hire to day trips and adventure diving expeditions. Read on to discover the fantastic range of Heron Island dives.

Daytime Diving: Packages are available to include scuba tanks, weights, belts and the boat trips on Heron and Wistari Reef.

Night Diving: Conducted weather permitting on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. Divers must have completed a minimum of 20 dives and have logged a previous dive on Heron Island during the stay for which they would like to include a night dive. Light stick and torch provided.

Dive Centre: Open daily, this is a fully serviced Dive Shop.

Discover Scuba Diving: Ideal for beginners who do not hold a certified licence these courses include hire equipment, classroom and pool sessions and one supervised dive with a qualified instructor. Course participation is subject to the completion of a medical questionnaire prior to diving.

Dive Packages: Heron Island offers dive packages of 3, 5 or 10 dives including equipment.

Refreshers: If you have not dived recently (1-3 years), you will be required to complete a Dive Check. If you have not dived in more than 3 years, you will be required to complete a Full Refresher Dive. Both the Dive Check and Refresher Dives are at an additional cost.

Children: Children may dive if they are fully certified. However, children aged 10 and 11 have a depth restriction of 12 meters. Children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. All divers must meet medical requirements.

All diving must be booked and paid for on the Island. When booking accommodation please include a note that the passenger has an intention to dive. Booking of individual dives are booked directly with the dive shop after arriving on Heron Island.

Safety regulations on Heron Island require that guests travelling from the Island by helicopter and/or by fixed wing aircraft must not dive for a minimum of 24 hours prior to flying.

All dive courses are instructed in English only, and are subject to weather conditions. Diving is not guaranteed on the day of arrival. Australian Scuba Diving Standards require that all certified scuba divers that have any medical conditions such as Asthma, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Heart, Lung or Blood Disorders of any kind require a fully completed Regulation Medical Form (A.S.4005.1) from a Diving Doctor.

The form must be completed prior to arrival and presented to the Heron Marine Centre when registering for diving stating you are totally fit to dive by Australian Standards. If you do not have this Medical Form and have a medical condition, you may be excluded from diving on Heron Island. The Medical Form can be obtained from this website under Registration and Medical. For all dive courses, two passport sized photos, a 'C' card and logbook must also be presented to the Reception on arrival.