Night DIVING
NIGHT DIVING OPTIONS
Want TO EXPERIENCE THE UNDERWATER WORLD IN THE DARK? JOIN US FOR A NIGHT DIVE!
When the sun goes to sleep, the reef wakes up!
Diving after dark is a whole different ball game—the reef transforms, creatures you don’t see in the daytime come out to play and your torchlight turns the deep into your own personal spotlight show. Glowing plankton? Check. Big ol’ sleepy turtles? Check. The thrill of the unknown? Oh, hell yeah.
We’ve got 3 rad ways to get you exploring the reef when the stars are out….
Option One
GUIDED NIGHT DIVE & BBQ SESH
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Nothing beats a night dive followed by a beachside BBQ with your new dive friends. Once a month, we gather the legends, hit the water for an epic after-dark dive and then kick back with some good eats and even better company post-dive. It’s the perfect way to experience the magic of night diving and then swap stories, share laughs and soak up the island vibes.
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$150 per person
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5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The last SeaLink ferry back to Townsville is 10pm on Sun-Mon-Tue and 11pm on Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat. There is plenty of time after your night dive to catch the ferry back to Townsville.
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Monthly – hit us up for the next one!
Night Dives are totally weather dependent and we will of course refund if we need to cancel. Also,
We also need to meet minimum participant numbers in order to proceed with the dive, so book with a buddy!
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Full gear hire (so you don’t have to stress about anything but the vibes)
Torch hire (because, ya know, it’s dark)
A qualified local dive pro to lead the way
EMC “Environmental Management Charge” (so we can help keep the reef thriving)
Sausage sizzle provided
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Our Guided Night Dives are designed for experienced, regular divers with previous night diving experience.
Divers must hold a Night Diver specialty rating to join the Guided Night Dive. In lieu of this qualification, divers can show evidence of previous recent logged Night dives, Advanced qualification and/or a minimum of 20 recent logged dives.
We also recommend booking an orientation dive with us on the day of your night dive, so we can assess diver readiness, familiarise you with equipment and acquaint you with the site in the daylight hours.
If this will be your first ever Night Dive, please enrol in our Night Specialty course. If you’ve been out of diving for 2 years or more, please book a Refresher course.
If you can’t find a suitable date in our booking calendar send us a message with your preferred date.
Option Two
SSI NIGHT & LIMITED VISIBILITY SPECIALITY COURSE
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Want to level up and become a pro at navigating the dark? Our SSI Night & Limited Visibility Specialty Course teaches you all the skills you need to be cool, calm and totally in control when the lights go out. You’ll learn how to handle different light conditions, signal like a pro and explore the underwater world in a whole new way.
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$350 per person
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3:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The last SeaLink ferry back to Townsville is 10pm on Sun-Mon-Tue and 11pm on Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat. There is plenty of time after your night dive course to catch the ferry back to Townsville.
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By request (we need at least 2 people to run it—so bring a dive buddy!)
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Digital e-learning materials from SSI
SSI certification
Full gear hire, incl. torch hire
EMC
Sausage sizzle provided
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Open water dive licence, from any agency
Recent dive experience (Refreshers available for those who haven’t dived in 2 years or more)
Medical Declaration
If you can’t find a suitable date in our booking calendar send us a message with your preferred date.
Option Three
NIGHT DIVE GEAR RENTAL
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Already a certified night diver and keen to do your own thing? Need some gear? We got you.
On the nights we’re running our Night Dive & BBQ events, we keep the shop open late for experienced night divers to grab their kit and hit the water at their own pace. Then, once you’ve had your fill of underwater exploring, cruise back to the shop, join the BBQ crew, swap dive stories and brag about the wild marine life you spotted. Sound like a plan? Give us a shout to lock in your rental for the next event night!
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See our Scuba Gear Hire page for regular pricing.
For gear rental after dark, there is an after-hours surcharge of 20% per diver on top of gear hire costs. This covers staff overtime wages.
Divers on the 3 month rental agreement are also subject to the Night Surcharge.
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4.00pm- 9.00pm
Collect your gear any time from 4pm onwards. Time your entry with the sunset. All divers to be signed out by 8.30pm.
The last SeaLink ferry back to Townsville is 10pm on Sun-Mon-Tue and 11pm on Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat. There is plenty of time after your night dive to catch the ferry back to Townsville.
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Divers wanting to rent gear and dive unguided at night, need to show evidence of sufficient night diving experience. This may be in the form of Night Specialty certification, Dive Master certification or multiple logged night dives.
Divers without sufficient night experience may join our guided dive or enrol in our specialty course.
FAQs
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Night diving offers a thrilling experience! And being able to easily do it from the shore on Magnetic Island is a drawcard for a lot of marine scientists, students and ocean lovers. Most night diving along the Great Barrier Reef only happens on live-a-board vessel dive trips, which are costly and time consuming! And there are very few locations along the Great Barrier Reef where you can actually shore dive at night. With Pleasure Divers, you can participate in a night dive, catch the last ferry off the island and be back home in your own bed by 11pm!
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As with all diving, there is an element of risk. Our SSI Night and Limited Visibility Specialty courses teach you how to eliminate that risk and be well prepared for the experience! Plus with our shallow, protected shore based dive sites, night diving can be a very safe and very fun activity, whether you are in a course or not!
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Corals feeding with extended polyps.
Nocturnal creatures like squid and crustaceans (crabs and shrimps).
Critters that are more active in the dark like nudibranchs or sea stars
Parrotfish sleeping in their cocoon!
Bioluminence from Plankton.
Epaulette sharks.
Turtles
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We are usually out of the water by 8.30pm. The last ferry off the island is 10pm. So there is always plenty of time for you to travel back to Townsville.
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Torch hire is included, however most divers feel most comfortable using their own gear that they know and trust and are familiar with. If you’ve got an underwater torch, bring it along. We also sell these in our retails store for those wanting to invest in their own.
