Great Barrier Reef
 

We want to take a daytrip to the Great Barrier Reef. Would prefer to go to an island rather than stay on the water all day. Any suggestions?

From Cairns, there are lots of trips to Green Island, so presumably it has something to offer.

Green Island is more like a mini "Disney theme island". There is a beach, a small zoo, an underwater observatory, expensive food and an area for snorkelling. You can walk around the whole Island in about 45 mins. The reef at Green Island is really in poor shape. <BR> <BR>However, if you really want to see the outer reef..you will need to take another boat from Green Island. <BR> <BR>The island is very pretty and worth a day trip....but it is not a substitute for the reef...plan on taking a boat to the outer reef..where the reef is truly magnificent. <BR> <BR>If you only h ave one day...take one of the boats to the outer reef. <BR> <BR>

Debbie, <BR> <BR>If your going to be near Bundaberg in Qld you could take a day trip to either Lady Elliot or Lady Musgrave islands. I have done the trip to Lady Musgrave and had a great time. Below is the URL to see what it is like. <BR>http://www.queensland-holidays.com.a...02521/main.htm <BR> <BR>Make sure you keep scrolling down the page to see all the info. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Debbie: <BR> <BR>We visited Upolo Cay. A very small island about 2 hours out of Cairns. Nothing more than a sandbar, but it is a break from being at sea all day. Had a great time. Went with Ocean Spirit Cruises. After arrival at Upolo, some snorkeled, some scuba dived, some went on the glass bottomed boat, and some just stayed on board. <BR> <BR>John

Debbie; I don't know why you prefer the island vs. water - maybe motion sicknes. However, if you're just worried about getting bored on the water or catching too much sun I can assure you that is not the case. We took the Poseidon out of Port Douglas - a six hour day. It is a long trip to the outer reef - more than an hour. During that time there was plenty to do on the boat - lots of preparations and briefings by crew, a film about the reefs, fitting of equipment, scuba waivers, and food and beverages to consume. Our day trip visited 3 different reefs with considerable time spent traveling from one to the other. In fact, we had a great buffet lunch during one of the transports. Our time on each reef always seemed too short, not because we were hurried but because the outer reefs are so spectacular. However, each reef was better than the one before so I'm glad we didn't just sit on one. Then, of course, there's the travel time back to land. All in all the day went really fast. The boat was covered and air conditioned, so I never felt we were out in the heat too much. I tell you all of this, not to suggest that you shouldn't do an island, but just to give you a first hand impression of a day on the water so you can factor that into your decision. One thing I would not recommend, is one of the big operations that have there own "platform island" on the reefs. It looked a lot like spending the day on an oil rig. The coral surrounding those platforms takes quite a beating from too many tourists we heard. When preparing for our trip, I took lots of good advice from this forum and learned that the only islands with "great" snorkeling are Lady Elliot, Lizard and Heron. We also did the Coral Princess 3 day live aboard cruise to the reef and spent one of those afternoons on a island. The snorkeling was very bad. As the water approaches the island the wave action stirs up quite a bit of sand making visiblity very poor. I hope some of this helps. What ever you decide - the GBR is spectacular.