Byron Bay Dive Centre

What Byron Bay Dive Centre does

Byron Bay Dive Centre is a single-site recreational diving and marine tourism operator based at 5 Marvell Street, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. It is the consumer-facing brand of Chelona Adventures & Research PTY LTD (ABN 95 124 800 979), operating alongside the Turtle School educational sub-brand. The company runs daily snorkel tours, certified SCUBA fun dives, and seasonal whale watching (June-October) at Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve within Cape Byron Marine Park, and hosts ancillary events such as the Hold The Hydrophone sunset music series. It also holds NSW DPI Marine Turtle Scientific Research Permit #MEAA23/222, which underwrites a citizen-science photo-identification program for sea turtles. Tours depart from a fleet of three vessels (each capped at 13 passengers) and target tourists, certified divers, families, school groups, and corporate groups visiting Byron Bay.

The core product is access to one of Australia's top-rated dive sites, with six dive locations ranging from 6m to 24m and biodiversity of over 1,000 marine species including sea turtles, grey nurse sharks, manta rays, and humpback whales. Standardized products include the Sea Turtle Snorkel Tour (A$119), Turtle School + Snorkelling workshop (A$149), and Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Fun Dive (A$180), supported by gift vouchers valid for three years. The technology stack is non-proprietary: a FareHarbor-embedded booking widget handles reservations and payments, WordPress powers the website, and Google Analytics and social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter) drive discovery. Distribution is layered across the direct website plus OTAs and experience marketplaces (Red Balloon, Experience Oz, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hero Travel), with all participants required to meet at the Byron Bay dive store for safety briefings and equipment allocation.

Revenue is generated through per-experience transaction fees paid at booking, gift voucher sales, and a small A$5-per-booking donation add-on to the Australian Seabird & Turtle Rescue Hospital Ballina. The company is privately held, founder-controlled, operates from a single location with 11-50 employees, and has not disclosed external funding, institutional investors, or M&A activity.

Name

Byron Bay Dive Centre

Legal name

Chelona Adventures & Research PTY LTD

Website

https://byronbaydivecentre.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Byron Bay Dive Centre is a single-site, privately-held marine tourism operator in Byron Bay, Australia, offering snorkel tours, certified SCUBA dives, whale watching, and citizen-science workshops at Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve to tourists, certified divers, and school groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Tourism and Recreational Diving Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Scuba Diving & Freediving Centers (Training, Guided Dives) (THAAAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dive Centers & Scuba Training (PADI/SSI, certifications) (THAAAIAA), Snorkeling Tours & Reef Experiences (THAJAJAE), Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking) (THAAAEAD), Diving Experiences (Scuba Dives, Dive Trips, PADI/SSI Courses) (THAJAJAD)

Keywords

• Scuba diving tours
• Snorkel excursions
• Whale watching tours
• Marine conservation education
• Dive training services

Headquarters

HQ city

Byron Bay

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour and Experience Sales: Direct sales of marine tourism experiences including snorkel tours, SCUBA dives, whale watching tours, and educational workshops. Customers pay per activity/tour at time of booking.
2. Gift Cards: Sale of gift vouchers valid for three years from purchase date. Non-refundable, redeemable for any activities of equal value.
3. Donation Add-on: $5 donated to Australian Seabird & Turtle Rescue Hospital Ballina from every Turtle School + Snorkelling purchase. This is a charitable add-on rather than direct revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Byron Bay Dive Centre is a marine tourism and recreational diving operator that conducts daily guided snorkel tours, SCUBA dives, whale watching experiences, and marine ecology workshops at Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve within Cape Byron Marine Park. The company serves tourists and certified divers with equipment, vessel-based transport, and expert guides, and runs the Turtle School educational program under an NSW DPI scientific research permit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Turtle School: Educational marine conservation brand offering sea turtle workshops and citizen science programs at Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve. Holds NSW DPI permit for marine turtle scientific research.

Products and services

• Sea Turtle Snorkel Tour A guided snorkel tour to Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve offering encounters with sea turtles, wobbegong sharks, rays, and over 500 fish species. Includes expert guides, snorkel equipment, wetsuit, and boat transfer. Priced from A$119 per person, minimum age 10, 3-hour duration with 60 minutes in water.
• Turtle School + Snorkelling A combined workshop and snorkel experience teaching sea turtle identification, behaviour, ecology, and biology. Participants act as citizen scientists and may contribute photo-identification data for marine turtle research. Includes workshop, snorkel equipment, and marine scientist guides. Priced at A$149 per person, minimum age 10, 4-hour duration with 60 minutes in water.
• Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Fun Dive SCUBA dive experience at Nguthungulli Julian Rocks for certified divers, covering sites with encounters including sea turtles, leopard sharks, manta rays, and grey nurse sharks. Includes 50-minute dive, full SCUBA equipment, and boat transfer to dive sites. Priced at A$180 per person, minimum age 12, 2.5-hour duration. Requires Open Water certification or equivalent.
• Whale Watching Whale watching tours operating June to October during the humpback whale migration season. Includes a whale guarantee offering rebooking if no whales are spotted during the tour.
• Hold The Hydrophone Sunset music event featuring local artists performing soul-driven music in honour of ocean conservation. Each event has unique musicians and character. Priced at A$20 per person, ages 18 and over.
• Gift Vouchers Gift cards redeemable for any Byron Bay Dive Centre activities of equal value. Valid for three years from purchase date, non-refundable, starting from A$50.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chelona Adventures & Research PTY LTDcoreOthersByron Bay Dive Centre operates as a division of Chelona Adventures & Research PTY LTD (ABN: 95 124 800 979). The company is also branded as 'Turtle School Byron Bay Dive Centre & Whale Watching'. This is the parent company structure.
• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationFareHarbor provides the online booking and reservation management platform. All online bookings and credit card details are processed through FareHarbor. The company is embedded in the website for direct tour reservations.
• Australian Seabird & Turtle Rescue Hospital BallinaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner$5 is donated to Australian Seabird & Turtle Rescue Hospital Ballina from every Turtle School + Snorkelling purchase. This is a charitable partnership supporting marine wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
• NSW Department of Primary IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerByron Bay Sea Turtle School holds a permit (MEAA23/222) to conduct marine turtle scientific research within the Cape Byron Marine Park issued by NSW DPI. The company also acknowledges and follows NSW Department of Primary Industries guidelines for marine protected areas.
• Red Balloon, Experience Oz, Trip Advisor, Expedia, Hero TravelminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal travel agents who sell Byron Bay Dive Centre tours. Customers booking through these agents must present digital vouchers. These partnerships extend distribution reach to tourists researching activities through third-party platforms.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spirit of Freedom: Cairns-based liveaboard dive operator running multi-day trips to Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs. Comparable certified-diver experience product, though delivery model (liveaboard vs. day-trip) differs.
• Passions of Paradise: Cairns-based reef tour operator running day cruises with snorkel and introductory dive options. Comparable tourist experience model targeting reef visitors with tiered pricing.
• Calypso Star Charters: Adelaide-based operator of shark cage diving and marine wildlife experiences. Comparable niche focus on signature marine species encounters within a regulated marine environment.
• Ocean Safari: Cape Tribulation operator running half-day snorkel tours to the Great Barrier Reef with small group sizes. Closely comparable small-vessel, wildlife-encounter-focused product.
• Deep Sea Divers Den (Divers Den): Long-running Cairns dive operator running day trips and liveaboards to the Great Barrier Reef. Comparable business model — certified dive experiences plus introductory snorkel tours for tourists.
• Sundive Byron Bay: Headquartered in Byron Bay and offering guided dives and snorkel tours at the same Nguthungulli Julian Rocks Marine Reserve. Direct competitor targeting the same tourist base with an overlapping product mix.
• Tusa Dive: Cairns-based dive operator offering day reef trips and PADI courses. Comparable Australian dive center with both training and guided dive products.
• Great Adventures: Cairns-based reef tour operator offering day cruises to outer reef pontoons with snorkel and introductory diving. Comparable mass-tourism marine experience operator.
• Pro Dive Cairns: Established Cairns-based dive operator offering Great Barrier Reef dive trips and PADI/SSI training. Comparable as an Australian dive tour operator with similar product structure across snorkel, certified fun dives, and certifications.

Broad incumbents

• Quicksilver Group: Port Douglas-based marine tourism group operating reef cruises, diving, and broader activities. Larger incumbent with overlapping dive/snorkel offerings as part of a wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/divejulianrocks
• Facebookfacebook.com/ByronDiveCentre
• Instagraminstagram.com/byronbaydivecentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/byron-bay-dive-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Byron Bay Dive Centre