Tongue Reef lies in the Coral Sea within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, reached by boat from Port Douglas. The four sites span a broad depth range, from shallow reef gardens suitable for beginners to China Wall, a vertical drop-off descending to forty metres that suits intermediate divers. Reef, wall, and drift diving are all available here. Water is tropical and warm, peaking in the wet season months, with temperatures sitting a few degrees lower in the middle of the dry season. Species recorded include grey reef shark, green sea turtle, spotfin lionfish, purple queen, and several butterflyfish and wrasse species. Visibility is generally good across all sites.
Monthly water temperature across Tongue Reef's sites, from satellite sea-surface data corrected for depth. The band shows the site-to-site spread.
Water stays warm throughout the year, reaching its highest in the wet season and dropping slightly in the dry season. Currents are generally mild across most sites, allowing comfortable drift diving, though conditions should be checked as they can shift during tidal changes.
Water temperature around Tongue Reef ranges from about 25°C in June to 30°C in February, based on satellite sea-temperature data for its dive sites.
In the warm season (about 30°C) a rash guard or 3mm shorty is comfortable in Tongue Reef; in the coldest months (about 25°C) step up to a 3mm full suit.
Fin maps 4 sites in Tongue Reef (4 scuba diving sites and 1 snorkelling spots, with some suited to both).
Across Tongue Reef's dive sites, May, June, September, October and November are most often reported as the best months to visit.
1 more site to explore
