Sydney Diving Advice Needed!

[Isomage]

Hey Everyone,
I could use some quick advice from anyone that is familiar with diving in the Sydney Austraila area.

My wife may have a business trip scheduled in Sydney soon and I may grab some vacation time and go with her. We would likely do some GBR diving elsewhere when she is finished with work.... BUT..... I am trying to get a feel for how realistic Day diving in the Sydney area would be.

Are there boat dives scheduled daily during the week from Sydney?
Any recomendations on a Scuba shop / dive operator to use.

The best case scenario would be cabbing it to the dock for a day of diving and returning to a Sydney hotel late afternoon for dinner with the better half.
Local Knowledge is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Scotty

 

[AussieLass]

Hi Scotty

I live in Sydney and personally I have dived with Abyss (abyss.com.au) and Frog Dive (frogdive.com.au). Both are very professional and well run.

You will find plenty of information regarding dive sites around Sydney at the Abyss website.
There are a multitude of dive sites to choose from ranging from right in Sydney Harbour to half an hour North and South of the city.

Some of my favourites include Bare Island, Kurnell (steps & the leap), Shiprock.
A great website with lots of information on diving in Sydney is Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site

There are a number of dive boat operators in Sydney and from my experience they run mostly on the weekends. If you contact the dive shops I am sure they would provide you with more information.

I hope you enjoy your trip to Australia and take home some wonderful memories.

Btw I have done the 4 night coral sea trip with Spirit of Freedom from Cairns and I cant recommend it enough. It is definately one for you to check out if your are going to the GBR.

Good luck
Jen

 

[Djamba]

Best scuba shop in Sydney is Frog Dive in Willoughby (IMO) (I'm not allowed to post links yet but Google for it and it should be the first link). Denis the owner or any of the lads will look after you. They run regular night dives on Tuesdays and weekend boat dives every week. Check out the site.

 

[Ghanguss]

I agree with whats already been said.

Just outside Sydney (1hour drive) there are some good locations also.

To the North there is Terrigal Terrigal Dive Centre

To the south there is Shellharbour Shellharbour Scuba: Local Diving

Also a local website were you may be able organise dives with Sydney locals Dive-Oz Discussion Forums - We've Gone Virtual!!

 

[Isomage]

Thanks very much for the info. The trip is still in limbo.... waiting on exact dates etc. I may just join my wife when she is done working and do a week on the spirit. Will let you know. Thanks again, Scotty

 

[Jon Shaw]

Sydney diving is actually pretty good.
Spots I would head for are, Long Reef (the apartments) for great fish life and a swim through, Magic Point-for the Grey Nurse Sharks, Shelly Beach for easy shore diving, North Bondi again for shore diving but a great spot to find Weedy Sea dragons.

Frog Dive are great but other good shops are Pro Dive (the have a great boat), Abyss, Dive Centre Manly and Dive Centre Bondi just to name a few.

Good luck

Jon

 

[thanksforallthefish]

As stated previously most dive boats only run on weekends, however i believe that pro dive boat runs during the week.

You should also consider looking at doing some shore diving (much cheaper) as there is some good easy shore diving around the city.