Still worth it without a liveaboard? Cairns/Port douglas

[just_gettingstarted]

Hi guys
My 1st time in Oz coming up in September & am focused on diving the GBR! Am going with a friend who doesn't dive & I hadn't realised that the best diving seems only reachable by liveaboards which I hadn't really budgeted for.:depressed:

I am completely overwhelmed by choice of operators and where to go - help?! What are the best day dives? Will it all be horribly overdived and dead coral on day dives?
Who is best to go with?
I have 2.5 weeks, and can spend as long as needed/wanted in Cairns or Port D...
I'm just qualified AOW but am rather spoilt with quite quiet dive boats in red sea etc. all thoughts gratefully received!

thank you!!!

 

[farsidefan1]

I'm sure some of the locals can give you more detailed advice than I but when I went to dive the GBR I chose a liveaboard (Spoilsport) and part of my reasoning was that the box jellies spawn in fresh water rivers and don't really get out beyond the GBR. We left out of Cairns and had a fabulous time.

 

[ocdiver1]

Are you just going to be in Northern Queensland on your trip? Really to me by far the best diving out of Cairns is on LOB to the outer reefs...but further south in QLD (S of Townsville) is the Yongala, one of the top dives in the world (and my personal #1 anywhere), and even further south over the NSW border is awesome diving at Julian Rocks at Byron Bay. Byron Bay topside is a great place to spend some time as well.

 

[just_gettingstarted]

Hi, thanks! The furthest south I'm going to be going is Airlie Beach (?location)..

 

[ocdiver1]

ahh ok, that's Byron Bay is probably 1000k S of there. Assuming you're going via car, you would probably pass through Townsville on your way to AB though

 

[mattoau]

From my own recreational and occupational diving on the GBR I would say this. The very best diving would be on the Spirit of Freedom, Spoilsport or Scubapro (ProDive) liveaboards from Cairns. Next come the day boats and a couple of other liveaboards such as Taka or Reef Explorer, however these are serviced by day boats and use the same sites, except that you can do a night dive.

All of the day boats generally use the same few sites, and these are chosen on the day according to local conditions and a few other factors.

However as mentioned there the is the SS Yongala wreck. As a day trip I would recommend this as the best the GBR has to offer. As Airlie is your southern limit this is well within the range. Two operators visit the Yongala on a regular basis. Adrenalin gor from Townsville and it takes a couple of hours to get there, and Yongala Dive go from Ayr/Alva, between Townsville and Airlie, this trip takes 20-40 minutes according to the conditions. One caveat is that the Yongala is not protected by the reef as the other dive sites are, and as such trips are often cancelled due to the elements. Also this trip would not be suitable for a non-diving friend as there is nothing to see above 16m.

 

[CajunDiva]

While a liveaboard may be the best solution for some, I respectfully disagree. We undertook the same type of trip you are planning, our primary goal being to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Our budget didn't allow for a week long liveaboard trip, so we settled for a three day trip aboard Spirit of Freedom out of Cairns followed by a week staying, playing and diving out of Port Douglas.

First we did the liveaboard. It was OK, but the weather conditions were not favorable and we had a VERY rough ride. Visibility was not the best and while the diving was OK, I was not SUPER impressed by the quality of the dives we did. (Although this was probably due to the weather conditions)

After our three day trip on the Spirit of Freedom, we transferred to Port Douglas for another week+. Among other adventures, we did a couple of day dive trips with Calypso Reef Charters. I had a great time and REALLY enjoyed the dives there.

So I would say that if your budget doesn't allow for a liveaboard experience, you could be quite happy diving out of Port Douglas on the day boats. We all have different experiences and opinions, it's just a matter of finding what suits you best

 

[Madrone]

You will be disappointed by day trips, the reefs off cairns are really dying and damaged. I hear spirit of freedom and Mike ball are the liveaboards to take. I went with Taka of Divers Den and it sucked badly.

 

[ocdiver1]

I'd agree that day trips from Cairns just really pale in comparison to the outer reefs. Unfortunately LOBs (as unfortunately all diving in Aus), is incredibly expensive. A compromise may be a shorter trip, perhaps? Mike Ball, which I've done, and others already mentioned here (Spirit of Freedom, Taka) do do shorter trips of 3-4 days, so not quite as expensive but you still get to the otuer reefs.

If you do the Yongala, I'd really recommend going from Airlie Beach rather than Townsville. From Townsville it's a much longer sail..and for that reason the seas can be much rougher and it gets frequently cancelled (I've learned the hard way). From Airlie Beach it's much closer and they often go out on days the trips from Townsville are cancelled.

 

[Darnold9999]

Something to be aware of is that sometimes the LOB's will offer the last couple of spots on a boat for a significant discount at the last minute. This assumes that there are unsold spots, but if you are going to be in the area for a few weeks it might be worth checking pricing while you are there. As I recall the trip I took with Mike Ball was discounted 30% - booking the day before the boat left.