We're planning on a day trip to see the Great Barrier Reef while we're in Aust. in April. Is Cairns/Port Douglas the best place to see the most beautiful part of the Reef, or are there cities further south that would be just as good to sail out of? We're not divers and we don't want to spend the night at an island.

returned from Australia last month and was disappointed in the snorkeling out of Port Douglas. My friend, however, took the Ocean Spirit boat out of Cairns and said the snorkeling sites were great; comparable to Hawaii. The price is good and they entertain you on the way back. Good luck...it's very competitive over there, but this reply is based on experience. We heard about Ocean Spirit from a family from New Zealand who comes over to Palm Cove once a year for a family vacation. They said they had been on many of the snorkeling boats and Ocean Spirit is still their favorite.

The further south you go, the further offshore the GBR, so it will take longer (and cost more) to get there. We have gone out from Cairns, Townsville, and Airlie Beach. I dove at each of those locations, and felt that the quantity and quality of marine life, and reef condition improved as we went further north. My kids, who only snorkel, felt that the best shallow water features were off the Whitsunday Islands (Airlie Beach) at ReefWorld, a large tethered barge with an attached snorkeling area.

Heavens Joni if you think that the Barrier Reef is comparable to snorkling in Hawaii, you sure didn't go to the right place or with the right company. <BR>Hawaii does not come close to the GBR and I should know because I grew up and lived in Hawaii for 25 years. <BR>I go to Australia and the GBR every 2 years just to dive the GBR because NOTHING on earth compares with it and the diving and snorkling is the best in the world. <BR>I would suggest that people check this site and ask questions before they book because there are some trips that are better than others and some dive places better than others i.e. you cannot expect to be in the best spot for instance if you are one of 5,000 who go to that spot every week. <BR>I am just stunned that anyone could suggest that Hawaii is anywhere near the quality reef of the GBR. It's a bit like saying that the Blue Mountains west of Sydney is as good as the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

I agree with Trev. Hawaii's reefs, although beautiful, didn't compare to the quality of the GBR. We took Poseidon out of Port Douglas &amp; had the best diving/snorkeling, even on an overcast day. The coral is so unusual and the colors so different than Hawaii. We saw many more fish, clams, anemones, star fish etc then we ever saw in Hawaii.<BR><BR>As the other posters stated, the farther north you go the closer you are to the reef. With that said...it still took 1.5 hours from P.D. <BR><BR>Poseidon took us to 3 dive sites, each spectacular. My hubby &amp; i aren't divers, but did the Intro-Dive and loved it. It's not difficult &amp; the instructor monitors your gages all the time. You just breath and enjoy the GBR.<BR><BR>

Well, I was on Poseiden (as was recommended on this site, Trev), and we went to three dive sites and I guess the fish just were taking a break, cause they were no where to be found and the coral was the color of a blah fish tank.......guess we just had a poor visibility day. My recommendation to Joann is to plan for at least two days for snorkeling; if the sites aren't up to par one day, maybe they will be on another. Maybe Joann will luck out and have a fantastic trip the first time out. I hope she does.

Which snorkelling tour is better with Ocean Spirit - Upolu Cay / Oyster Reef / Arlington Reef or Michaelmas Cay. We are not interested in diving just snorkelling.

have to agree with Trev, was in Hawaii (Hanumah Bay) last month and was very disappointed - my wife was at the same place 10 years ago and she had said the fish were a fraction of the number, and the snorkel rental just said &quot;yep, the reefs dead now&quot;. Other less tourist places may be better, but then where I was on the GBR was touristy and it was fantastic. Agree with others - go further north to get clsoer to reef and Ocean Spirit was great.

Nick,<BR> I just read about the dissapointing experience about snorkling in Hawaii, we were going to Hanumah Bay it will be our first time. Any other better places to snorkel in Honolulu ?<BR>Thanks,<BR>Karen

I'll put in another vote to go on Ocean Spirit. I too went about a month ago. We went the first day out of PD on Wavelength. The snorkling was good, but we weren't WOWED. We went again with Ocean Spirit a couple days later and were definitely WOWED (we went to Michaelmas Cay). We didn't want to get out of the water because it was just so beautiful. We didn't dive, just snorkeled.

Hi JOann<BR><BR>We were in PD and Cairns last August. We went out on the Calypso and had a great time. The boat is new, locally owned and operated. The crew is fun and also very safe.<BR><BR>We dove, but all of the snorklers had a great time. We went to 3 different places on the reef, which I think is fairly standard at least on the smaller boats.<BR><BR>When we go back, we are definatly going out on Calypso again.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR>Steve

My wife and I just returned from Australia in November. We visited the reef 2 days, one with Quicksilver and one with Wavelength. I recommend them both depending on what you are looking for. <BR><BR>Our Quicksilver day was good because we were with friends from age 22 - 82 some who wanted to snorkle, some who wanted to see the reef from the helicopter (which I highly recommend) and some who just wanted a glass bottom boat ride. Quicksilver took care of everyone. It is a huge boat, smooth ride, and very crowded.<BR><BR>Our Wavelength day was great becase it was just my wife and I who wanted to snorkle. We went on a Tuedsday and although the boat only holds 30, there were only 8 of us that day! We had a private boat, with a marine biologist snorkling with us in remote locations. It was amazing for us, we learned a lot and saw everything, but it was not for our friends from the other day. The smaller boat does increase your chance for sea sickness though.<BR><BR>We took both tours out of Port Douglas and had great visibility, saw tons of fish, huge turtles and a shark. A great 2-day experience for us. <BR><BR>Enjoy your time there, I can't wait to go back!