Hello-
I am going to be traveling to Cairns with a friend in September- can anybody reccommend some good snorkel companies.

I would also like to take a Live a Board dive trip for 4 days out of either cairns or the whitsunday islands. Again- does anybody have any suggestions on where the best places to see the reef are?

I have a ton more questions as I will be traveling for 2 months- but I think I will just ask in pieces. Expect to hear from me again soon-
smiles

hi, g8girl, lucky you to spend so much time in Australia! Do a search on this board by putting liveaboards in the box above and clicking Australia. There has been a few lengthy discussions of them in the recent past. It depends on what level of comfort/luxury you want, how much diving/snorkeling you want, and in the case of the Whitsundays, if you want sail or power.
Sally in hot Seattle

Not sure if your planning to head up to Cape Tribulation when your in Cairns, but I'd dive from there. We used Rum Runner which was a local company and they were really good. It was also a small group. There were 12-14 people on board total.

Have a look at a company/ boat called Synergy 11 . I used them in June .They operate out of Port Douglas so if you are prepared to go up there they are very good . They have a max of 12 persons on board , excellent equipemt , food and staff . Cost A$235 per day which is more than most but well worth it .The best diving / snorkelling seems to be out of Port Douglas. Don't go to Green Island as it is very ordinairy .Synergy is a max. 12 passenger catarmaran so you are not competing with 100 + persons as on so many other boats. Your search engine should locate them .They do day trips Monday to Friday .They may do special live in on some weekends .

I did a tour to Michaelmas Cay w/Ocean Spirit Cruises. It was very good even though the weather wasn't.

We did a live aboard out of Cairns on the Reef Encounter and it was wonderful (even though it was blowing about 30 knots and they couldn't move the boat as they normally do. The only downside of Reef Encounter is that the boat they use to get you out to the reef (Compass) is an older one and quite slow. But the cabins were extremely comfortable, the crew was fabulous and you can chose to stay for as many nights as you want. We only stayed one night, but many of the people on board were staying 2,3 and even 4 nights. I was the only snorkeler who got up for the early morning dive and so they sent a crew member with me so that I would have a partner. I was a bit afraid they would say I couldn't go, but that was not the case. I would definitely recommend them. You can also do an introductory dive with them if you've never done scuba before and then be eligible for the night dive. Unfortunately both my husband and I have medical conditions that prevent us from doing that safely, but there were several snorkelers who tried scuba and said it was wonderful and the instructors quite good.

I have heard good things about Wavelength out of Port Douglas - I believe they specialize in snorkeling rather than a mixture of divers and snorkelers. Port Douglas is a charming little town - much quieter than Cairns - and has a lovely beach.