Diving & Travel Guide to Victoria – Port Phillip Bay

About Victoria – Port Phillip Bay

Port Phillip Bay, the vast natural harbour that serves as the gateway to Melbourne, is one of Australia's most accessible and diverse temperate-water diving regions, offering an extraordinary collection of dive sites spanning historic wrecks, dramatic walls, artificial reefs, and some of the best pier diving in the world. The bay's southern entrance, known as The Rip, creates powerful tidal currents that feed an extraordinary diversity of marine life along the walls and reefs of the Mornington Peninsula, including vibrant sponge gardens, soft corals, and schooling fish. The historic pier dives of Mornington Pier, Rye Pier, Blairgowrie Pier, and Portsea Pier provide accessible entry points into an underwater world of cuttlefish, octopus, sea dragons, nudibranchs, and schooling fish, with each pier hosting its own unique community of marine life. The bay's wreck diving portfolio includes the Eliza Ramsden, the Coogee wreck, and the J5 Yellow Submarine, each providing hauntingly beautiful artificial reefs that have been extensively colonized by marine life over decades. South Channel Fort, a historic military fortification built on a sandbank in the bay, offers unique diving around its foundations with abundant marine life and excellent macro photography opportunities. Pope's Eye, an artificial island originally constructed for defensive purposes, provides sheltered diving with prolific invertebrate life. Lonsdale Wall and Corsair Rock offer more exposed diving with dramatic underwater landscapes and strong currents that attract pelagic species. Mud Island, in the eastern part of the bay, provides sheltered shallow diving ideal for training and macro photography. The combination of accessible shore diving, historic wrecks, and the vibrant food and cultural scene of Melbourne makes Port Phillip Bay one of Australia's most rewarding diving destinations.

Highlights

• ✓World-class pier diving at Mornington, Rye, Blairgowrie, and Portsea piers
• ✓The Rip – powerful tidal currents creating dramatic wall diving and pelagic encounters
• ✓Historic wreck diving including the Eliza Ramsden and J5 Yellow Submarine
• ✓South Channel Fort – unique military fortification diving in the middle of the bay
• ✓Accessible diving from Melbourne with excellent shore dive infrastructure
• ✓Diverse marine life including sea dragons, cuttlefish, and vibrant sponge gardens

Getting There

Port Phillip Bay is accessed from Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, served by Melbourne Airport (MEL) with extensive domestic and international flights. The bay's dive sites are spread around the coastline, with the Mornington Peninsula (southern and eastern side) hosting the majority of the premier dive sites. The Mornington Peninsula is approximately 60-90 minutes from Melbourne CBD via the Mornington Peninsula Freeway. Key dive departure points include Mornington, Rye, Portsea, and Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, and Williamstown and St Kilda on the western side. The Searoad ferry connects the Mornington Peninsula to the Bellarine Peninsula across the bay, allowing divers to access both sides without driving around. Several dive operators run boat trips from various points around the bay, and the extensive pier infrastructure provides accessible shore diving at numerous locations.