Going to Australia, need good travel agent and dive advice

[FLdiver]

I'm going to Australia end of April(Sydney and Cairns/Port Douglas). I need a good travel agent with excellent prices and also would like some recommendations on day boats out of Cairns/Port douglas as well as must see dive sites. Thanks.

 

[scubawife]

I can't help you with a travel agent because I booked everything for our Aussie trip myself. We went for 4 wks in 2001 and loved it. I would suggest you go to the Australian Tourist Commission site, www.australia.com, and find an Aussie Specialist in your area. These are agents who've gone through a program with the tourist board and been "certified." This usually involves both courses and actual travel experience.

We loved Palm Cove. It's half way between Cairns and Pt. Douglas. It was a great town and nice to be btwn both places. We stayed at Sebel Reef House (www.reefhouse.com.au) and did a day trip with Poseidon (www.poseidon-cruises.com.au). They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel. The day included 3 dives and 3 different sites, lunch and afternoon tea & snacks. There were lots of dive shops out of Pt Douglas and Cairns you'll find brochures everywhere. It was pretty cool to dive the Great Barrier Reef, but I have to say that I really expected more. There were some unique critters but the reef itself wasn't that lush. Maybe it was just where we were or the time of the year.

If you're going to North Queensland, you should try and spend a night or two in the rainforest at Daintree Ecolodge or Silky Oaks. It's a great experience.

Oz is great place. Enjoy!

 

[metridium]

FLdiver wrote...
I'm going to Australia end of April(Sydney and Cairns/Port Douglas). I need a good travel agent with excellent prices and also would like some recommendations on day boats out of Cairns/Port douglas as well as must see dive sites. Thanks.

The best sites are reportedly on the outer reefs on the the Coral Sea, along with pinnacles like Osprey. You might want to consider a liveaboard.

 

[Natasha]

HI FLDiver:
Welcome to scuba board. While I have not had the pleasure to go "down under" it is on my list!
My business partner Marci has been there, and was hosted by Australia when she went.
She has been a travel agent for 19 years.
If you have some direct questions you can email her at c2cmarci@yahoo.com
Have fun!

 

[Aquamaniac]

Fl Diver.
For a Small fee, Id be more than willing to accompany you on your trip, to hell with an Agent...........Use a LOCAL!!!
I will even be your own personal Dive Buddy!!!!

Pick me up from Atlanta on yer way through!

 

[caymaniac]

The net is a good place to research Oz.
Check out Quicksilver, Pro-dive,
Cairns (links), this is where I found alot of info.
Check your PM.s
Caymaniac

 

[Stone]

I recommend visiting The Oz Travel Mall

 

[scuba_katt]

is www.diversionoz.com.


These guys really know their stuff, they personally go check out the liveaboards and reefs visited and then report back on the website.

If you have an idea of which reefs you want to go to, send them an email and ask them to suggest a dive operator and a fun itinerary for you.

I met Phil who works for Diversion Oz on a liveaboard out of Townsville last year going to the wreck of the Yongala. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and really knew his stuff!

It is all done in Aussie Dollars so generally you'd probably get a much better deal for your hard-earned dollar.

If it fits your itinerary I'd recommend doing a liveaboard with "Undersea Explorer". They are based in Port Douglas and dive up near Osprey Reef and the Cod Hole/Lizard Island.

For Day Trips out of Port Douglas, I'd suggest Taka Dive or Poseidon Dive. You'll probably see Quicksilver Dive advertised a lot, but personally I found that they had waaaaay too many people on the boat and it seemed more like a cattle call then a great dive boat!

The Diversion Oz website also lists Day Trips out of Cairns & Port Douglas so that should give you some idea.

I'm from Sydney but for the last 12 months I've been living in North Queensland (few hours south of Cairns) so if you have any further questions about Sydney OR Cairns/Port Douglas send me a PM.

Good luck planning your trip!

 

[RSdiver]

Australia is absolutely great! Super diving, friendly people, and a variety of fun things to see and do when not diving. I did 4 live-aboard trips in 2001 and Mike Ball's Coral Sea trip was far superior to any other live aboard trip I've done to date.

You are going at a great time of year as it is the low season and after the monsoon season. If you can wait and book your activities (diving, parasailing, white water rafting, etc.) when you arrive then you can save a lot of money, over half in my case during my trip in April/May 2001:
Click here to see Mike Ball's brochure ONLY found in Cairns - Aussie STANDBY Prices in black at top of page

This brochure is identical to the standard brochure found worldwide, but has the local "STANDBY" prices in the black box on the top. You will not find this brochure anywhere else, except in Cairns at the numerous travel agents on the street (especially the beachfront esplanade) and also at Mike Ball's offices.
(NOTE that the price of $1696 is in Aussie dollars and roughly equivalent to $900.00 US).
US residents typically pay USD$2400.00 for this same trip.

*Click here* to see my underwater photos of the Australian Coral Sea

 

[Snoopy]

Specifically for Great Barrier Reef, any recommendations ?

The intended dates are in early-mid June 03. Just that my buddy isn't a certified diver yet and will want to take the c-card there.

I am not sure if it applies to Australia, but are there are any smaller operator with more personalized services, then those big outfit air-conditioned cattle-boats that one would jump off from....

Cheers