Day Trips vs. Liveaboards in Australia as well as must-see Dive Sites

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louielao

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Location
Philippines
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Hi! We will be going to Sydney on February 27, 2015 for an occasion and decided to extend our stay to March 10. We thought of diving since we're already there so that we could experience the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef and other areas which are nice. Our current plans will have March 5-8 available for us to dive since we have to fly back to Sydney during the afternoon of the 9th to catch our flight back to Manila at 11:45am on the 10th. We are both Advanced/Nitrox divers but we would still want a dive guide with us.

We read in some threads that doing a liveaboard is better because you get to the dive sites faster, no need to travel forth and back. But when we checked the rates, they're on the pricey side, making day trips more practical. Is there a liveaboard that provides good service that are not that expensive? If we do day trips, are we going to miss a lot of the good dive sites (like the Cod Hole expedition, Coral Sea expedition, SS Yongala which are offered by Mike Ball and Spirit of Freedom) or will it still be doable (4 dives a day vs. 3 dives a day)? We've been to Palau and we enjoyed seeing the big sea creatures and schools of fish, we love looking at nice corals too.

We want to make the most of our trip so recommendations on what to do and dive sites that are a must-see, would really help us a lot!

Thank you!
 
Live aboards are always going to be a more varied experience due to the time factor.
When you calculate the costs of an overnight boat vs day trips, remember to add on the cost of a nights accommodation and food on top of the day boat rates. It’s not far off the same on some trips.

Although Mike Ball and spirit of Freedom are arguably the best trips (Ribbon Reef areas etc) they cost a bit more as they are 5 star service and you fly one way and motor back.

Consider Taka as a budget option that motors up and back.

If you want to do a budget live aboard then Ocean Quest (4 star) and Kangaroo Explorer (3 star) offer 2 day 1 night as well as 3 day 2 night. 1 more dive on OQ though.
 
Thank you for your insights!

We were really planning to do a liveaboard but the costs are too high but you're right, I forgot to consider the accommodations and food when we do day trips.

I did read reviews of the other operators you mentioned and I saw unhappy comments so that got me worried.

Do they all provide guides as we prefer to have one instead of exploring just to be safer?

For the dive sites, I guess Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, Yongala Wreck are the good ones. Anything else I shouldn't miss?
 
Forget day trips on the GBR if you want to go to a site worth seeing. The best advice is to find the cash and join Spoilsport or Spirit of Freedom. That way you will come away having had a great GRB experience. Taka is a good halfway house if cash is tight - at least you will get a little taste. of quality. Yongala wreck is in a different place altogether.
 
Guides are general not included and if you wanted a guide its around $15 per person per dive for a shared guide (group of up to 8).

There is usually a crew member in the water at all times anyway you can follow around, but the sites are decently briefed and with many lookouts etc if you do get lost simply surface and the small tender comes out to pick you up.

With some day trips guides may be inlcuded but on most boats certified divers tend to prefer to "do their own thing". But the options are there for a few guided dives if you wanted to.
 
We are considering doing a liveaboard but it's currently not feasible. Maybe we can do Taka but still thinking about it. Yes, I believe it is true that we won't be able to experience the good sites if we do day trips.

So there will always be a crew member underwater? We can have him/her as our guide just so that we know which directions to go to. We're just worried that we might get lost. We never go diving without a guide here in the Philippines except when we dive the house reefs. Haha!
 
From what I recall there were no guides in the water on the day boats. You might want to confirm this with the company you decide to go with.

try stretch the budget and dive taka if you can. Food and accommodation is very expensive in Australia as mentioned above you might find the total cost is not significantly different and you can dive the best of the reef rather than the worst.
 
Taka - Don't rely on a crew member diving at the same time as a guide They are not, but it does give you someone who knows the Reef to follow. There are crew working on the boat who still fun dive and the hosties work these boats in exchange for dives. U/W photographers also in each dive.

if you really want a guide you will have to pay for it, as advised in most of the above posts.

All dives are thoroughly briefed and divers range form newly certified to more advanced. Dive to your limitations and stay close to the boat or take a guide for a few of the dives.

Many are pinnacles, and so you just dive to your planned depth and circle up. You do not have to swim far from the boat to see a lot.

The fact a crew member is in each dive is just a helpful bonus but should not be relied on. You shouldn't really get lost as there will be a lot of people in the water with you, and you do not have to go by yourselves. Go as a small group if you like. Talk to the supervisor on board.

Any newly qualified or inexperienced divers who have done Cod Hole trips able to post about there experience on this to help out Louielao?
 
I had 18 dives under my belt on my first trip to cod hole/osprey reef. As aqua pro has said the dive briefs are very clear. Whilst I was nervous navigating when I was do inexperienced it really was not a problem at all. The sites are very easy to navigate. And if in doubt, just latch into the other groups in the water as you near the end of the dive. I've done that trip 7 times now and can only think of one occasion where a buddy group did not make it back to the boat. And they put up the mandatory SMB and the tender picked then up. They only suffered a little bit if embarrassment! All was fine.

having said that on taka and spirit you were always given the option of following a crew member in the water. Not so on the day boats or cheaper liveaboards.

i really can't recommend going to cod hole/osprey/ribbon reefs enough. The day trips from cairns just do not compare at all.
 
Sorry for the very late reply. Thank you MA and Aquapro Dive Services!

I guess most people dive on their own. My navigation skills are pretty bad that's why I'm thinking of getting a dive guide.

I'm considering Taka at the moment. We are also considering doing SS Yongala Wreck (our priority).
 
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