March 2014

[BradMM]

Looks like we'll be going to Australia during Spring Break in 2014. I'm not that excited, my vote was to go back to Bonaire. Ok, if I'm going, I'd like to know where to dive. I guess knowing what cities we'd be in would help. Where's good diving, maybe we'll plan our itinerary based on that.

 

[DBF]

Good diving everywhere, just depends on what you want to do and how you want to risk being eaten by the wildlife

 

[alcina]

Great you're coming "to Australia" but it's a big place and it's not cheap or easy or quick to get from one side to the other.

Where are you going? How long are you here for? What kind of diving do you like? Is diving a priority? How many days will you dive?

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Queensland options...
At a guess I'd recommend Cairns. GBR diving (either day dives or liveaboards), land based things to see and it's a party town that caters to young tourists, i.e. drinking, restaurants and Fun. It doesn't have a beach, but if you have a car there are beaches within an hour or so's drive.
Top things to do in Cairns - Lonely Planet

Another option would be Byron Bay in NSW. It has more of a laid back indie vibe, great diving off Julian Rocks and also caters to young tourists with the aforementioned drinking, restaurants and parties.
http://www.sundive.com.au/

Likewise Airlie Beach in NQ. Though I haven't personally dived there, it has a good local dive operator and is a well-known party town with a beach and lots of foreign backpackers.
http://whitsundaydivecentre.com/scuba-diving-whitsunday-islands/


The Gold Coast is Queensland/NSW's Schoolies destination of choice (the Australian equivalent of Spring Break); however the diving is just reasonable. You can have a nice dive there, but IMO Byron is a lot better. However, it's a much bigger city and has a lot of land based entertainment (Seaworld, the casino, lots of nightclubs, chicks in bikinis and fun in the sun) if that's what you're after.

If you're primarily coming to go diving I'd go to Cairns/Port Douglas, dive the GBR and party at night. If diving's a big factor but not the prime motivator, I'd think about Byron or Airlie. If partying is the name of the game and you'd like to get a dive in between cocktails, I'd go for the Gold Coast.

Of course there's also Western Australia, but I don't know all that much about what's on offer.

 

[BradMM]

Thanks, we normally go to the Caribbean every summer (and may go there also) but this trip is a bucket list trip for my wife. Diving is not the main reason but it's my main objective. Being so far away and no travel plans made yet, I was looking for suggestions to help me lobby for particular destinations. Yes, I learned how big geographically the country is when I happened to see an overlay of Australia over the US map. Basically, the same distance from one side to the other, bigger than I imagined. That makes it more important for me to nail down options.

Thanks for all replies!

Brad

 

[MA]

Lady Elliot island for something quite special.

 

[alcina]

Brad - hehe that map overlay does help but I promise you it doesn't begin to impress the vast distances.

The East Coast probably has more flexibility and more options for diver/non-divers.

March will see the start of whale shark season here on the Ningaloo Reef and the diving on the reef is always excellent. Lots of places for snorkelers and vast stretches of deserted beaches for relaxing. Fishing. There isn't a whole lot up here for people who do not dive or snorkel or fish. There are two land based things that are totally worth the cash: the microlight flights over the Cape and the Top of the Range safari that takes you to the surprisingly high canyons, around the top of the Cape and down into Yardie Creek. They also stop for a snorkel at Turquoise Bay.

The southern half of WA is great for sightseeing and there is some nice diving, too.

WA is pretty much it's own destination as everything is simply so far from everything else.

 

[t4e]

you're going to Australia and you're not excited? lol

i'm just curious as to why that is, i would love to go there but that would mean not taking 3 trips in the year

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Hey there,

First of all - get excited! Australia is an awesome place to visit and travel, I'm sure you'l have an excellent time OK, so you've got a bit of a grasp on scale now, so if you want to plan your trip around diving you'l really need to narrow it down to some specific areas...

Obviously the northern dive spots are much more temperate in terms of water temp (3mm shorty normally does the trick). Cairns is the 'go to' place for diving - and is (I think, don't quote me directly!) the no2 destination worldwide in terms of diving certifications by volume after koh Tao in Thailand. I dived there myself as a recreational diver before going pro. There are a number of options including day trips and liveaboards. I only had time and budget for a couple of day trips, and while it was great to see the barrier reef, it didn't quite live up to the hype in terms of the quality I was expecting. Possibly due to me having set my expectations too high, or maybe because on short day trips you really only get to go to the more local dive spots, which are visited repeatedly by hoards of dsd's and newby divers (no offense intended to anyone in that bracket) who's buoyancy/fin kicking errors have led to the reef becoming a bit worn.

Byron Bay in NSW has some great diving, and the SS Yongala wreck just off of Townsville is a must if you are anywhere nearby. The Ningaloo Reef on the west coast also has excellent diving with some pretty big stuff around if you hit on the right season - Manta Rays and Whale sharks etc. March I think is the very start of the season for them.

It would be hard to do east and West coasts in one trip though, so I guess it comes down to a balance of finding some good dive spots for you and hitting up all the touristy bits your wife wants to do too! For cheap internal flights to help you see a bit more check out Jetstar & Virgin Blue.

Happy holiday planning and enjoy your time in upside down land!

 

[MA]

An easy sell would be to include port Douglas along with a mike ball or spirit if freedom liveaboard out to the coral sea. But as everyone says there are so many options. Are you after liveaboard diving? Day dives? Tourist plus mix in diving? City or bush or beach destinations? Tropical or temperate diving?

as mentioned above if you want a trip that is spectacular Western Australia - coral bay/ex mouth. Diving and relaxation. Red cliffs, white sand, turquoise water. Dive navy pier. This is all very remote but awesome!

byron bay is cool. Eating, drinking, lazing, diving. I think March is manta season.

lady Elliot, heron island. Yongaka from ayr.

im from melbourne and can't rave enough about the diving here. But it's cold!

the list really is endless. Start googling the suggestions so far and hopefully you will start to get a bit excited. If not just pretend to, you might get more excited responses from us locals