Vacationer1

We are planning to go to Austarlia in Dec this year.

First, IS Kangaroo Island worth going to if we can only do a day trip from Adelaide? Any suggestions on good tour guides? Is the sea-link tour any good? Which one? Any other sugestions?

What is a good tour company to snorkel from Cairns and/or Port Douglas. Based on the previous suggestions on the board we will be going with Wavelength on a one day snorkeling trip but would like one more suggestion for another day. Something that does'nt go to the same places as Wavelength. Should we try Oceanspirit or Quicksmart or any other?

BUNCHEE315

Loved Kangaroo Island.Used Adventure Charters of Kangaroo Island. We stayed overnite but u can do 1 day 4 wheel drive tour. Do the Ocean Spirit. It was great.This was in 1998.

myaustralia

Hi there,

In regards to your GBR cruise. You have picked the best snorkelling trip already. Wavelength is the best snorkel trip as they only cater for snorkelling. Max number of passengers is 30. Quicksilver is the exact opposite, it takes up to 450 passengers to a platform out on the reef from there you do the snorkelling. It is great for people who do not want to go into the water because they offer glass bottom boat rides and helicopter flights over the reef. It is also more comfortable in rough weather (although December should not be rough).
For a second trip you might want to consider the inner reef with its beautiful islands and cays. Ocean Spirit is OK, but I would rather go from Port Douglas to Low Isles. Quicksilver has a catamaran going there called Wavedancer. It is a small island just off the coast from Port Douglas.
Should you rather go to the Outer Reef, you might want to try Poseidon or Calypso or Haba.
I would only go from Port Douglas as the trip is shorter and the reefs are better.
If you need further info or if you are looking for links to tour operators go to
www.wonderfulaustralia.com/linkseng.html

Hope this will help

pat_woolford

Ocean Spirit has two vessels, one to Michaelmas Cay (this one has a semi-sub)and can take 150 in comfort. Michaelmas is also a renowned seabird sanctuary, which attracts birdwatchers from all over the world. Their other boat goes to Upolo Cay and Oyster Reef and takes about 60. A different, but interesting day is with Frankland Island Cruise and Dive, after accommodation pickup you'll be driven to Deeral, south of Cairns (this is a scenic trip in itself), to pick up boat at river, then river trip down to Russell Heads and a very short sea journey to the islands, which are pristine with good snorkelling and coral.

If you look at www.divethereef.com, look under Maps and click on the first map to enlarge you'll see exactly where reefs around Cairns and Port Douglas are situated.

SnRSeattle

The BEST snorkeling, if you can afford it, is Lizard Island. You can ride in a 10 passenger plane piloted by Greg at daintreeair.com.au for a truly memorable day (or, of course, stay there if you have a lot of cash.) We also did the Frankland Islands tour mentioned by Pat, and really enjoyed it. Our third trip was on the Quicksilver, which we also loved. Lovely blue staghorn coral and great fish. We cancelled the Wavelength due to rough seas and were very glad we did, since the Quicksilver was bouncing around and it is huge. This was in July, though, so I dont' know how the seas are in Dec. The Wavelength is a small, open boat and sounds good since it caters to snorkelers, but only you can tell if you are the seasick kind. BTW, Daintree Air and Frankland Isl. are out of Cairns, and Quicksilver and Wavelength are out of Port Douglas. We absolutely LOVED our time in Far North Queensland, and want to go back right now. We did a lot of research and hung out at this forum and got great advice from the fodorites, so keep asking questions!
Sally

FamilyTravels

Hiya,
I live here in South OZ and regularly travel to KI. Our family is lucky enough to have a shack on KI. It is probably one of the most remarkable places on earth.
You will love it. Even a day tour is worth it - you will see a lot. Our family has a web site - check out the tour link from it - it has all you need to know regarding tours - www.artsa.net/ki/
As to whether to do KI or Barossa, go with KI as you can always see vine yards etc somewhere else.
Have fun !

ClareMac

I go along with Seattle. The Daintree Air Tour to Lizard Island was by far the highlight of our time on the Great Barrier Reef. There were six people in our group. The flight over the rainforests was amazing. Greg showed us the reef where James Cook ran aground. We were there in January during some very wet weather and thought we would not see much. The weather cleared as we flew along the reef and got closer to Lizard just as Greg said it would. He had us all snorkeling on the clam garden for most of the day.
It was just like swimming in a fish tank.
All in all an amazing experience.
Best of luck Clare.

pat_woolford

Couldn't agree with Seattle and Clare more, but there's a huge price difference between, say, Wavelength at AU$150 and Lizard Island flight and snorkel at around AU$500.

Vacationer1

So given the cost differences between Lizard and Wavelength etc., would you do 2 tours: Wavelength and another tour (like say Quicksmart) or just 1 tour to Lizard with Greg?

alice13

That trip to Lizard sounds wonderful - but your Q about two cheaper trips v one expensive one is hard to answer. That has to be down to you!

But glad Pat mentioned the Frankland Islands trip. I was in FNQ July 04 and chose that trip because it was my second visit, and already I already knew how and when I would get to the outer reef.

It is a great day out. The coral isn't the best but is OK. If you are only here for a short time and would otherwise only see PD or Cairns, and the sea and the reef - then it is a good choice. The drive down to the boa dsrthen it it gi,whotthe e

alice13

That trip to Lizard sounds wonderful - but your Q about two cheaper trips v one expensive one is hard to answer. That has to be down to you!

But glad Pat mentioned the Frankland Islands trip. I was in FNQ July 04 and chose that trip because it was my second visit, and I already knew how and when I would get to the outer reef again.

It is a great day out. The coral isn't the best but is OK. If you are only here for a short time and would otherwise only see PD or Cairns, and the sea and the reef - then it is a good choice. The drive down to the boat departure is scenic; the trip down the river takes place in that special early morning light.

Yes - a second vote for that. Recommended.

blakes444

Hi Vacationer, We spent several days sailing and snorkeling through the Whitsunday Islands on a boat with a skipper which was just fantastic.
We visited some Islands that had good snorkeling. The Islands themselves were all beautifull.

We also had a few days in Port Douglas and in Cairns. Both places have lots to offer. We found Port to be a sleepy little place. Cairns was much more lively.

We had an amazing day on the reef out of Port with Calypso. We visited three different reefs. One they made a movie about named St Crispins Reef.
I'll let you find out the story line for your self.

We also took the flight to Lizard Island which was the high point for us.
Expensive yes, we booked from Cairns and paid well over $500.00 dollars.
When we reflect back on it we think the guy is crackers for doing it so cheap.

Seeing all those reefs from the air is an absolute must do. The quality of the reef we swam on were by far the best we seen all tour. The lunch could have been better, but then again you are in the middle of no where and the atmosphere more than makes up for the sandy picnic.

Enjoy !!!!

Teresa

We also did the Lizard Island tour with Daintree Air and it was amazing..there were only 4 people in our group.
I loved Kangaroo Island. It was so neat to see the animals in the natural habitat. We stayed at www.the-lookout.com.au...highly recommend them. You can find pictures of our trip at http://jasonmanderson.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=24

Vacationer1

Thanks for the Daintree air suggestions. I think we will go for that.