The Ultimate Cairns/Great Barrier Reef Thread

[tarzana]

I just got back from a pro dive 3 day liveaboard and it was a great mid range operation. I would recommend them highly for the price. They leave from Cairns. If you go let me know which boat you take so you can say hi from me. The staff rocked. The sites varied from ok (first site was average coral wise) to great (Coral gardens), but that's not the operators fault, they can only go to the designated reefs. It's man and the crown of thorns that kills the reef.

I have decided to go out with TAKA as I want to go to see Pixie Pinacle and the Osprey Reef area up north but thanks for writing!

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Can I add ours in?

We book dive trips and give 5% diso**** to al teh dive boats listed above from Cairns, so may help out.

Thanks,

Kevin

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

http://www.aquaprodive.com/Cairns_diving_trips.html

 

[Mark Fraenkel]

We are up and running at Blue Dive here in Port Douglas. Courses complete at the Opal Reef complex or we can take you for some very unusual volcanic lake diving in the high Tablelands behind Cairns and Port Douglas.

www.bluedive.com.au

info@bluedive.com.au

 

[Mark Fraenkel]

Had a great scuba diving day trip up to Lake Eacham on Friday. It's about 2 hours drive from Port Douglas.

Yabbies (freshwater lobsters), turtles and crazy underwater rock formations and fallen trees.
And surfacing in a lake filling a volcano in a rainforest is an experience. It must be said the volcano erupted 12,000 years ago so its very peaceful up there now.

 

[clofty]

Had a great scuba diving day trip up to Lake Eacham on Friday. It's about 2 hours drive from Port Douglas.

Yabbies (freshwater lobsters), turtles and crazy underwater rock formations and fallen trees.
And surfacing in a lake filling a volcano in a rainforest is an experience. It must be said the volcano erupted 12,000 years ago so its very peaceful up there now.

Next time we are back in Oz we'll look you up. We are used to diving in springs here in North Florida and we loved Mossman Gorge while back there in August, pristine. I bet the lake is too. Not so here with our springs.:depressed: Except they are unique and our cave divers love em.

 

[prestmep]

This is great and much appreciated. I'm working in Iraq and my first vacation (around Feb 2010) will probably be a trip to dive the reef. Thanks again. Michael

 

[Mark Fraenkel]

Next time we are back in Oz we'll look you up. We are used to diving in springs here in North Florida and we loved Mossman Gorge while back there in August, pristine. I bet the lake is too. Not so here with our springs.:depressed: Except they are unique and our cave divers love em.

This is great and much appreciated. I'm working in Iraq and my first vacation (around Feb 2010) will probably be a trip to dive the reef. Thanks again. Michael

Please do Clofty, always welcome and yes agreed, Mossman Gorge is great . We are just putting some overnight trips to the Lakes together as a great day out up there too, ancient rainforest, barbacues, night diving, sunrise dives too if energetic.

And Michael some great reef trips here but this is also an interesting alternative.

Mark - Blue Dive

 

[1973Diver]

I am thinking of taking my family (all 5 certified) to the GBR for Christmas 2010 and need some advice as to where to go. I've been to Heron Island twice over the last 30 years and loved it. My kids are 21, 19 and 14. Is there a resort and/or liveaboard which offers great diving and great nightlife, is reasonably affordable and not too hard to get to (we will be flying in from San Francisco and flying out to Queenstown, NZ. Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Lizard Island probably has the best resort in the middle of the Reef, as it is way up north in the Ribbon Reefs. Its not cheap, but very beautiful and the Cod Hole is only half hour boat trip away. Most have to get the over night boats like Taka or Spirit of Fredom etc to get there, so the resort cost balance out the boat trip sometimes.
Are you all divers and if so have you looked at live aboards?

Some suggestions here for good trips Cairns Discount Diving Trips - Overnight Dive Boats

I would have mentioned Heron but you have been there. There are places like Dunk Island (off Mission Beach, 2 hours south of Cairns) that have a great atmosphere and good night life but reef trips are limited. Great Keppel and Brampton are also pretty good, and off of Townsville (4 hours south of Cairns) is Magnetic Island which is a large island rather than resort.

Does it have to be an island? Some great land based resorts ofer good diving from them. But peronally I would look at some of the live aboards going to the Coral Sea or Cod Hole e.g. Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom, or Taka. Plenty of posts abot them here and the link above gives info and prices

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Cairns Discount Dive Trips - Great Barrier Reef Diving - Australia

 

[1973Diver]

Thanks for the tips. We are all divers. Worried that Lizard is too hard to get to. I'm concerned about the live aboards as 3 of us are more avid divers than the other 2 and my sense is that the live aboards are pretty much all about diving. If you know of any that are part cruise ship, part live aboard, I'd welcome the reference. I've been to Heron twice and my wife has been there once. We both love it, so that may be the other solution is to just take the kids there, as they have not been. Thanks again for the help.