GBR 3-5day liveaboard June recommendations?

[TvdL]

Flying to Cairns at the end of June and looking into liveaboards for min. 3days / max. 5 days. Any operators to recommend or discourage around Cairns (or a bit more north or south, I'm pretty flexible).

Like probably every diver I'm looking for an operator who will get me to the still healthy and not too crowded spots of the GBR. I have my Padi Open Water and dived in Malaysia (Sipadan) and Egypt (Red Sea) before.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I dove with Spirit of Freedom and you can pick a few days or a full week. The other one is Mike Ball. Both go out to the outer reefs out to Osprey. I don't think you can go wrong with either but I swayed towards Spirit at the time because I liked the boat better and it seemed more friendly for someone who had less experience based on the feedback and research I did.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Forgot to add I think it's Minke whale season then so you might be hard pressed to find something on short notice so ask about availability first before booking airfare so you can remain flexible.

 

[WetPup]

Yes, that is smack in the middle of minke whale season. Get in contact with every operator you can and check on availability. I think you're probably just going to get stuck with whoever has space at this point rather than actually picking and choosing. Many of those trips sell out 10-12 months in advance at that time of year due to the minke whales.

 

[TvdL]

I dove with Spirit of Freedom and you can pick a few days or a full week. The other one is Mike Ball. Both go out to the outer reefs out to Osprey. I don't think you can go wrong with either but I swayed towards Spirit at the time because I liked the boat better and it seemed more friendly for someone who had less experience based on the feedback and research I did.

Thanks for this info, I will get in touch with them!

 

[TvdL]

Yes, that is smack in the middle of minke whale season. Get in contact with every operator you can and check on availability. I think you're probably just going to get stuck with whoever has space at this point rather than actually picking and choosing. Many of those trips sell out 10-12 months in advance at that time of year due to the minke whales.

Oh wow, had no idea of this whale season. Sounds amazing! But could be a drawback because I might be too late to book something either good or cheap then..

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Spirit of Freedom and Mike Ball would be the best but solidly booked.

Try Ocean Quest as they are starting to run their once a week Mine trips which is a combination of Outer Reef and Ribbon Reefs. Departs Fridays and gets back Tuesdays. Still have spaces. Drop me a PM if you need help.