Looking for help with GBR day trip

[aslinterpreter]

Hell everyone! We will be in Cairns at the end of July. I am a padi MSDT, my wife and son are both rescue divers. We are looking for a day trip boat. Are my expectations set too high to think I can find a boat that is not packed with snorkelers?? I know a live aboard would offer a much better experience, but the rest of my family is only up for one day of diving. We will have all of our gear with us. Does anyone have a good boat they would recommend?

thanks in advance for the help.

 

[WetPup]

I went for a day trip on Tusa T6 in December due to a stuff up with my flights. By all accounts, that is the best day trip boat option for divers out of Cairns. However, even with 60 people on board (the reefs are too far offshore to make smaller boats a practical option), I'd say about half to 2/3 were still snorkellers. The other boats are supposedly worse in that regard. I do think your expectations are a little unrealistic. That being said though, Tusa got the divers in pretty quickly and we never even saw the snorkellers until we were doing our safety stops on the way back up. Reality is that you won't escape masses of snorkellers on the day trip boats, but they're not as much of an issue as you might think.

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Totally agree with WetPup (again LOL) Tusa is the bestfor a dedicated dive boat. Silverswift is a close second but has guides asstandard and for someone with experience its often nicer to just go and do yourown thing with your buddy.

There are cheaper, but these (like SeaQuest) are usually also transfer vesselsfor the over night boats, so less time at the dive sites. Tusa and Silverswiftofer 5 hours diving/ snorkeling and great service.

Here area few suggestions, but I think you cant go wrong with either of the above. Tusa bigger boat and newer as well. They deliberately keep numbers down.

 

[tajkd]

I went with Tusa who were great. I also did an overnight with Reef Encounters. I can't say enough about them. Lots of options, great crew, great diving options, fantastic accommodations and great food. I'd recommend them over Tusa if you want a better dive experience overall.