Cairns liveaboard

[PeterVV]

I am going to Cairns in November and would like to go on a three day liveaboard. Which one should I pick? I found this list Outer Great Barrier Reef Liveaboards - Cairns Overnight and Live Aboard Diving Trips - Diving Cairns - Dive Australia and the price are similair so I need som perosnal experience.

Thank you!!

 

[OnTheSpot]

Hi PeterVV

First thing you need to know is the distinction between the Outer Barrier Reef and other areas eg Cod Hole /Coral Sea / Ribbon Reefs

There are short trips available to all destinations so you may not want to limit yourself to the Outer Barrier Reef which features lower quality diving than the others I mention. That's not to say the OBR is no good of course, you can have a great time there. I am just indicating that you may have a wider choice than you think.

For example there are 3 Night trips to the Cod Hole, 4 Nights to The Coral Sea including the Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs. These also tend to be on better boats and may involve a flight over the reef which is awesome.

Anyway it pays to hunt around and consider all the options. You might find this link a useful starting point: GBR liveaboards.

Hope that helps.

 

[Damselfish]

Agreed. I don't know if "Outer Barrier Reef" is an official geographic name or simply clever marketing words that someone came up with. Thing is, it sounds distant and remote, but in reality refers to an area that is relatively close to Cairns (compared to places like the Coral Sea) and is frequented by many large boats on day or short trips. Not to say you wouldn't have some nice dives on the "Outer Reef" and the price may be right. But as said the diving is much better further away in the Coral Sea/Cod Hole/more northern Ribbon Reefs areas.

So yes, get to understand the different dive areas available and be sure this is what you are looking for first. Your choice is going to depend on your budget and how much you want the "best" diving or boat. Operations like Spirit of Freedom or Mike Ball going to the Coral Sea/Cod Hole/Ribbon Reefs should be much better diving and a nicer onboard experience. TAKA also goes up there and is less expensive, but holds more passengers and is not as high on the service aspect.

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Guys, Damselfish said it all really, but just to try and clarify the terms…Outer Barrier Reef is used to describe all the Reefs that lie on the edge of the continental shelf. The border between the Coral Sea. As opposed to “fringing reef “(that is Reef that surrounds Island like Green Island or Lizard Island) and also “patch reef” that are isolate reefs that lie within the sheltered area of the Outer Reefs and the mainland.

Outer Reef areas usually get a lot of sea life form deeper waters (sharks, sometime whales, deeper water pelagic etc) that come visit. They also have a lot of marine life that is local top that reef.

The Ribbon Reefs are used to describe the long stretches of Reef that actually make up the length of the Great Barrier Reef and go from just north of Cairns to almost New Guinea. These are the reefs you visit when you go on trips like Taka, Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom etc. They include the Cod Hole.

The Ribbon Reefs are generally considered the best but take a long time to travel to. So the next best things are the Outer Reef areas visited by boats like Scubapro and Ocean Quest.

Damselfish mentioned the best choices and also great advice to check out the sites visited.

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Discount dive travel to the Barrier Reef and Coral Sea - live aboard and day trips.

Cairns Discount Dive Trips - Main page

 

[PeterVV]

Thank you for the answers which helped me greatly to choose distination.. I just looked through all the links and my budget says it is going to be the outer reefs. I am still torn between which to chose between scubapro, oceanquest and kangaroo explorer. So far I am leaning towards the Oceanquest.

 

[LastManOut]

Hi Peter,

In terms of great value for money, Kangaroo can't be beaten at $AU470 for 3/2 11 dive package. The crew are friendly and laid back, the food is generally good and the dive sites, especially at Milln and Briggs Reefs, are great quality.

I worked as an Instructor for Cairns Dive Centre for a year back in 2005 and am constantly going back to visit them when we have some time. They have a max of 35 pax but you will generally find somewhere between about 25-30 onboard. They also have just had a refit, which is nice.

I can't speak directly for ProDive, but they seem to be a good bunch as are most of the dive operators in Cairns. Admittedly they are a bit more expensive at $600. They run monohull boats also, which in swell can be a pain in the butt to be aboard, but that's about the only gripe I could think of.

Oceanquest is a new boat I think, or very much upgraded. They are leaning toward the 600 dollar mark, some of the dive sites eg Norman and Saxon are great (I think they go there) but the Hastings reefs are average.

If you need any more info, not that i can tell you a whole load, but just let me know!

Nemo

 

[ahawk]

We were on Mike Ball's SpoilSport in August of this year for an 8 day trip and had FABULOUS dives, FABULOUS food, FABULOUS Shark Feed!, and the boat staff was, well FABULOUS! We also did Spirit of Freedom 5 years ago and really liked it too but didn't stay as long or go as far out into the coral sea so the diving was not as good on that former trip.

 

[LastManOut]

Yeah... SpoilSport... Part of the ever-expensive liveaboards run by the man with the world's best "I'm a Dive Instructor" smile!

 

[PeterVV]

I understand that places like mike ball are great but the prices just seems very high to me. People here in Scandinavia usually go on liveaboards in the Red Sea and the price for a week, even the best boats, are rarely more than 1000 to 1500 euro including plane tickets to egypt and one day in a hotel to wait the 24hours to fly back.

Thank you all for the replys. I ended up going with the OceanQuest. Can't put my finger on exactly why but that was just the one I liked the best and it fits my backpacker budget.

 

[LastManOut]

Good for you Peter I hope you have a rocking time, make sure you let us all know how it was, especially for us patriotic Aussies!

-- Nemo