Heron Island in August
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Australia arriving August 17 into Brisbane. If we go to Heron Island, will it be too cool to snorkel? We are driving to Cairns. If we wait until we are in Cairns how much warmer would it be there? Heron Island is appealing to us because I don't care to be on a boat all day (I get seasick). We would spend 1 day, 2 nights, at Heron Island snorkeling the reef. We will be flying out of Cairns to Darwin and then to Tasmania. This is our second trip to AU so we have done a lot of the rest of it (Sydney, Uluru, Perth, southern WA, driving from Adelaide to Melbourne and Sydney.)

You are going to get mixed reviews on that question. I will tell you that a month before, in July, we lasted exactly 30 minutes in the water at Heron in wetsuits. Way too cold for us, but, in fairness I keep my own pool at 88 degrees in summer and 68 degree water just isn't for me. It may well be warmer a month later. But if you get seasick, think about taking the helicopter out to Heron rather than the launch, since the water can be pretty rough, I'm told. We couldn't possibly afford the heli, but our trip was very smooth. Just MHO.

Generally August is the month of westerly winds in the south of Queensland making the seas cooler and the waves higher. I personally could not swim in August when I lived around that area but Cairns will be alot warmer and so will the water.

I have been to Heron Island in August, as well as in September and January. As the repeat visits indicate, I'm a huge fan, it's absolutely beautiful. I snorkelled without a wetsuit in August, the water was cool but not cold. I'm not sure of the water temperature, maybe 18-20 C. I stayed in the water for about 30 minutes before getting cold.

The sky seemed much clearer in August/September (less short showers and overcast skies that you get a lot of in January) snorkelling is really good.

You can take a helicopter to get there, rather than the boat.

Thanks so much for your responses. I'm not worried about getting sick on the 2 hour boat trip to Heron Island, I can take Bonnine for that if need be. I was more concerned with sea sickness at GBR off Cairns. It seems that the opportunities for snorkeling there depend on being on a boat all day. Is that true?

I would not go to Heron for just 2 nights considering that it is relatively out of the way and the extra expense traveling there. Once you get to Heron you will likely wish you had booked it for a longer time, at least 3 nights, two full days. It is very beautiful, relaxing and the snorkeling is superb.

By mid Aug, it will be warming up, not that it ever that cold there. Day highs should be well into the 70s or even low 80s F. See:

http://www.heronisland.com/weather/

As others have indicated you will probably need to rent a wet suit top for extended snorkeling. When we were there in Aug, we rented wet suit tops for snorkeling from the snorkel boat in deeper water, but found the shallow water in the intertidal zone (just off the beach) warm enough for snorkeling without a wet suit. Of course it helps if the sun is out, which it is most days.

Wearing a wet suit top is a good idea even if the water is warm...helps prevent painful coral scrapes.

RalphR, thank you so much for your information and encouragement. I have extended the visit a day, so we will be there 3 nights, 2 days.

tomatogal: you're welcome. Have a great trip and hope the weather is as good for you as it was for us. We stayed 5 nights and loved every minute of it.

Ralph

I strongly support the advice above that you should take the helicopter transfer, not the launch. Especially as you are only going for 3 nights. If you get seasick, which a lot of people do on that trip, it will take/waste a day just to recover.