It goes without saying that the best places to snorkel and dive in Australia are on the Great Barrier Reef, right? Well, not quite. It’s true, but the important thing is to realize that Australia offers divers and snorkelers many other options, depending on which part of the country you’re visiting. Second only to the Reef is the lesser-known Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, so put that on your list, too.
- Heron Island is the top snorkel and dive site in Australia. If you stayed in the water for a week, you couldn’t snorkel all the acres of coral stretching from shore. Take your pick of around 20 dive sites, about half of them within a 15-minute boat ride from the island’s jetty: the Coral Cascades, with football trout and anemones; the Blue Pools, favored by octopus, turtles, and sharks; Heron Bommie, with its rays, eels, and more.
- Off Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef for most people, are Moore, Norman, Hardy, Saxon, and Arlington reefs and Michaelmas and Upolu cays — all about 90 minutes by boat. You can explore them on a day trip from Cairns or join a live-aboard boat. Among the fabulous dive sites off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, are Split-Bommie, with its fan corals and schools of fusiliers; Barracuda Pass, with its coral gardens and giant clams; and the swim-through coral spires of the Cathedrals.
- Lady Elliot Island, off the Queensland coast near Bundaberg, is a coral cay island with gorgeous coral lagoons, perfect for snorkeling. Boats take you farther out to snorkel above manta rays, plate coral, and big fish. Divers can swim through the blowhole, 16m (52 ft.) down, and see gorgonian fans, soft and hard corals, sharks, barracudas, and reef fish.
