Updated on: Wednesday November 19, 2008

A lot of people come to Cairns to try their first ever scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef and some people are just die-hard scuba diving fanatics.  Cairns provides the best base for scuba diving in Australia and with a wide variety of trips to choose from it can become a little confusing.  We have listed the cruises that we consider to be the best value for money, along with the best quality equipment and the best dive sites (chosen on coral formations, fish life, interesting features such as swim throughs, and on the diversity). If there are other dives not listed that you have heard about please email us for further details.

Almost anyone can try a scuba dive and on the following page we have diving prices for both introductory divers and for certified divers for one day trips out of Cairns.

• Certified Divers - you will need your certification card to dive in Australia

• Introductory Divers - you will need to complete a medical form on board your selected boat, and this must be answered to the best of your knowledge. Diving in Queensland is one of the safest places in the world and also one of the best places to dive in the world. 

Please note - Pay on Board Fees & Charges apply including Environmental Management Charge $4.50 per person and these fees  are NOT included in the tour/cruise fare.

For a map of The Great Barrier Reef from Cairns, see Maps

Diving With Passion             

This vessel is a fast, modern 25 meter maxi-catamaran which sails daily to Michaelmas Cay and the Great Barrier Reef. We take you to the best locations with the friendliest crew. Michaelmas Cay is an unspoilt paradise recognized internationally as one of the most important bird nesting sanctuaries on the Great Barrier Reef. Host to over 20,000 sea birds, this unique and fragile ecosystem combines brilliant white sand with colourful soft coral, warm shallow water and an abundance of marine life. Perfect for snorkelling, scuba diving, glass bottom boat tours or just relaxing on the beach.
 

Our second destination is to the Outer Barrier Reef, where there is an exclusive mooring at Breaking Patches, called Paradise Reef (hence no crowds). Here you will find the beautiful hard coral gardens that the Outer Reef is famous for.
 

Winner at the TNQ Tourism Awards 2000 

Read a review   Click here!

Diving On Sea Quest 

If you are a serious divers who don't mind paying a little more for very good quality equipment and small numbers of divers then diving from Sea Quest could be the best option for you. It is a high speed vessel that takes a maximum of 35 divers out to two different locations on the Great Barrier Reef.

There are a variety of different dive locations that are chosen from, all depending on the conditions on the day.
If your visit is at the time of year for the coral spawning a dive to view this event is a timeless experience and definitely recommended. It only occurs at night time over a couple of nights a year.

By darkness their reef locations were fantastic and their equipment extremely good. They also have hot, fresh showers onboard and there is heaps of time to just spend sunbaking or snorkelling. Hot tea and coffee is served throughout the day, with a tropical smorgasbord lunch included in the price. Keep your eyes open for Wally, the huge Maori Wrasse (fish) who frequents the reefs that Sea Quest visit.

Departs Daily @ 0830 hrs & returns @ 1630 hrs

Diving Down Under                                                                

A super fast, modern, comfortable boat (what you really need on those really hot days!) gets you out to the reef in quick time.  Visiting two dive sites daily chosen from locations at either Norman, Saxon, Hastings or Michaelmas reefs.  There is an opportunity to participate in three dives if you are a certified diver.  

 A great dive at Norman Reef is called The Tunnel of Love. There are walls and tunnels to dive and many different varieties of fish and coral. The whole cruise itself is very relaxing and the diving is superb.

Departs daily at 8.30am

Helmet Diving                 

The revolutionary new Seawalker is an helmet diving system for people who are maybe not so comfortable putting their face in the water with normal scuba equipment and almost looks like the divers bubble of old!  There are no tanks to use, no training is required, you don't need to be able to know how to swim and you won't even get your hair wet!  As it has only just been introduced and but if you can imagine a diver from 50 years ago with the dive bubble on their head, this is virtually how it looks, this is only available for the Moore Reef Day Trip so please email us for further information

Snorkeller Only

$75.00 pp

Day Trip with Introductory Dive

$130.00 pp (1 Dive)

$174 pp (2 dives)

Certified Diver (2 Dives)

$120.00 pp (2 dives)

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