Great Barrier Reef Tour Pointers

The dive (his first ever) was great and he was amazed by the amount and variety of underwater life. He says everyone should try to go on a Great Barrier Reef tour at least once in their life.

He was quite happy with the service provided by Wicked Travel, as well as the Iceberg.

She says a Great Barrier Reef tour is something that should be on everyone's "to do" list!

The absolute highlight of her live aboard trip however was snorkelling with dwarf minke whales.

Warrick thought their Cairns accommodation, the Quality Hotel Sheridan Plaza, was excellent value for money and well located to explore Cairns. He recommends at least 4 days in the area.

She warns that precautions against sea-sickness should be taken or it can spoil your outing.

Melissa was a bit apprehensive about the dive and if it wasn't for instructors Andy, Richard and his wife she would most likely not have gone under at all. They assisted Melissa beautifully and made sure her nerves were calm and her mind put at ease during the entire trip.

The couple had an incredible day out exploring the reef and were very happy with the service, level of professionalism and friendliness of the staff at Poseidon, recommending them to anyone wishing to go on a Great Barrier Reef tour…

Other than that though, the trip out to explore the reef was stunning and made all the troubles with their stay worth the effort. She says that while some people opted for diving, they stuck with snorkelling and got to see all the colour and natural beauty that can be expected from a Great Barrier Reef tour.

They occupied themselves playing games and getting massages when not out at sea and eventually made a hefty effort to leave Dunk Island early by means of a water taxi. Joanne says that although seeing the reef is truly a fantastic experience, the Dunk Island resort is not the best place to choose to base oneself…

They made three dive stops: two at Flynn Reef and one at Milln Reef. Chrissie reports that although most of the coral at Gordon's, Flynn Reef (their first stop) was dead, the algae found on it serves as food for turtles, making a turtle-sighting well worth the dive.

They found the colour and glow of the coral to be truly spectacular and saw plenty of fish, as well as a reef shark and some clownfish. On their way back to dry land they relived their dives watching video footage taken while they were under the water…

On the first day the group of 15 travellers did up to three dives (including a night dive) during which they saw crab fish, clown fish, a hermit crab and more. He recommends a Great Barrier Reef tour to anyone able to visit Cairns.

Justin also visited the beautiful Mission Beach, where there is not a lot to do, but it is a beautifully serene escape spot. Although he didn't have the time for it, he discovered that skydiving is also offered here.

Source: Review submitted

She was disappointed with the quality of the Fitzroy Island Resort and did not recommend it for anything other than a day trip. She advised others to wait until the resort is rebuilt (seems it has now been done - Ed 2009). She also advised people to go in summer.

The weather was cool but sunny, the water "too cold" but the visibility excellent.

She used the internet and sites like TripAdvisor to plan her trip, the highlight of which was hiring a campervan and driving up the coast.

His tips are to bring a camera, apply enough sunscreen and to not spend too much time below deck as it could cause sea sickness and missing out on the action, like dolphins swimming past the boat!

Great Barrier Reef day trip »

They quickly discovered that the work was much more labour intensive than initially anticipated, and that not getting paid does not mean not having to work hard. Brian writes that the work was awful, reminding him of the rat race and slavery. On top of this he suffers from sea sickness, making it all the worse. But it got better towards the end, and did not spoil their cruise altogether.

Compared to other coral they have seen elsewhere, they thought the Great Barrier Reef coral is a little overrated. Brian feels that the colour is slightly lacking, and gives it neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down. They did however see quite a few sharks, as well as a Maori Wrasse, an interesting fish with the ability to switch sexes…

Miller opted for a ride in a glass bottom boat which included a feeding, luring a good number of beautiful fish to swim around right underneath the boat.

The three of them took to the streets for a taste of the nightlife in Cairns to end their adventurous Great Barrier Reef tour with ice cream in a buzzing marketplace…

She rates her Great Barrier Reef tour experience 10 out of 10 and thinks you should add it to your list of things to do before you die...

Dominique's Barrier Reef encounter »

They had beautiful warm weather and good visibility in the water and Tuuli did her first dive on this trip which she says was unforgettable.

He feels it's important to research your Great Barrier Reef tour boat and was happy with the one they had - a good dose of fun without too much partying which could impact your enjoyment of this fantastic natural wonder.

Phil diving the Great Barrier Reef »

Sophie spent time on three different boats during her Great Barrier Reef tour and relates the lifestyle and practicalities in her useful trip report.

Working on boats in the Great Barrier Reef »

Getting up close and personal with Harry the wrasse was a highlight for Ken; he also loved exploring the Reef in a small sub-boat.

This type of trip is not for everyone, especially if you like secluded beaches, but as Ken points out, it is perfect for families in that it provides something for everyone at a good price.

Full review of Ken's Hamilton Island family holiday »

The jet boat was fairly huge carrying about 150 people, and certainly didn't hang about wending its way through some of the fantastic scenery of the Whitsunday Islands, just what you imagine south pacific islands to be and taking about 2 hours to reach the reef itself.

There was a floating platform anchored to the reef: very efficient and well organized, mask and flippers for all, scuba gear for the daring, a mini submarine for the lazy and a quick flight round for the extra wealthy! We opted for the mask and flippers and after applying loads of factor 30 took the plunge. Now I have to say at this point I've been diving on the Red Sea reef and this bit of the Barrier Reef was a little disappointing as it was very silted and when the tide was on the move the current very strong, but even so we were not going to miss this chance of a life time, and we really did enjoy the myriads of fish a coral.

A delicious seafood buffet lunch was laid on, as much as you could eat and we didn't half try, followed by a quick trip in the mini sub just in case we'd missed something. All in all it was a fantastic day out we wouldn't have missed for the world, even though despite the factor 30 sun cream we did get well burnt from the sun."

In Lawrence's Heron Island review, he weighs up the pros and cons of doing a trip this far south.