Portsea Pier West Reef
Dive site · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
61Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Wed 4: Sea 0.4 m, Visibility about 5 m, Water 16 °C
Tue 3 · 62 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.6 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Air
- 14°C
Wed 4 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Air
- 18°C
Thu 5 · 58 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 15 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 14°C
Fri 6 · 61 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.8 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 51 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 17 kn
- Gusts
- 25kn
- Air
- 13°C
Sun 8 · 61 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 13°C
Mon 9 · 63 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 18°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Tue 362, good
- Wed 464, good
- Thu 558, fair
- Fri 661, good
- Sat 751, fair
- Sun 861, good
- Mon 963, good
- Tue 1063, good
- Wed 1132, poor
- Thu 1230, poor
The site in three facts
- Open Waterand up
- Water 16 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces NEswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 3Nov | 62, good | 0.6 m | 9 kn | 13kn | 14°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 64, good | 0.4 m | 4 kn | 8kn | 18°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 58, fair | 0.7 m | 15 kn | 19kn | 14°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 61, good | 0.8 m | 9 kn | 18kn | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 51, fair | 1.0 m | 17 kn | 25kn | 13°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 61, good | 0.7 m | 10 kn | 15kn | 13°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 63, good | 0.4 m | 9 kn | 15kn | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 63, good | 0.5 m | 6 kn | 26kn | 20°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 32, poor | 0.7 m | 11 kn | 29knboats in | 15°C |
| Thu 12Nov | 30, poor | – | 19 kn | 27knboats in | 14°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:17 +1.1 mLow 12:01 −0.7 mHigh 18:16 +0.7 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 00:11 −1.0 mHigh 07:07 +0.9 mLow 12:54 −0.7 mHigh 19:24 +0.7 m
- Thu 5 NovLow 01:08 −0.8 mHigh 08:03 +0.8 mLow 13:54 −0.7 mHigh 20:43 +0.6 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Portsea Pier West Reef on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More diving near here
3 places
- Portsea Pier 0.2 km away
- Portsea Pier East Reef 0.5 km away
- Portsea Hole 0.7 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Portsea Pier West Reef
It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NE: swell from the NE reaches it, and wind from the SW blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 20°C in February, its warmest (7 mm wetsuit and hood). The town to stay in is Portsea. Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots, 3 wind sports spots and 4 dive sites.
- What it is No source states what kind of site it is.
- How deep No source states how deep it goes.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away.
Water about 16°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Much the same all year (about 5 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,780–US$3,440 each
about US$1,780–US$3,440 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$959–US$2,000 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$148–US$242 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$356–US$597 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$597 |
| Total | about US$1,780–US$3,440 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Portsea
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 5 min by car · 10 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Portsea its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
Getting there: about 29h 25m
About 29h 25m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 1h 35m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Portsea · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Portsea · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Scubra Doctor 11 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Animals divers and surveys have recorded within 2 km of this site in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it here, not that you will.
Western shovelnose stingaree Trygonoptera mucosaRay
Seen in 12 records, mostly Feb to Apr.
Spotted stingaree Urolophus gigasRay
Seen in 9 records.
Verconia haliclonaNudibranch
Seen in 6 records.
Ceratosoma brevicaudatumNudibranch
Seen in 4 records.
Doriopsilla carneolaNudibranch
Seen in 4 records.
Tambja verconisNudibranch
Seen in 4 records.
Blue-throated wrasse Notolabrus tetricus
Seen in 80 records, mostly Nov to Feb.
Pictilabrus laticlaviusWrasse
Seen in 63 records, mostly Nov to Mar.
Common seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Seen in 59 records, mostly Nov to Mar.
Scobinichthys granulatusFilefishes
Seen in 36 records, mostly Feb to May.
Parma victoriaeDamselfishes
Seen in 34 records, mostly Dec to Mar.
Upeneichthys vlamingiiGoatfishes
Seen in 34 records, mostly Feb to May.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: Reef Life Survey: Global reef fish dataset; iNaturalist Research-grade Observations; Reef Life Survey: Cryptic Fish; Victorian Biodiversity Atlas; Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections - TCWC Vertebrates. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.