Hi,<BR> We will be in PD January 5th thru January 12th. I have read some opinions on the tours but still have not made up my mind which to choose. The larger Quicksilver or a smaller tour. Any more suggestions would be appreciated. We will just snorkel and perhaps do a heli..tour if available. Thinking the 300 people on QS is a bit crowded??? Should I book the tour in advance of our arrival in PD ?<BR>Karen

we went on the poseidon crise from PD which was just fantastic. it is a max of 65? people with a lovely boat, great lunch. we kept the brochure to show our friends so i even have the contact: www.poseidon-cruises.com.au <BR>you don't need to book before, i think jan is more of an off season so shouldn't be too booked. we just booked from their office in PD, it cost $130AUS each. My bro recommended it to me and I'd recommend them to anyone. they take you to the outer reef, away from the Quicksilver crowd.<BR>hope you enjoy it.

HI Rachel,<BR> Thank you so much for the info..Poseidon sounds like what we would like. When were you there ?<BR>Have you heard of Thala Beach Lodge ? That is where we are staying.<BR>Karen

Karen,<BR><BR>My hubby &amp; I went with Poseidon this past August and had a good experience. It's a pretty long trip to the GBR but well worth it. We did an Intro-Dive which I highly recommend. It was really easy and the instructor is by your side all the time. <BR><BR>We didn't stay at Thala Beach Lodge but our shuttle picked up people from there and the the outside was just gorgeous. Looked almost like tree houses. <BR><BR>Have fun!!

I'd like to recommend Wavelength. It is a small boat - around 20 or less if I remember correctly. We had a great day and a very nice lunch. At the time we went there was a marine biologist with us. I would not pre-book anything just in case the weather is not good at that time of year.

hi karen<BR>no i'm unsure of Thala beech, we stayed adt Hibiscus Apartments which were lovely, but most of the accom there is nice. As it may still be stinger season, as long as you have a good pool, you should be fine!<BR>we were there in April and had great weather, when we go back we'll go in May or June. We loved the place, could have stayed there for 2 whole weeks just relaxing.<BR>have fun, rachel

Hi,<BR> Thank you all for the helpful info.<BR>I will research the tours mentioned. I will be on my honeymoon, so I am very excited. We fly to Hawaii next Friday for a week before boarding a seventeen day cruise to the South Pacific Islands<BR>then on to New Zealand. After that we are going to Australia for a week ! I have never been to any of these places so I am very excited ! Again thank you for all of your responses !

Karen,<BR> You may want to try contacting greg at Daintree air. It goes out of cairns airport. It is a state of the art four to eight seater plane but most of the time he only takes two to four people. You leave cairns airport at 9 am and fly very low over the reef islands. Then he lands on the airstrip at lizard island.This is one of the nicest islands of the reef. You spend six hours snorkling with potatoe fish and swimming on your own private beach. Lunch is served and you can hike on the island or do what you want with greg as your private guide for the entire day. Then you leave the island six hours later and fly over the rainforest north of cairns and get to see the rainforest from up in the air. I met two people on this site who have done this and they said it was an experience they will never forget. The cost is 245 US dollars per person so it is costly but from the description and what you get it sounds like it would be worth every penny. To go see a broadway show now in manhattan costs almost 100 dollars per person for a show that only lasts somethimes less than two hours so I dont' think 245 dollars a person is that bad. If the weather is bad they don't fly and you get a full refund. You may want to check out ther web site at Daintreeair.com.au. It is a family owned business. YOu can email greg and tell him bruce told you to ask for him. He will fill you in on all the details. We are going in june. I can't wait. Good luck

Hi Bruce,<BR> Oh thank you so much for that info..we were wanting to take an air tour and this sounds very exciting !<BR>I really appreciate the info and I will<BR>say you recommended it !<BR>Karen

Karen,<BR><BR>Just wanted to second Bruce's suggestion to do the Daintree Air excursion. I've been this past year and it was the best thing I did while visiting Australia! You can e-mail Greg (the pilot and tour guide - wonderful and knowledgeable man!) at [email protected].! You can of course tell him Bruce sent you over from this site, but please tell him Julie &amp; Darin say hello as well! We miss him and we miss Lizard! Bon Voyage Karen!

Hi Julie,<BR> Thank you for your response ! I will let him know you said hello and the referral. Sounds like this is a must !!!<BR>Karen

Hi Karen, I know you have already started your journey, but I thought I would add some comments in case you check the web again before you arrive in Cairns.<BR><BR>We were there last August and choose the Calypso and are very glad that we did. The boat is locally owned and operated with the friendliest crew. They gladly let us change rebook our day due to the weather.<BR><BR>They had divers and snorklers alike and both groups had equal opportunities. We are not certified and took the introductory dive and can also highly recommend that to you.<BR><BR>The GBR is fantastic! Another <BR><BR>Another excellent tour is David Armbrust and his Australian Natural History Safari.<BR><BR>Cheers

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>We booked in town in Port Douglas and found that it worked well for us especially with the Wavelength day as you'll read below. Quicksilver is always busy but it's one of the few ways to do the helicopter ride I think.<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 - it sells out instantly) 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!<BR>Brian