Reef Diving Trips from Cairns

You don’t need a dive certificate to scuba the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns. Most day boats carry instructors who take first-timers down on an introductory dive, one small group at a time, while certified divers head off with a guide and everyone else snorkels. The price you see is usually the snorkel fare, with the dive added as an option, so compare what the dive costs on top as well as the headline figure.

Our top pick: a boat built for diving

The Divers Den reef day (our breakdown) runs its purpose-built boat, AquaQuest, about 90 minutes out to two sites picked from the company’s own moorings at Norman, Saxon and Hastings reefs. You get up to five hours at the reef. The dive deck has a sunken platform for getting in and out, and there are hot showers and air-conditioned indoor space for warming up between sessions.

The $179 fare covers the snorkel day: gear, wetsuits or Lycra suits, prescription masks, a guided snorkel tour, morning and afternoon tea and a buffet lunch. The first-time dive is an option at booking, open from age 12, and guided certified diving is also charged on top. It is rated 4.6 by 1,586 guests. The same crew sells a second listing of this trip with up to four hours in the water, also from $179.

Other day boats with diving

The Ocean Freedom reef and coral cay cruise (our breakdown) dives the Wonder Wall on the outer edge of Upolu Reef, where you drop down the side of a wall of hard and soft coral. Introductory divers go two to one instructor on their first dive, and certified divers can do two dives in a small group with a guide. It costs $203 before dives and is rated 4.8 by 1,626 guests.

The Reef Magic Dreamtime Dive and Snorkel day (our breakdown) is the lowest-priced full day on the outer reef on this site, from $174. It spends five hours in the water across two sites, and Indigenous guides share the stories of the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji, Gunggandji, Mandingalbay and Yirrganydji peoples. Choose the introductory or certified dive option when you book, and it is part of your ticket.

Certified divers who want more time underwater should look at the Silverswift three-site trip (our breakdown), which allows up to three guided dives at three different reefs, charged as extras on the $216 fare. The Down Under Cruise and Dive day (our breakdown) sells options with one intro or certified dive at Saxon and Hastings reefs, from $193.

Staying out overnight

A day trip gives you one or two dives. For more, the Coral Sea Dreaming liveaboard (our breakdown) takes 12 guests on a 16-metre yacht for two days, with every dive guided and a night dive for certified divers. The $470 fare covers the snorkelling, meals and a bunk; dives are paid on board. If you want the certificate itself, the Divers Den four-day PADI Open Water course ($733) pairs two days in the pool with two reef days and four open water dives.

Before you dive

All divers answer a medical questionnaire on board, and conditions such as asthma, heart disease or some medications can rule you out without a doctor’s letter. The minimum age is 12. Leave 12 to 24 hours between your last dive and any flight, which matters if you plan a scenic flight over the reef on the same trip. Hard coral cover in the northern region around Cairns rose to 35.1% in the latest survey, but each site differs, and no boat can promise how a given reef looks that day.

Where to go from here

If only part of your group will dive, the snorkelling tours cover the rest of the options. For the case for going at all, read is the Great Barrier Reef worth visiting, and for water temperatures and visibility through the year, the best time to visit guide.

Ready to go? Check availability for the Divers Den reef day.