Cairns: Looking for Suggestions

[weygoldt]

My brother and me are going to Cairns and Townsville for 3 weeks.
Who could give us some suggestions of
* What dive tours and operators are good
* What all we should do besides diving
* What hotel to go too.
We will be getting to Cairns on the 27th and plan to driving to Townsville after a couple weeks.
Thanks a lot,
Christian.

 

[scuba_mike]

Hi Christian,

I suspect that some of the local divers will give you lots of other suggestions, but I spent a week in Cairns in January 2005 and was out diving (day trips) with Tusa Dive (http://www.tusadive.com/daydive.htm). I brought my own reg kit, computer, mask & snorkel and rented the rest. They were a good group and they had a few large boats that looked like they could accommodate up to 40 people or so. They averaged about 30 divers on the days I went out. Each boat went in a different direction and dive groups consisted of 4 divers per dive leader.

I've also heard good things about ProDive (http://www.prodive-cairns.com.au/) but don't have first-hand experience with them. And there are also liveaboards, such as Mike Ball's (http://www.mikeball.com/) if you can fit it into your schedule. I've heard the diving is terrific because you venture further out into less travelled areas of the reef.

I stayed at the Oasis Resort (http://www.oasis-cairns.com.au/) and the Tusa minivan picked me up in the morning and dropped me off in the afternoon. The accommodations were very good and on my last day I even spent some time at the pool.

In Cairns, I enjoyed at day at Kuranda (http://www.skyrail.com.au/kuranda.html), exploring the rainforest and the village. There's also the Daintree Rainforest, but I didn't make it there. Here's a good site with Cairns top-side adventures (http://www.cairnsattractions.com/).

All the best for a terrific time.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[drbill]

I dove with Deep Sea Divers Den in Cairns and was quite pleased with them, especially since the instructor I talked to recognized my "museum quality" LA County c-card!

 

[jesgooch]

I just got back from a trip and dove out of Cairns with Pro-Dive on a three day liveaboard. It was fantastic.

THe staff was friendly and helpful, very safety conscious and the equipment was great. The chef was amazing, always had us fed well.

We had the option to do 12 dives, 2 of which were night dives.

Great bunch of folks.

I also hear Mike Ball is a good company as well.

We also did a day trip out of Cape Tribulation on the Rumrunner. They were pretty good, but I likes Pro-Dive out of Cairns better.

If you are going to Townsville, you are going to need a 4WD other wise, Cape Trib is as far as you would want to go.

What type of accomodation are you looking at?
There are tons of Hostels and campgrounds around there, I spent 2plus weekks in the Cairns/Cape Trib area, the rainforest is amazing!!!
This time of year the box jellyfish are out so you can't swim at the beach.

Let me know if you need any other info, that area was one of my favorites of a three month trip.
Jessica

 

[RonDawg]

I went to Cairns for 3 days/4 nights at the end of September as part of a larger trip across eastern Australia.

I second the motion for TUSA Dive. My avatar photo was taken on one of my dives with them. While they might not appeal to the hard-core diver, they were perfect for an inexperienced diver like me. The boats were never crowded, and the DM-diver ratio was about 1 to 4. They serve a good lunch as well, and if you are staying in Cairns they will pick you up from your hotel; I don't know how far outside of town they will go.

There is plenty to do in the greater Cairns area other than diving. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to do this, but I would have loved to go up to Kuranda on the historic train and returned via SkyRail.

If you want to go for a nice leisurely drive, there is a nice "loop" drive that starts/ends in the north end of Cairns, goes up to the "Atherton Tablelands" which is a mesa overlooking the Cairns coast, and finally ends/starts south of Cairns. I'm not sure if you can rent a motorcycle in Cairns, but if you can and have a motorcycle license, the roads leading to/from the Tabelands are excellent for motorcycle riding. http://www.athertontableland.com/

You do NOT need a 4wd to go to Townsville unless you're planning some weird route. Highway 1 is paved all the way to Sydney and beyond. Once you leave Cairns proper though, it becomes a two lane road with occasional passing areas. In my experience, Queenslanders tend to drive about 20 km/hr below the posted limit, so give yourself plenty of time. This road also has a pretty high accident rate, if the numerous driving safety billboards are to be believed, so be careful when trying to pass. Queensland has numerous "Driver Reviver" sites along this highway where you can pull over, take a nap, use the restroom if necessary, and unless it's the early morning hours there is a volunteer there serving free coffee. Take advantage of them; they recommend a 15 minute break after every 2 hours of driving.

 

[scuba_mike]

RonDawg is correct. The road between Cairns and Sydney is well paved and maintained. We drove the entire route in Jan 2005.

I believe the 4WD suggestion was if you decided to head north of Cairns to the Port Douglas, Daintree, Cape Tribulation area.

Townsville is definitely south of Cairns, so no 4WD is necessary. I believe that out of Townsville and Ayr you can catch day trips to dive on the Yongala. This is supposed to be a great wreck dive.

 

[dolphin adventures]

Hi Christian:

We have two favorite dive operators out of Cairns; ProDive and Taka.....both operate 2 to 5 night liveaboards. The ProDive pricing is amazing.....just as cheap as diving from a shorebased operator and you get out to the truely great reefs and meals are included. I have some favorite hotels in Cairns in all price ranges. Sunshine Towers is well priced and has kitchettes so you have a refrigerator and cooking facilities if you want to reduce the cost. There are also some great rainforest properties North of Cairns that are super cheap and right on or near the beach area....so you can do the adventure stuff in the rainforest. I also have some great rates for properties in Townsville. If you want a list of pricing.....just send me an email. You should have a great time.

Mary Jane Augustine
dolphinadventures2004@yahoo.com

 

[thisisandrea]

Definitely agree with Mary - had a fantastic time out on Taka www.taka.com.au Great boat and crew.

 

[JulieannevZ]

I've heard that the best time to go diving on The Great Barrier Reef is September, October or November? It's not soooo hot then, and it's before the cyclone season.

Do others agree with that?

 

[Darnold9999]

Was in Cairns in Octover/November and the crew of the Mike Ball boat suggested that the best time was Oct/Nov - between the dry and the wet. Was almost dead flat calm the whole trip and not too hot yet.

Not enough information about what you are looking for to add anything else. i.e. what price range. Cains is a great place to party for the younger crowd. I would go up the beach to Palm Cove for the peace and quiet.

Taka is supposed to provide the best liveaboard, but I thought that the Mike Ball trip I did was excellent. Would do it again in a second. Have a look at the DiveOz website for more local info.