Dive the Mornington Peninsula to see the undersea communities at Flinders, Rye, Blairgowrie, and Portsea piers. Come face-to-mask with weedy seadragon, seahorse, giant cuttlefish, octopus, rays, and perhaps curious seals and dolphins. Come in May-June for the annual Giant Spider Crab aggregation and moulting. Watch the local critters on nocturnal dive tours.
The Back Beaches place you on the Great Southern Reef to see kelp forests, and perhaps an abalone or rock lobster hidden in the underwater ledges and caves.
Go beyond the shore on boat dives to explore nineteenth-century shipwrecks and WW1 J Class submarines. Explore the HMAS Canberra warship artificial reef.
Descend onto the stunning wall dive sites around Port Phillip Heads, or take a wild ride on a fast drift dive.
November–March have the warmest waters for diving on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. They typically peak at 20°C (68°F) around the middle of February. Temperatures by the middle of August are around 10°C-14°C (50°F-57°F).
Most divers use a 7mm full-length wetsuit in summer, adding a hood and gloves plus extra layers of warmth underneath their wetsuit in the colder months. Some local divers switch to using a drysuit in winter.
There are benefits to diving in both seasons. Winter's cooler waters bring great visibility (April–July offer the best visibility due to low plankton growth) while the warmth of summer attracts more critters and make diving all the more pleasant. It's easy to see why so many people go diving on the Mornington Peninsula year-round.
The Mornington Peninsula is south of Melbourne, Victoria on the southeast coast of Australia. International visitors generally fly into Melbourne Airport.
For diving on the Mornington Peninsula, travellers head south from Melbourne Airport. It's easy to reach by car. Various train and buses connect the Mornington Peninsula with intrastate and interstate destinations.
A great way to explore the Mornington Peninsula is by hiring a car and taking a road trip. As you head south from Melbourne and reach the Mornington Peninsula you'll be tempted with numerous food and wine destinations.
The Mornington Peninsula is Melbourne's gateway to diving Port Phillip, the Back Beaches, and Bass Strait. You'll find great accommodation available in Rye, Blairgowrie, Sorrento, Portsea, and Finders.
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