kkv

Hi,

My husband and I will be visiting Cairns in Sept and would like to do a 4 day live aboard dive trip (we have both obtained the open water certification from PADI, but we are still novice divers). Any recommendations on a reliable dive operators would be appreciated.

I have been looking at Pro-Dive Cairns, but their trips are must more expensive than other operators. I am not sure whether it is providing better trips than other operators.

Any type of information on scuba diving at Cairns is appreciated too.

Thanks.

karen

Elizabeth_S

We spent 4 nights on the Spirit of Freedom out of Cairns and loved it - here's a link to their website

http://www.spiritoffreedom.com.au/

I have lots of photos - if you want a link to them email me at

eseibertca AT yahoo DOT ca

stevew

Hi Karen

We have been on Spirit of Freedom a few times and are heading back again this Sept for another 7 day trip. We don't think you can beat SOF. They have a 3 and 4 day trip which you can combine into a 7 day trip.

Vessel, Staterooms, Crew, Meals, and of course Diving are all top notch.

There is plenty to see as a novice diver. You don't need to dive deep to witness the magic of the Coral Sea or GBR.

We have always dove in the Aug - Nov time frames and found the diving to be very easy

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

kkv

Thanks Elizabeth and Steve for your reply.

I have a few questions about the tour.

1) For Double or Twin rooms, will there be a private bath in the room?

2) Will there be a dive master diving together with a group of divers? How many divers will dive with a dive master? Can a dive master be arranged if this is not always available? Will there be extra charge?

Thanks.

karen

Elizabeth_S

All of the cabins have private washrooms (shower/toilet/sink) - regarding the diving - there were 17 divers onboard when we went and there were usually 3 dive masters in the water. Some people wanted to dive alone and after the initial check out dive you were permitted to dive alone (although one fellow was discouraged from diving without a dive master and he took their advice due to his age).

We did a bit of both depending upon the dive - actually preferred diving with the dive masters because they pointed out a lot of interesting things - there were 4-6 people with each dive master, although sometimes fewer. No extra charge for that.

kkv

Hi Elizabeth,

Thanks for your information and the great photos!!

Did you book your live aboard trip through Pro-Dive?

Thanks.

karen

Elizabeth_S

I booked directly from the Spirit of Freedom web site - Paula is very helpful.

kkv

Thanks Elizabeth for your help. I'll check out the Spirit of Freedom website.

karen

kkv

Hi Elizabeth,

Just came back from Australia. We took your advice on Spirit of Freedom and we enjoyed the trip so much.

You are right, Paula was very helpful and the crew was wonderful. Sharks feeding was a once in a life time experience.

Thanks for your help and really appreciate it.

Any other suggestions on diving sites or liveaboard in other countries? I am looking forward to my next dive trip!

Thanks

karen