Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Special Interest Group (SIG) Forums > SCUBA/Snorkeling
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03/20/2018, 08:04 AM   #1
krak256
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 400
Great Barrier Reef dive recommendations

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to plan a trip to Australia later this year and wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations for a dive shop. I've never dove the GBR and figured it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thanks in advance!


krak256 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2018, 08:19 AM   #2
DivingTheWorld
Registered Member
 
DivingTheWorld's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: San Ramon, CA
Posts: 1,963
It's a big reef (runs the whole coast), so lots of different places to dive. I'd say the most common is out of Cairns. You can do day dives from shore, but I think you might be disappointed. The best diving is doing a several day liveaboard. I've dove Mike Ball liveaboards out of Cairns and highly recommend them.


__________________
Current Tank Info: LeeMar Rimless (40x24x22), ATI 8x39 Dimmable w/Reefbrite XHO, 2x Vortech MP40w QD w/ Battery Backup, Apex Gold, Trigger Systems Ruby30S, Reef Octopus POV-DC1 w/Auto Waste Collector
DivingTheWorld is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2018, 08:50 AM   #3
d0ughb0y
Registered Member
 
d0ughb0y's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: sf bay area
Posts: 5,165
I was there last april and most of corals where we went (off cairns) were dead. I think there is a documentary that shows the extent of the damage. Its summer there now, so maybe they started to recover/regrow. There are several companies that can take you out to pontoons off cairns for diving. I wish we had taken the helicopter ride over GBR when we were there, so you may want to look into that. For me, I like the Kuranda rainforest tour better than looking at dead corals.


d0ughb0y is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2018, 03:54 PM   #4
krak256
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 400
thanks for the info guys. We also plan to go to Bali; I've read some personal accounts that people say diving in Bali is better and more affordable? Anyone dive in Bali before?


krak256 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/20/2018, 11:14 PM   #5
ace_92101
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Cebu, Philippines
Posts: 763
Quote:
Originally Posted by DivingTheWorld View Post
It's a big reef (runs the whole coast), so lots of different places to dive. I'd say the most common is out of Cairns. You can do day dives from shore, but I think you might be disappointed. The best diving is doing a several day liveaboard. I've dove Mike Ball liveaboards out of Cairns and highly recommend them.
+1. My experience is from many years ago, so take it with a grain of salt. I did a liveaboard out of Cairns, Pro Dive Cairns. We went to the Coral Sea and GBR. The seas were very rough going out, but once at the Coral Sea it was amazing. They guaranteed 100 feet of visability or our money back. It was way beyond that. The Coral Sea was some of the best diving I've ever done. Cairns is also a fun town.

Bali has some nice diving. Much more accessible. There's even very good shore diving in a few locations.


ace_92101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/22/2018, 01:58 PM   #6
krak256
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 400
Quote:
Originally Posted by ace_92101 View Post
+1. My experience is from many years ago, so take it with a grain of salt. I did a liveaboard out of Cairns, Pro Dive Cairns. We went to the Coral Sea and GBR. The seas were very rough going out, but once at the Coral Sea it was amazing. They guaranteed 100 feet of visability or our money back. It was way beyond that. The Coral Sea was some of the best diving I've ever done. Cairns is also a fun town.

Bali has some nice diving. Much more accessible. There's even very good shore diving in a few locations.
That's great to know. In terms of difficulty, is either different for a novice diver? I haven't had much dive experienced (only 3 so far).


krak256 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/22/2018, 05:44 PM   #7
ace_92101
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Cebu, Philippines
Posts: 763
Quote:
Originally Posted by krak256 View Post
That's great to know. In terms of difficulty, is either different for a novice diver? I haven't had much dive experienced (only 3 so far).
Definitely Bali. Dive sites of all different skill levels. The Coral Sea is hundreds of miles in the open ocean. Bali has seen a lot of tourist development over the years, so make sure to research the area that you're looking to stay in. It's a fairly big island. If you want to go to Bali, you could also look at the Gili Islands.


ace_92101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/23/2018, 03:25 PM   #8
krak256
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 400
Quote:
Originally Posted by ace_92101 View Post
Definitely Bali. Dive sites of all different skill levels. The Coral Sea is hundreds of miles in the open ocean. Bali has seen a lot of tourist development over the years, so make sure to research the area that you're looking to stay in. It's a fairly big island. If you want to go to Bali, you could also look at the Gili Islands.
Thanks Ace. Have you dove in Fiji or Bora Bora? If so, what are your thoughts on those locations?


krak256 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/23/2018, 08:13 PM   #9
ace_92101
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Cebu, Philippines
Posts: 763
Quote:
Originally Posted by krak256 View Post
Thanks Ace. Have you dove in Fiji or Bora Bora? If so, what are your thoughts on those locations?

Fiji yes. Awesome. I would definitely go back. Bora Bora no. Tahiti is on my bucket list.


ace_92101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/25/2018, 08:42 PM   #10
DivingTheWorld
Registered Member
 
DivingTheWorld's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: San Ramon, CA
Posts: 1,963
Quote:
Originally Posted by ace_92101 View Post
Fiji yes. Awesome. I would definitely go back. Bora Bora no. Tahiti is on my bucket list.
+1 on Fiji. My second favorite only to Palau. But I think Australia is cheaper to get to than both of those.


__________________
Current Tank Info: LeeMar Rimless (40x24x22), ATI 8x39 Dimmable w/Reefbrite XHO, 2x Vortech MP40w QD w/ Battery Backup, Apex Gold, Trigger Systems Ruby30S, Reef Octopus POV-DC1 w/Auto Waste Collector
DivingTheWorld is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2018, 09:09 AM   #11
Monkeyfish
Registered Member
 
Monkeyfish's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Long Island (NY)
Posts: 4,077
Bonaire is a great island for diving. Not much else to do there, but the diving is great. Dozens of sites accessible from shore, waters are usually warm and calm. Grand Cayman also has good diving with the benefits of having shopping and a night life as well. I'd avoid getting a hotel near the cruise ships docks - too crowded and noisy IMO.


__________________
Eric

"One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not."

Current Tank Info: Taking a break
Monkeyfish is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2018, 03:39 PM   #12
jambon222
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by krak256 View Post
Hi everyone,

I'm looking to plan a trip to Australia later this year and wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations for a dive shop. I've never dove the GBR and figured it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thanks in advance!
I dove Bonaire and it was amazing . I also did a few on the great barrier reef off Cairns it was nice... look up Wakatobi in Indonesia. It looks amazing also. Many types of diving there muck diving, reef diving etc. It's on my bucket list.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk


jambon222 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2018, 01:53 PM   #13
krak256
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 400
thanks so much everyone!


krak256 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/12/2018, 09:40 PM   #14
Speckled Grouper
Sticks Suck!
 
Speckled Grouper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Davie & Big Pine Key, FL
Posts: 2,655
We have been to
Australia (Liveaboard to GBR out of Cairns)
Papua New Guinea
Fiji
Bali
Raja Ampat
Komodo
Wakatobi
Maledives
Philippines
Micronesia
Hawaii
All over the Caribbean...
Ask away if you want some more info....


__________________
The cure for anything is salt water.....sweat, tears, or the sea. Isak Dinesen

Current Tank Info: 265g
Speckled Grouper is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.