GBR vs Indonesia

[Russjstewart]

My partner has recently returned from Komodo and has dived on the Yongala a few years ago. When I asked the question Komodo or Yongala her answer was different dives. Komodo was awesome as a destination, but the Yongala was unique, and right up there.

The Yongala is very weather dependant but August is well outside Cyclone season. You may need to book ahead if you decide it is worth the money. We dived with Yongala dive in Alva beach.

Looking online a day boat out of Cairns to the outer reef will cost you in the vicinity of aud 285.00,for two dives.
Have a good trip

 

[Centrals]

Thank you. I think MB understood my question.

SS Yongala is 312 AUD. For this price, you can have 8 dives on the Phillipines and maybe 6 in Indonesia. Is Yongala 3-4 times better than that? Probably not. Probably on par with good PH dives sites at best? Is there anything to justify sacrificing 6 Komodo dives in stead of 2 Yongala dives?

We will be in Queensland in August.

"Value for money"!
You are comparing apple, orange and pineapple.
I have been to Komodo and know what to expect generally. But never dived the wreck, therefore I would pick the wreck if given the opportunity.
There is NO right or wrong. It is your holiday afterall.
Have a nice one.

 

[Bryanwwelsh]

What a trip you’re having. To me, the Great Barrier Reef is iconic. We dived there, but our best experience was snorkeling off Port Douglas, which is a stone‘s throw from Cairns. A fairly long boat ride, but then a lively reef, five-foot clams and zooming cuttlefish. So, for us it was unique and different from Indo.

Hi, my wife and I will be staying in Port Douglas from October 14 to 17, 2023. What was the name of the outfit you went out with for snorkeling? How long was the boat ride? Besides me going SCUBA diving, I would like to take the wife out snorkling.

I am new to this forum, and will likely be posting a general question as follows, but since you seem to have dove there before so I will ask you:

I am a 64 year old "vacation only" diver now with a basic PADI certification. Probably 75 dives in 40 years, I don't log them. Diving the GBR has always been on my wish list ever since I watched Jacques Cousteau on TV as a child. I would like an experience that is not pedestrian but it does not need to be exotic either. Price (within reason) is not really a concern, since this is probably the only time I will be diving the GBR. What outfits/packages and dive destination would you recommend for me? Willing to travel an hour or so by car from Port Douglas if need be.

Thank you!

 

[rmorgan]

Hi, Bryan. We were staying in a lodge at the mouth of the Daintree, in Weary Bay. i think we went straight out from there—the GBR takes a bulge toward the, coast. i assume we were at the first good place once we got to the reef, about 20 miles(?). So I don’t know about operators in Port Douglas (plus it was a dozen years ago). It looks like there are a good many bots going out, though. The Daintree is excellent, by the way, but the place we stayed is shuttered.

 

[Bryanwwelsh]

Hi, Bryan. We were staying in a lodge at the mouth of the Daintree, in Weary Bay. i think we went straight out from there—the GBR takes a bulge toward the, coast. i assume we were at the first good place once we got to the reef, about 20 miles(?). So I don’t know about operators in Port Douglas (plus it was a dozen years ago). It looks like there are a good many bots going out, though. The Daintree is excellent, by the way, but the place we stayed is shuttered.

Thanks for the input. We will be going to the Daintree one of our days there, good knowing it is excellent. Have a great day.

 

[Asanoth]

We had to postpone the trip till September, but did eventually dive, as my wife wanted to "see" the GBR. I would prefer Yongala, but that is life. We did 3 dives on Norman reef; two of them at the same dive site, but the site was quite large and the dives were not too much alike.
We did not see anything strikingly new, but we did see a huge giant clam and a ginormous grouper (called "cod" in Australia for some reason). Also a grey reef shark, not sure if we saw them on Komodo and huge pineapple sea cucumbers.
Coral, especially hard, was in good condition. Moving animals were not too abundant, maybe on par or a little worse than Koh Bida.
All in all it was better than I expected on mass day trip from Cairns.

For me, being on the budget trip and all, it was not worth it given the price, even though the dives were enjoyable. If it were 30ish EUR per dive, than maybe yes, but I, having only 50 dives now, dove much better locations for much less money. Of course, if I saw a great white shark hunting down a whale and being eaten by a giant squid subsequently, I might have talk otherwise .