© Cairns Backpackers Guide 2013
Reef Day Trips All you need to know
There are more than 30 day trips you can do to the reef from Cairns alone. Choosing which one to go on can
be a daunting task. The first thing you need to decide is which of the following types of trips you want to do:
•
Small boat/yacht to the inner reef
•
Medium or large boat to the outer reef
•
Pontoon based trip
•
Island based trip
The best thing about a trip to the Great Barrier Reef is that whichever one you do , it’ll be fantastic. The only
question is how fantastic it will be for you.
Pontoon based trips involve catching a large
boat to a floating platform (pontoon) on the
reef. The advantages of such a trip are many;
they typically are more spacious and
comfortable than being on a boat all day, they
have glass bottom boats and semi-
submersible submarines for people who don’t
want to get wet. They usually offer helicopter
trips from the pontoon. They suit people who
might not be so comfortable snorkelling such
as older people or children and are very good
for families. The disadantages are that the
trips are quite expensive, and only go to 1 reef
location. Also, there are usually a lot of people
on these trips. There are 3 such trips in
Cairns, and 1 in Port Douglas:
•
Sunlover
•
Great Adventures
•
Reef Magic
•
Quicksilver (Port Douglas)
There are 3 main islands in Cairns that you can
snorkel from:
•
Green Island (Great Adventures)
•
Green Island (Big Cat)
•
Fitzroy Island (Raging Thunder)
•
Frankland Island group (Frankland Island
Cruise and Dive)
These trips enable you to relax on tropical white
sandy beaches and still get some snorkelling in.
They involve a much shorter boat trip than the
other options and you can do these even if you
have only half a day. If your thing is to get in as
much snorkelling as you can then you will be
better off giving the islands a miss. Fitzroy Island
and Frankland Island whilst they are beautiful
islands, do not have anywhere near as much coral
or fish than you will see on the other trips. Green
Island does have lots of fish and coral but the best
stuff is a long way from the beach-too far to swim
too. The islands are great if you have only half a
day available or as a 2nd reef trip. The following
trips are available:
Sailing boats can be a great way to see the reef
in an intimate manner and to have a fantastic
sailing experience at the same time. These
yachts range from 20 to 80 guests. The
downside of the yachts is that they generally
take longer (2 hours +) to get to the reef and will
usually be limited to the inner reefs. These reefs
are still very beautiful but seasoned divers
might be happier on the outer reef which is
usually deeper. Here are 4 small boats you can
choose from:
Small yachts
•
Reef Daytripper
•
Ocean Free
•
Passions of Paradise
•
Aquarius
•
Sailaway
Larger yachts
•
Ocean Spirit
•
Wavedancer (Port Douglas)