Lighthouse Bay
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Lighthouse Bay collects Exmouth's everyday boat diving under one name: a spread of bommie fields and low ridges below the cape's lighthouse, with sites like the Labyrinth and Blizzard Ridge divided among maze-like limestone lanes and fish-stacked coral stacks. Nudibranch hunting is dependable, turtles and whitetips are near-certain, big cod hole up under ledges, and in season mantas and even humpbacks pass through the same water column the dive briefing covered five minutes earlier. It is unglamorous, consistent, close to town, and the sort of diving that fills the days between whale-shark trips without feeling like filler.
The moment you come for: Bommie mazes and ridges, reliable turtles and macro, seasonal megafauna flybys
Topography: Limestone bommie fields and coral ridges on sand inside the cape's northwestern corner
Entry: Short boat runs from Exmouth's Tantabiddi and Bundegi ramps; operators pick among named sites in the bay on the day.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Swell over shallow ridges on big days; standard boat-diving cautions otherwise.
Who you'll meet
Green Sea Turtle
Nudibranchs
Reef Manta Ray
Whitetip Reef Shark
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★☆☆ · Macro: ★★★★☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting