The SS Yongala is one of the best dive sites in the world and in Australia. It is actually considered by many people as THE best wreck dive in the world! This offshore wreck in Queensland is reached by boat; compare departures from Alva Beach near Ayr and Townsville.
The Yongala Shipwreck is a 110m former steel passenger and freight steamer. It sank in 1911 during a tropical cyclone with 124 passengers and crew aboard. The Shipwreck was found only in 1958 and is now a main tourist attraction in Australia.
Dive site
The SS Yongala wreck lies on a 33 meter deep sandy bottom with the top of the wreck at around 15 meters deep. Visibility and currents vary, and exposed conditions can lead to cancellation even after departure. This is a deep wreck dive: confirm the planned depth, certification and recent-experience requirements with your operator. Do not enter the wreck.
Who can dive Yongala?
As checked on 13 October 2026, Yongala Dive requires Advanced Open Water certification completed or in progress, at least 10 recreational dives excluding course-training dives, a dive within the previous 12 months and a minimum age of 15. Open Water certification alone is insufficient: an approved training arrangement must be organised in advance, with additional prerequisites. These are this operator’s requirements, not a universal promise of acceptance by every operator.
Check the current eligibility and training details, including the stricter recent-dive evidence for Open Water participants. Strong currents, swell and low visibility are possible.
Marine Life
The marine Life around the SS Yongala is just amazing. You can spot giant groupers the size of a small car, eagles rays and Manta Rays gliding by, many sea turtles, sea snakes, huge schools of Barracudas, Giant trevallies hunting around and various species of Sharks including the rare Bull Shark and Tiger Shark!
Sightings vary on every trip; rare sharks and whales should not be treated as scheduled or guaranteed encounters.
You will enjoy superb hard and soft coral as well as gorgonians sea fans dancing in the current.
This dive site is really an excellent place for underwater photography, so don’t forget your camera.
Boat access and trip planning
This is not a shore dive. Yongala Dive advertises a roughly 30-minute boat ride from Alva Beach, near Ayr, with two dives. Trips depend on weather and minimum numbers; a shorter crossing does not guarantee departure. See the operator’s trip details.
For the wider area, read our Townsville diving guide and Townsville travel guide. Check that any advertised boat itinerary explicitly includes Yongala rather than assuming that a Great Barrier Reef liveaboard visits this wreck.
Operator access and experience requirements checked 13 October 2026. Historical video and reader dive logs describe past visits.
You can dive SS Yongala Wreck all year long. Access: Boat. See the map of SS Yongala Wreck on the right for the exact location.
Fishes you may spot while diving SS Yongala Wreck
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Bannerfish
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Barracuda
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Batfish
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Bull Shark
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Eagle Ray
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Fusilier
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Giant Trevally
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Grouper
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Guitar Shark
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Leopard Shark
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Manta Ray
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Moray Eel
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Napoleon Wrasse
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Sea Snake
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Tiger Shark
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Trevally
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Turtle
... and more fishes & sea life, Bull Ray, Jack, Nurse Shark, Wobbegong Shark
Photos
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Flying Ray Manta in Bali!Photo by Jihye Lee -
Moray Eel And Sea UrchinsPhoto by Jihye Lee -
Trevally Schoal DiverPhoto by Yann Hubert -
Eagle Ray CloseupPhoto by Matthieu Billaud -
Manta Ray Flying Viewed From SidePhoto by Jihye Lee -
Wide Manta RayPhoto by Matthieu Billaud -
School BarracudasPhoto by Jihye Lee -
TurtlePhoto by Yann Hubert -
Eagle RayPhoto by Matthieu Billaud -
Moray Eel HidingPhoto by Jihye Lee
Diving Reviews for this region
Townsville
Townsville combines Great Barrier Reef day trips, the Museum of Underwater Art at John Brewer Reef and access to the SS Yongala wreck. Magnetic Island adds a nearby island stay. Choose the reef/art trip for a mixed party; choose Yongala only after checking the operator’s experience requirements.
Cairns
Cairns is a practical base for Great Barrier Reef day boats, learn-to-dive courses and liveaboards. Depending on your time, your budget, and your diving certification you can dive in many places around Cairns. Choose nearby outer reefs for a short visit, or a northern Ribbon Reefs/Coral Sea itinerar
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is a long reef system off Queensland, not a single dive site. Choose Cairns for the largest range of reef boats and northern liveaboards, Port Douglas for Agincourt day trips, Townsville for MOUA and Yongala access, or the Whitsundays for island holidays and Hardy Reef.
Ningaloo Reef
The Ningaloo Reef is located on the stunning West Coast of Australia. Choose Exmouth for the North West Cape and Coral Bay for a compact reef holiday farther south. This is a fringing-reef destination with shore snorkelling, boat dives and seasonal wildlife trips; it is not part of the Great Barrier
Port Douglas
Port Douglas is a small, beautiful coastal town of North Queensland famous for its beach and reef life. Its main diving choice is a day boat to the Agincourt reef system, with the Daintree area close enough for a separate land day. Do not confuse this with a liveaboard expedition to Cod Hole or Ospr
Australia
From the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo to southern wrecks and seadragons, Australia rewards choosing a region and season that suit the diving you love.
Whitsunday Islands
When diving in the Whitsunday Islands you have two possibilities: the local spots or going further out on the Great Barrier Reef. Airlie Beach is the mainland base, while Hamilton Island offers a resort-and-airport alternative. Decide whether you want island sailing with some snorkelling or a trip d
Liveaboard Reviews in Australia
MV Ocean Quest
OceanQuest is Divers Den’s reef-based catamaran, reached by a fast transfer boat from Cairns. Choose one to five nights on the outer reef, or a separate four-night Ribbon Reefs expedition during minke whale season.
MV Odyssey
MV Odyssey is the flagship of Odyssey Expeditions. For divers, the trip to look for is the eight-day, seven-night Rowley Shoals cruise from Broome. Its 20-guest capacity, substantial tender and unhurried time offshore make it a very different holiday f
Coral Sea Dreaming
Coral Sea Dreaming takes just 12 guests on an overnight Great Barrier Reef trip. Choose a double cabin or shared bunk, with guided diving and a canopy-covered social area where everyone soon gets to know one another.
True North
The 50-metre True North is not your usual diving cruise: the appeal is a comfortable small ship, fine food and a choice of water and land activities. Choose a diving itinerary if time underwater is your priority. A Kimberley sightseeing cruise and a re
MV Scubapro II
Photos: Pro Dive Cairns / LiveAboard.com. Fleet photographs show the shared boat style; individual interiors may differ.
MV Scubapro III
Photos: Pro Dive Cairns / LiveAboard.com. Fleet photographs show the shared boat style; individual interiors may differ.
Spirit of Freedom
The 37-metre Spirit of Freedom offers scuba diving cruises to the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea and the northern reefs. Its current programme includes three-, four- and seven-night trips as well as longer-range special expeditions.
Scubapro
Photos: Pro Dive Cairns / LiveAboard.com. Fleet photographs show the shared boat style; individual interiors may differ.
The Yongala is the very best wreck site in the wolrd in my opinion. Awsome marie life and great coral.
The ss Yongala is an amazing dive sit. I can only say if it in oz then take go diving
Simply the best dive I have ever done! Did a study abroad program in Townsville at JCU and was so fortunate enough to get 6 dives on the amazing wreck. The history about the wreck, the whales singing through the blue, the massive animal life with eaglerays, bullrays, banded/olive kraits, heaps of turtles, guitar sharks, bull shark, shoals of barracudas and trevallies – everything just added up and made it the most amazing thing ever. Seriously, if you get the opportunity to do the dive, you should!
Quickly the most effective dive I have ever before completed! Have inked a report abroad method inside Townsville at JCU and absolutely was so that fortunate to have six delves around the incredible clutter. These background in regards to the wreck, the whales whistling during the orange, a large animal life together with eaglerays, bullrays, banded/olive kraits, stacks inside turtles, keyboard whales, bull shark, shoals of most barracudas and trevallies – everything only brought up so caused it to be the most wonderful point actually. Seriously, should you have the possiblity to do that the dive, you need to!
Don’t miss this dive. Long boat ride but worth it.
I have dived in PNG, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, Maldives, Cairns, Heron Island & more. The Yongala is the WORST dive I have ever done. Do not waste your time & money.
We dove the Yongala wreck 3 years ago and it was the best AND the worst dive I ever had !
The best because we saw almost all the kind of fishes that you describe, we even saw a whaleshark on our way back to the surface.
The worst because as you explain it’s a difficult dive with a lot of current and only one operator offers to dive there. And as always when it comes to busyness it’s a mess : they only look for filling up there boat and you end up with more than 50% of OWD with less than 10 dives. As a consequence the dives only last 25min ’cause all the beginners empty there tanks in 20min, and even if you’re a couple of AOW with 50 dives they don’t leave you continue the dive by yourself, it’s a wreck damn it how can we get lost ?!!
So YES dive the Yongala, but DON’T dive it with YONGALA DIVE !
the SS Yongala seems like a great site to dive but I would echo some of the other comments above about avoiding the operator Dive Yongala based out of Ayr. I spent 10 hrs flying and few more hours driving to get to Ayr and when I landed up at the operators venue on my scheduled dive date, they told me they cancelled – ostensibly cause of weather – it was fine day – I looked at all the bulletin reports etc. I was later told by businesses in the area that they often do this when they can’t fill the boat. No phone call, no email – just land up on the day to be told it’s cancelled – after I planned and booked months in advance. This happened not once but twice. After which I gave up on trying to dive the Yongala. Next time I will try the operators in Townsville
I dived the SS Yongala in 2005 and it is the best diving I have ever done. I am fortunate to have dived in many different countries, having started when I was 13 (2000), and each site has its pros and cons, but for me the SS Yongala stands out as the best I’ve dived. It is challenging because of the current, but well worth the exertion. The marine life is astounding for its size, abundance and diversity, and the wreck is fascinating.