The ultimate way to see the best of the Great Barrier Reef is to spend time on a live aboard dive vessel.
Trips range from 2 day 1 night, to full 7 day safaris. You get to see a wide variety of reefs, and all accomodation, food and equipment is supplied.
Some beautiful Outer Reef dive sites are accessible just a few hours from Cairns itself. These sites are ideal for those wanting a shorter trip as well as beginner divers.
Luxury Overnight Diving on the Outer Reef
Ocean Quest operates daily and offers an unforgettable overnight Cairns Outer Reef experience for snorkellers, certified, and introductory divers.
This beautiful floating hotel is 36m long and carries 48 passengers. She has 23 cabins over three decks, including double, twin, and quad rooms.
Daily departures from a transfer vessel (SeaQuest).
More Info
Premium Liveaboard Reef Adventure
Pro Dive Cairns 3-day 2-night trips depart daily except Tuesdays, offering flexible options for your reef adventure.
Explore the Outer Great Barrier Reef in Style!
Moreover, their liveaboard trips combine high-quality diving with unbeatable value.
During your journey, you visit 19 exclusive dive sites across four reefs.
These sites rank among the most spectacular locations on the Great Barrier Reef.
Sailing adventures departs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
18m long, maximum of 12 passengers and 3 crew. Join in and help sail the boat or just ‘supervise’ from the sundeck. 2 day 1 night trips to Outer Reef sites.
Coral Sea Dreaming is a modern charter yacht with a beautiful wooden interior and cabin options to please the most discerning traveler. Her luxurious amenities make Coral Sea Dreaming the perfect boat for your Australian Great Barrier Reef escape.
Certified diver package includes 4-day dives and a night dive. All dives are guided.
The introductory diver package includes 1 dive. Extra dives can be purchased on board.
More InfoThe ultimate tour and experience of a lifetime. To see the best of the Great Barrier Reef and beyond – the Coral Sea. Wildlife includes various Nudibranchs, Manta Rays, Giant Australian Cuttlefish, Loggerhead and Green Turtles, Moray Eels, Red Flame File Shell, Lionfish and the best Marine life the Great Barrier Reef has to offer.
Just like you see on the TV documentaries – pinnacle dives, huge schools of pelagic fish, minke whales (July – Sept), massive Potato Cod, wall and drift dives….the list goes on and on.
The Coral Sea boasts 30m + visability and its here that you can see the famous shark feeds where you can see anywhere from 10 to 70 sharks at a time. Frequent visitors include: Grey reef sharks (AKA Grey Whalers), Black tip reef sharks, White tip reef sharks, Wobbegong sharks, Epaulette sharks and the larger Oceanic Silver Tip sharks. Hammerhead sharks can sometimes been seen at North Horn in late winter and into spring of each year.
Sunday and Thursday departures
Dive Australia’s Coral Sea, Cod Hole & Ribbon Reefs with Spirit of Freedom live-aboard dive expeditions.
Most importantly, Spirit of Freedom offers an exceptional live-aboard dive experience cruising to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and remote Coral Sea reefs. Scuba Dive Tours of 3, 4 and 7 day duration depart our of Cairns to iconic dive sites such as the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and North Horn, Osprey Reef. Shark dives, Potato Cod feeding, sheer walls laced with massive soft corals, manta-rays, minke whales, and abundant healthy tropical reefs, rich with marine biodiversity are just some of the high-lights you’ll experience with Spirit of Freedom diving tours
More Info
Monday and Thursday departures
Spoilsport is one of the longest running, and the most awarded dive liveaboard offering 3, 4 and 7 night expeditions to the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea. Spoilsport offers an open dive deck, and is very relaxed. “Spoilsport” lives up to its name.
Trips depart Mondays (3 night Ribbon Reef Cod Hole) and Thursday (4 night Coral Sea and Ribbon Reef). Fly one way and motor the other. 7 day trips depart Thursdays.
More Info