Great Barrier Reef

[sej67]

I'll be in Cairns for a few days, and I want to visit the GBR one day. There are so many options. Here are a few questions:

 

pontoon (floating barge) - worth it?

 

underwater "walking" (or whatever they call it). I've seen it advertised with these pontoon floating barges. Is it worth it?

 

helicopter ride - expensive. Worth it?

 

snorkeling vs. scuba - I've done snorkeling but not scuba. Is it worth it for a first-timer to try scuba?

 

outer reef vs. inner - a lot of the tours advertise that they go to the outer reef. Apparently that is better viewing of coral and fish than the inner reef?

 

semi-submersible submarine vs. glass bottom boat - which is better? What's the difference?

 

number of dive spots - some day tours go to just one spot, and some go to two. Which would be better? It seems like if the viewing isn't great at one, you might have better luck at the second one.

 

Green Island - one tour that is cheap and looks good goes to Green Island. Is this a good place to go? Or are there better dive spots?

 

Thanks in advance.

[kenish]

There's a bewildering choice of Reef tours! We went on Silverswift at the beginning of July and really enjoyed it. Our goals were:

 

- Small to midsize group (about 60 in our case), many "pontoon" based tours have 300+ people.

 

- Maximize time in the water, ours spent 1.5h at 3 different sites. Some offer one stop (or the only stop) at a cay such as Green Island. The glass bottom boats, semi-submersibles, "snuba", etc are OK for people who can't swim or don't want to get wet. It does take away from time in the water.

 

- Fast boat, you want to get to the Outer Reef as quickly as possible.

 

- Offers a guided snorkel tour (ours was free and the guide pointed out lots of things we would have missed).

 

- Intro dives available. We couldn't do it, we are in excellent health but they are ultra-conservative about any respiratory problems in the past 10 years so were disqualified. Recommend an OK letter from your doctor (even if there's no health issues). We heard from a diver that Queensland has new, extremely stringent requirements. BTW our disappointment went away when we realized we were seeing more than the intro divers.

 

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with other choices, just sharing our "decision tree". The "Silver Series" family of boats each offer something different, so check their website.

 

Also, the season is important. If you are going during an off-peak time you might consider waiting until you arrive. If the sea, wind, or water conditions are poor you can select a different date when you have the forecast. Stinger season is another thing to consider though I hear it's not as big a problem out at the Reef. Most tours offer Lycra stinger suits.

[wildweston]

Definately go outer reef, Quicksilver is a popular tour. We did Green Island, I wouldn't recommend it. We did a seaplane over the reef and it was absolutely fantastic. :D

[sej67]

Thanks for the info, both of you.

 

why would you not recommend Green Island?

[kenish]

Our boat (Silverswift) stopped at Green Island to pick up a few passengers returning to Cairns. Although we did not go on the island I got a look from the boat. It looks like a very nice place, but if the goal is to maximize time in the water, why spend time going onto land then going a short distance offshore to what I believe are fringing reefs? Instead go on a boat that goes straight to the outer reef. Also a stop at Green Isl. means you will only go to one Outer Reef site.

 

OTOH if you want to lie on a tropical beach or if one of your party does not want to go in the water then Green Isl. may be a good choice. But you can get similar experiences on the mainland.

[ladylawyer888]

Great information . . .my husband and I are going to be in Brisbane 12/30 (on our way down to Sydney for a 1/4 cruise) and want to drive up to Bundaberg to catch a seaplane to Lady Elliot Island. We've no idea what we're doing except wanting to see the GBR.

 

Would it be better to take a boat trip for the day? I'm a bit uneasy in choppy waters so we thought I could veg on the island while he snorkels right off the island. Any suggestions?

 

Also, is there snorkeling around Fraser Island? Or is it best to head up north a bit?

 

thanks so much for suggestions.

 

Barbra & Fred

[ladylawyer888]

I just read some other threads and have more questions/ideas. From what I've read, you can fly from Brisbane directly to Lady Elliot Island. Anyone know about that? Seems it would save a lot of driving time because the end of December/beginning of January are high season around there.

 

Please . . . any advice??

 

Thanks,

 

Barbra and Fred