Better to dive in Cairns or Townsville?

[Kaela1976]

I have never dived before and am planning a trip to Cairns this December. It's no secret that the Great Barrier Reef is the best place to dive, but should I dive in Cairns or Townsville? I've heard that the popularity of Cairns has somewhat disrupted the beauty of the sea life and that Townsville offers a more scenic experience. Where would you recommend I go?

 

[cdiver2]

NO OF THE ABOVE

 

[ns2ny]

Well, maybe this will help.

No matter where you stay, youll have a bit of a boat ride to hit the better dive spots anyway. So the specific issue of one or the other being built up and spoiling the sea life is not really applicable.

While I cannot say for sure, you will likely have more (not better) operators and options in Cairns. Cairns is really built around the tourist and dive industry and Townsville a little less so.

We stayed out of Cairns near Port Douglas and loved it. You can also go further south to Gladstone and that area as well. Or stay out on the islands closer to the reef and diving.

It will boil down to time, money and what you really want to see/do in the time you are there..

David

 

[Valwood1]

Adding to the prior post, I think that, due to the long boat ride to the reef, your real choice is whether to accept the long daily ride or to look for a liveaboard. There are numerous posts on this board regarding the latter.

Port Douglas is a nice beach town (probably, not much different from Florida beach towns), but I don't know how many day trips originate there.

I believe that Townsville is regarded mainly as a good base to dive the Yongala wreck, but such a dive would be far beyond your experience level.

You'd be well advised to get certified, and a bit of further experience, prior to your trip. I believe that most local dive ops offer on-site certification, but you'll wind up spending a lot of time in class in the process.

Bill

 

[scubawife]

We stayed in Palm Cove, which is about half way btwn Pt Douglas and Cairns. There are lots of daytrip dive and snorkel boats available out of Pt Douglas and Cairns. There are even a few that pick up at the pier in Palm Cove. We used Poseidon out of Pt Douglas (www.poseidon-cruises.com.au) and really enjoyed it. The boat ride out is long, but they went to 3 different sites. The trip included a lunch and snacks. There were certified divers, intro course divers and also snorkellers.

If you've never dove before, you might want to consider one of the daytrip boats that dock on permanent platforms, like Quicksilver (www.quicksilver-cruises.com). They've also got a semi-sub and viewing platforms. You can do an intro dive with them and also snorkel.

 

[ns2ny]

I missed this in the original post...

You can easily do a resort course while there but I would urge you to consider getting into a class (and hopefully certified) before you leave.

This will not only save you precious time while on holiday it will also get you prepared to enjoy the trip even more. Depending on how long you are there, a resort course will usually get you some pool time, some class time and a supervised dive or 2. If you want to do more dives or dive over multiple days, you may find it quite pricey and limiting.

Getting the cert done before you leave will generally pay for itself when compare to having to pay for 1 or 2 resort courses and the extra fees come shops will charge to take you out.

david

 

[saturatedone]

HI guys.... I've dived extensively in both Cairns and Townsville and really don't rate either all that highly unless you get out to the ribbon reefs etc.
One great place to get some cheap fun diving is Airlie Beach on the Whitsunday Coast about 2.5 hours south of Townsville. http://www.oceaniadive.com.au/ have 2 liveaboards that travel to black and little black reef and you will have a fantastci time.
"Oceania" is the fast cat but doesn't have any shade on the upper deck, which mean huge sunburn. "Ocean Pro" is an ex Mike BAll dive boat that cruises at a leisurely 9 knots and is very stable, good dive deck and a great crew. Meals are plentiful being mainly salads and pasta, tacos that sort of thing, but give them a call and enjoy...! It's not difficult diving but there are 30 metre drift dives along walls etc with heaps of pelagics, nice coral, caves (if you're qualified) and enough reef sharks to keep you amused.

If you want any more info, drop me a line.

cheers,

 

[h3o]

Mike Ball does both on one trip, and I hear his prices have gone down a lot... be sure to book when you get there and not ahead of time for the best deal, up to 50% off! Don't let them try and scare you and say that its fully booked, it is most likely not, but if it is, there are heaps of options for diving GBR.

 

[ColdH20diving]

I didn't care for Cairns, we spent a week in Port Douglas and loved it there. We had no problem finding dive operators to take us out to the reef, there are several to choose from. When your not diving, four mile beach is a great place to soak up some sun. Have a great time, I loved it there and can't wait to go back.

 

[caymaniac]

We liked Cairns as a starting off spot. There is alot to do in Cairns, there are tours into the Rainforest, there are tours to see Aboriginal Dancers, there are lots of boats going out to the reef. The town has plenty of places to eat. The public transportation in Cairns affords you the opportunity not to rent a car, thereby keeping your cost down.
For strictly diving, Port Douglas would be a better place to stay. Someone earlier made the comment that diving on the Ribbons would be where the good diving starts, I agree with that. There are also things to see in PD, like Habitat, the Daintree and downtown some nice places to eat (but not as many as Cairns)
Palm Cove is very nice and very very quiet.
I would choose honeymooning in Palm Cove, I would choose Cairns for more night life and more restaurant coices, and I would choose Port Douglas for a spot to base for diving or getting on a liveaboard.

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac