Bait Reef is one of the more popular reefs near the Whitsundays and Hamilton Island.

Bait Reef is the first main reef you will find departing by boat from Bowen, Airly Beach or Hamilton Island. Therefore it is a popular reef for dive and snorkeling tours, crowded at times but nevertheless with excellent scuba diving. There are boats visiting Bait Reef on their Whitsunday Islands trip, but they sail pretty far away. Anchorages nearby are at Wheeler Reef and for larger boats at Hardy Reef.

On the north side we can find sheer dropoffs, spectacular wall diving and plenty of pinnacles rising up from the ocean floor, to depths good enough for recreational dive enthusiasts. Its inner lagoon is shallow, great for snorkelers to explore with lots of shallow healthy coral gardens. Several dive sites around Bait Reef are immense popular. You can dive at the canyons and walls at Stepping Stones, the coral gardens at protected Gary's Lagoon or try to spot Manta Rays at Manta Ray Drop Off. There are tens of different dives you can do here, all equally interesting and beautiful.