Week Liveaboard GBR on budget

[Starisc]

Hey!

I know you probably think " just another guy looking for a GBR liveaboard", but maybe this is new.

I am currently a student and i am planning a semester abroad in Australia. I plan to spend at least a full week in Cairns (about January/February 08) and want to do a 6-7 day liveaboard to GBR.

So where's the hook? I am student, so my budget is limited.

I don't really care about accomodations, food, accl., etc. I just want to dive safely and at the best spots. Nitrox would be nice so. I got my own equipment.

What can you recommend? From my research I found:
- Undersea Explorer
- Nimrod Explorer

Are there any less popular, cheaper liveaboards which fit my reqs?

It would be really great, if you could help me out. From Germany the aquisition of these insiders is really limited.

Cheers,

Simon

 

[Advokat]

Have a look at TAKA, out of all they seem to be the cheapest!You are looking at least 2400$ for a 7 days liveaboard.

 

[blatter]

Have dived from Undersea Explorer many times and would recommend it highly - see their website for details.

Definitely go for a boat/trip that goes out to the Coral Sea and the outer GBR - the Coral Sea dives are mostly spectacular.

Have heard good things about Nimrod - we are thinking of doing a trip with them to Holmes Reef - and have also dived on Taka and Spirit of Freedom.

Taka depth limit was only 35 m - nice boat and depth limit OK for GBR but not good for Coral Sea reefs if you want to see big soft corals / gorgonians IMO.

Spirit of Freedom had a bit more luxurious accommodation but the dive operations were not so good - just one dive ladder and a bit disorganized when we went - but still OK.

 

[Patty]

If you're a university student most of the universities have dive clubs, and many of them organize regular reef trips between semesters. Great for meeting people too. They're designed for student budgets. Generally very friendly people.

The other thing is that if your schedule is flexible many of the boats sell places on the Cairns promenade at cheap/standby rates for a few days ahead. If you're flexible with your schedule this might be something to look into. I guess you could also call the boats directly a few days out.

I don't like the drunken party thing so much, so I'd avoid Cairns and go to Port Douglas a a bit to the north. Also there is Townsville 3 hours to the south which is a lot more "real" to my mind. But each to their own.

Also remember there's great diving south of Cairns, and on the West coast! Pretty much the whole east coast of the country has good diving, and there's 3,000 kilometres of it! (Ok I exaggerate, but not by much).