Learn to dive and get up to $100 Discount when you sign up as a group!
Learn to dive and get up to $100 Discount when you sign up as a group!
The tour pricing is as follows:
*Please see Inclusions and Exclusions for details
The Leafy Sea Dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia and for good reason! Leafy Sea Dragons are endemic to the southern waters of Australia and can only reliably be found right here in South Australia – nowhere else in the entire world!
That’s why Leafy Sea Dragons are a sight not to be missed when you’re visiting South Australia! Book a Leafy Sea Dragon Dive with our experienced and professional dive team and get face to face with these amazing creatures!
*Transport for up to 2 people per guide is included in the standard trip price. For bookings of 3 or 4 people, either own transport is required, or we will book in a second guide and allocate 2 company vans to the tour. The costs in that case will be $195 per person for 3 people or $149 per person for 4 people.
The leafy sea dragons are here all year round, so there is no distinct season for them. Sightings are consistent throughout the year.
The leafy sea dragon mating season is between October and February. At this time of the year, you can spot multiple dragons together and if you’re lucky, you may see (male!) dragons carrying eggs on their tail.
There are 3 different dive sites we visit for our guided leafy sea dragon tours: the Rapid Bay Jetty, Second Valley or the Bluff in Victor Harbor. All three sites are shore diving sites and they’re all roughly the same distance from Adelaide.
We will discuss on the dive day what dive site is best to go to, depending on weather conditions and recent Leafy Sea Dragon sightings.
The guided leafy sea dragon tour takes a full day and we run tours every single day.
The dive sites are about an hour and a half drive from the city. We usually meet at the dive centre at 9AM and return between 4 and 5PM at the dive centre (due to the travel times, two dives will take the full day).
Our dive centre is located in Marleston, conveniently situated between the airport and the CBD. We always do two dives on our guided tours because of the long drive.
Please don’t forget to bring your certification card.
Schedule:
| Guided Sea Dragon Tour | 9:00AM-5:00PM | 2 Ocean Dives |
Our main leafy sea dragon dive site, Rapid Bay, has a great camp site and we often get requests to meet at the dive site instead of at the dive centre.
This is no problem at all. W/e can simply meet you there and bring any required rental gear down with us in the company van. With that in mind, we will need to know your gear sizes beforehand!
The dive guide normally reaches the dive site around 10:45, but as this is dependent on traffic (it’s a 1½ hour drive from Adelaide) it can be a little bit earlier or later. Please mention that you would like to meet us down at the dive site on your booking form. Your dive guide will then bring the dive gear and the liability paperwork down for your. (S)he will be driving a Diving Adelaide company van down and we promise, you won’t be able to miss it!
Leafy sea dragons come from the same family as sea horses, but grow a lot taller than sea horses (up to 40cm!) and they don’t hold on to anything with their tails!
They just gently float in the sea grasses and are very well camouflaged. Because Sea Dragons are so unique, they are a protected species.
We love showing you these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. You’re most likely to encounter a leafy sea dragon on a guided tour of the famous Rapid Bay Jetty or at the Bluff in Victor Harbor.
If you’re lucky you can also spot them at Second Valley or at one of the amazing jetties on the Yorke Peninsula (Wool Bay Jetty or Edithburgh Jetty for example).
See some of the highlights that South Australian scuba diving has to offer in this video by our favourite underwater videographer: Dustin Adamson!
Dustin did a South Australian dive safari with us and dived at Whyalla, The Bluff in Victor Harbor, Rapid Bay and of course at the state’s macro haven: Edithburgh Jetty!
Would you like to share your diving experiences with someone close to you or give the gift of endless adventures? You can now easily give the gift of diving with a Gift Voucher!
You can collect a physical gift voucher from the store or simply purchase one through our online store from the comfort of your home.
The online gift voucher will be delivered via email and can be redeemed online.
These guided dives are for certified divers only. A minimum of PADI Open Water Diver certification (or equivalent) and recent diving experience (within the last 12 months) is required.
If you haven’t dived within the last 12 months or haven’t dived in temperate waters before, please notify us on the booking form. In that case, we will run the first dive of the day as a Refresher Course.
We have dived with the youngest kids all the way up to 70 year olds, so don’t think you need to be superfit to participate in this dive!
You have to be comfortable diving in temperate waters and be able to carry the equipment (including a tank and weights). Be prepared for a bit of a walk as the distance from the carpark to the entry point is a little over 250m.
All participants need to fill out a dive medical questionnaire before the dives. Simply follow the steps on the form to determine whether you will need medical clearance to dive with us. We recommend SPUMS Diving Dr Anne Sampson from Hallett Cove for dive medical (Mobile: 0418 803 250).
The minimum number of participants for us to run a guided night dive is just one, as we can run this tour as a private one-on-one dive!
The minimum age to do this dive with us is just 12 years old.
Whether you’re sick, got COVID19, need to isolate or can’t make the proposed course dates anymore, you can reschedule at any time up to 24 hours before the dive.
To reschedule, we will charge a small rescheduling fee of $49. As soon as a course spot is booked, we reserve a company van and book in a dive guide for your dives. The rescheduling fee will be used to cover these costs.
Transport for up to 2 people per guide is included in the standard trip price.
For bookings of 3 or 4 people, either own transport is required, or we will book in a second guide and allocate 2 company vans to your booking. The costs in that case will be $209 per person for 3 people or $169 per person for 4 people.
The main thing to remember is that we are going to get wet anyway, so if it rains a little that is totally fine.
However, we are of course dependent on the weather, with the wind and swell being the main factors that determine whether we can go diving safely. If the weather forecast predicts large swells or high winds, we may have to reschedule the dive to a different date. We always keep an eye on the weather forecast and will notify you beforehand if we expect this to be the case!
All dive gear, including tanks and weights can be included in this tour at no extra cost.
We don’t offer discounts for bringing your own gear for the dives.
No shows, cancellations and transfers
Monday: | CLOSED |
Tuesday: | 9:00am-6:00pm |
Wednesday: | 9:00am-5:00pm |
Thursday: | 9:00am-5:00pm |
Friday: | 9:00am-5:00pm |
Saturday: | 9:00am-5:00pm |
Sunday: | CLOSED |
Holidays: | CLOSED |
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