Help me decide - Carins Tusa T6 or Port Douglas Calypso

[Sea2Ski]

Been a certified diver for years, but only dive when on vacation and where it allows. Dove Aruba, Hawaii, Cabos, Fl Keys and several times in freshwater quarries. While I am certified, my wife is not. She will only snorkel for a few minutes and be done. So I will need a partner. I am told time and time again that I am excellent with my air, and a very attentive partner.

We have one day and one day only in Carins where we are going to cross the GBR off the list. This will take place this November 10th. After all my research, It appears like my best choices will be with either Tusa or Calypso. I am there to dive, I am there to see what is underwater, and I am less concerned about good food and plush accommodations. My main thing is safety and to take me to a good spot. While I am not against spending money, I do not want to spend money on things that are not important to me. For those who have dove these companies, can you provide any advise or recommendations which would be better for us? I have done searches on here, Trip Adviser and been to all their websites, and am totally torn between these two outfitters.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Iralub]

Been a certified diver for years, but only dive when on vacation and where it allows. Dove Aruba, Hawaii, Cabos, Fl Keys and several times in freshwater quarries. While I am certified, my wife is not. She will only snorkel for a few minutes and be done. So I will need a partner. I am told time and time again that I am excellent with my air, and a very attentive partner.

We have one day and one day only in Carins where we are going to cross the GBR off the list. This will take place this November 10th. After all my research, It appears like my best choices will be with either Tusa or Calypso. I am there to dive, I am there to see what is underwater, and I am less concerned about good food and plush accommodations. My main thing is safety and to take me to a good spot. While I am not against spending money, I do not want to spend money on things that are not important to me. For those who have dove these companies, can you provide any advise or recommendations which would be better for us? I have done searches on here, Trip Adviser and been to all their websites, and am totally torn between these two outfitters.

Thank you in advance.

Port Douglas is an hour from cairns, so if you are staying in cairns, it may not be convenient. I heard good things about Tusa, but never went with them.

I dove on calypso out of port douglas and they were quite good. Good equipment. We had 6 people to a group, good DM and heaps of safety precautions. The dives were very easy, in very benign conditions, but they still kept a close eye on us. My only issue was the restricting of dives to 45 min and depth to 18m (the latter restriction didn't matter at the particular sites we were diving as there was a hard bottom at 18m!).

Just as a hint, queensland law requires you to carry a snorkel when diving. It doesn't require you to wear it though. If you have a folding snorkel that you can put in a pocket, it can be a good idea to bring it

 

[WetPup]

Port Douglas is an 80 minute drive north of Cairns, if you only have one day, it's not really a practical option unless you're up at 4am to drive up there to make the boat's departure. It's possible, but do you really want to waste all that time? And are you going to have your own hire car?

Tusa T6 is fine - I went out with them for a day trip last Christmas. I was on my way to PNG, and didn't want to unpack all my own dive gear and have to fly with it wet, so I hired everything on board except for a mask and dive computer. Their hire gear is in good condition if you need it. The diving, if this is your only chance to get to the GBR, is ok. All the day trip boats out of Cairns pretty much go to similar dive sites, and differentiate themselves on service etc. rather than location. The sites aren't as amazing as what you see on the liveaboards, but for someone who's never been to the GBR before, it's still a day trip worth doing

Also, Tusa lets you dive to your certification level. So if you're certified to dive to 40m, you can - if you could find anywhere that deep. I think we maxed out at around 26 meters off Cairns that day. But they do enforce the 45 minute dive time - which seems to be more to do with keeping to a schedule for the day than anything else. I came up with almost half a tank left on all 3 dives. It is what it is, but I still had fun

 

[Sea2Ski]

Thank you both. It sounds like Tusa is the outfit to go with based on both of your replies. I will go with them, and report back after my trip. I appreciate the responses!!!