Stingers - GBR

Hi

We are heading up to QLD at the end of March on Rhapsody, planning on snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. Not sure yet whether we will do it out of Cairns or Airlie Beach.

Have been reading about stingers (or jellyfish) around GBR. Some tour companies recommend stinger suits, others say stingers are rare.

What is your experience? Do you recommend or should we be ok? One of the reason I ask is that we are bigger people and I doubt the suits would fit, so would need to purchase before we go - and would doubt we would use them again.

Thanks!

I am sure they will have them for all sizes. We've snorkelled in the Whitsundays and out of Cairns and they have always been available and recommended. As a redhead, I would always snorkel in a rash shirt anyway, to avoid the sunburn, so it is not so much different. In winter most people wear a wetsuit.

But you could email a couple of the big operators and ask.

Most stingers are found at the beaches or in mangrove swamps. While stingers are rare on the actual Reef, they do exist there. (See link below -- Irukandiji Jellyfish). I would not think of snorkeling during stinger season without a stinger suit. Some boats, in fact, will require that you wear a stinger suit which will not only protect you from the jellyfish, but will also provide you some protection from the blazing sun. (Your back and the backs of your legs are very susceptible to sunburn when snorkeling--been there, done that.

The GBR boats carry a wide variety of sizes of stinger suits and I would be fairly certain that they carry your size. Karennella's suggestion of contacting some GBR boats and asking is good. If you are doing a cruise-sponsored tour, I would ask the cruiseline which boat does their snorkel tours and then contact them directly with your question.

http://www.qldbeaches.com/stingers.html