This is the premier luxury liveaboard scuba diving tour on Australia's Great Barrier Reef that departs from Cairns. Join our Cairns dive trip and dive with Sharks, swim with Dwarf Minke Whales and see the Giant Potato Cod fish. Cruising out to the Ribbon Reefs, Osprey Reef and the infamous Cod Hole.
Experience the ultimate luxury liveaboard scuba diving adventure on the Great Barrier Reef, departing from Cairns. This high-end diving tour takes certified divers to some of the most sought-after locations in the world, including the Ribbon Reefs, Osprey Reef, and the legendary Cod Hole. Whether you choose a 3, 4, or 7-day itinerary, you’ll dive with sharks, swim alongside Dwarf Minke Whales (seasonal June & July), and encounter the legendary giant Potato Cod.
Cairns offers the best liveaboard dive and snorkel tours on the Great Barrier Reef due to its pristine waters, vibrant marine life and coral reef structures. It really is the last unique part of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef and the best place to experience the reef overnight to see its wonders.
This exclusive Cairns dive tour offers a personalised experience for only 26 guests onboard, providing unparalleled access to diverse coral reef ecosystems. Explore vibrant marine life, pristine coral gardens, and breathtaking underwater landscapes as you dive into one of the world’s most renowned natural wonders.
Each dive tour itinerary is designed to offer a luxurious experience, complete with spacious, air-conditioned cabins, gourmet dining, and the attentive service of a highly skilled crew. Alongside diving, you’ll enjoy the comfort of modern amenities, ensuring both excitement and relaxation throughout your journey.
Whether you choose the 3, 4, or 7-day liveaboard tour, this luxury diving experience offers the perfect blend of adventure, relaxation, and personalised service. Dive into the depths of the Great Barrier Reef, explore its pristine beauty, and enjoy a world-class experience in one of the planet’s most stunning marine environments.
Sir David Attenborough says these reefs are some of the most magnificent he has ever seen in his life. This is a luxury high end Cairns dive trip that is suitable for certified adult scuba divers.
Our Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs trip begins every second Thursday from Cairns and travels along the rarely visited Ribbon Reefs, finishing 150 miles to the north at the world famous Cod Hole. Over two and a half days you will encounter colourful tropical fish, an incredible variety of vibrant, healthy corals, giant clams, anemones, huge schools of cruising pelagic fish, and a family of giant potato cod.
Your last night is spent on board the ‘Spirit’ in the bay at Lizard Island. Enjoy time ashore at Lizard Island the next morning, before boarding your return flight to Cairns, arriving on Sunday morning.
• Departs Cairns 12pm Thursday
• Returns Cairns 12pm Sunday
• Opportunity for up to 11 dives
• Includes scenic flight from Lizard Island to Cairns
• Dive Level: Open Water Diver, minimum 10 ocean dives including 5 in last 12 months
This trip begins every second Sunday, with a flight along the coastline from Cairns, over the reef to Lizard Island. The first day will see you diving the very top of the Ribbon Reefs, before steaming overnight to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. Two days are spent diving the spectacular walls of Osprey Reef, an old volcanic atoll lying 225km (140mi) off the coast, including our famous shark dive at North Horn!
The last day is spent at Ribbon Reef Number 3 before our overnight journey back to Cairns, arriving early on the Thursday morning.
• Departs Cairns 8.30am Sunday
• Returns Cairns 8am Thursday
• Opportunity for up to 15 dives
• Includes scenic flight from Cairns to Lizard Island
• Dive Level: Advanced Diver, minimum 20 ocean dives including 5 in last 12 months
Combine our 3 and 4 night itineraries into a 7-day, 7-night liveaboard dive expedition from Cairns and see the best of the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea in one amazing trip!
Maximise your time in the water with up to 26 dives over this one week itinerary. Includes an overnight stay in secluded Watson’s Bay, with a couple of hours to explore Lizard Island, and two full days at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. In between dives, relax and enjoy the comforts of Spirit of Freedom's spacious cabins, welcoming lounges and sundecks, and hearty chef-prepared meals.
• Departs Cairns 12pm Thursday
• Returns Cairns 8am Thursday
• Opportunity for up to 26 dives
• Includes Lizard Island visit
• Dive Level: Advanced Diver, minimum 20 ocean dives including 10 in last 12 months
See all swim with Minke Whale trips.
Read more on The Tour Specialists Blog and know before you go.
Dive the world famous Cod Hole and Ribbon Reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef where you will encounter giant Potato Cods, masses of colourful tropical fish, anemones, Moray eels, giant Napoleon Maori Wrasse, and pristine coral gardens.
This scuba dive adventure departs Cairns at 12:00pm on Thursdays and returns back to Cairns via a low level scenic reef flight from Lizard Island at 10:00am on Sundays.
During your liveaboard scuba dive tour you will have a chance to do up to 11 day and night dives.
When you wake be prepared for an adrenaline rush on Wednesday as you finally reach the infamous Cod Hole made famous by the legendary Giant Potato Cod that just love to interact with the scuba divers.
The first dive will be at the monolith at Challenger Bay and the unforgettable Cod Hole. This family of Potato Cod find you just as interesting as you find them and they love to receive a pat as they come up to you for a look and play. These giant Potato Cod fish are just like playful puppies.
Next it is time to do a drift dive at Dynamite Pass which got its name because of the many species of sharks and other predators who hang around this channel waiting for dinner to pass between the reefs with the strong currents and straight into their mouths.
The sharks do not even have to fight for their meal, it comes straight to them so not many chances of them even noticing your presence.
Diving with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef is an absolutely thrilling experience as you watch these apex predators swim all around above you.
The last dive of the day is at the Snake Pit where you will see plenty of Olive Sea Snakes squirming through the water if your game enough.
At days end the boat will have reached Watson's Bay at Lizard Island where an Aussie barbeque dinner will be held on the top deck for your last evening.
A great time to say goodbye to your new found friends and maybe swap contact details so you can meet in another one of the worlds most amazing scuba diving locations.
Sunday morning after a satisfying leisurely breakfast explore the brilliant blue beaches and bays at Lizard Island and have a snorkel or join the guided walk around the historical sites on Lizard Island.
At 10:30am board the light twin engine aircraft for your low level scenic flight back to Cairns where you will be shuttled back to your holiday accommodation with a camera full of pictures and many amazing memories and stories to share with your friends and family back home.
We are one of the privileged liveaboard dive boats on the Great Barrier Reef with a Swim with Dwarf Minke Whale Permit.
The Great Barrier Reef is the only place on the planet where this particular species of Minke Whale has been found to date, and it is the only place in the world where we are able to take divers and snorkellers on our liveaboard dive trips to swim with these highly inquisitive Minke Whales.
We offer our three day and three night swim with Dwarf Minke Whale reef trips to both scuba divers and snorkellers in the prime viewing months of June and July each year.
As our normal scheduled liveaboard dive trips are more suited to divers, snorkellers may not be able to enter the water at every dive spot due to the curents, however, at the Ribbons Reefs where we operate our Swim with Dwarf Minke Whale tours the reef is close to the surface which enables snorkellers to enter the water in safety and participate in these unique whales tours.
Our swim with Dwarf Minke Whale tours depart Cairns each Thursday in the months of June and July.
Guests who are scuba divers will have the opportunity for up to 11 dives on this expedition and as much time as possible for swim time with the Minke Whales.
Your last night on our luxury liveaboard dive boat will be spent in the bay of the world famous Lizard Island, the hideaway of the world's rich and famous.
In the morning take the time to explore the island before boarding your low level scenic flight back to Cairns.
If you are interested in a dive and snorkel experience with Dwarf Minke Whales we encourage you to book as far in advance as possible due to this rare opportunity becoming more recognised in the dive communtiy around the world.
Our luxury liveaboard dive boat accommodates only 26 guests in total in 11 spacious air-conditioned cabins.
Book early to secure your swim with Dwarf Minke Whales cabin now!
This Coral Sea Scuba Diving Adventure departs Cairns at 8:30am Sunday and returns at 8:00am on Thursday.
This exciting scuba adventure will take you to 16 diverse dive sights and includes a scenic low level flight overtop of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Experience a dive at the world famous Cod Hole and travel out 200km to the remote Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
Here you will dive with predatory sharks, manta rays and schools of pelagics against sheer walls laced with Gorgonian fans and visibility of an amazing 30 — 100 metres.
At 7:30am Sunday morning a courtesy shuttle will collect you from your Cairns holiday accommodation and bring you to the Cairns general aviation airport.
From there you will board a light twin engine aircraft for a wonderful low level scenic flight to Lizard Island where you can take some great images of the reef and sea creatures below.
As you discover Australia's Great Barrier Reef from the sky you will be more excited than ever to venture into the deep blue and discover all the magnificent creatures in the ocean below.
After arriving at Lizard Island you will be ferried across to your floating dive hotel by tender and introduced to the dive crew and service crew and then taken on an orientation of the your home for the next few days.
After the short orientation the boat will then begin steaming to your first scuba diving location Ribbon Reef Number Ten where you are able to do four to five dives a day on some of the following sites: Cod Hole, Challenger Bay, Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Wall and Pixie Pinnacle and a night dive on the Friday evening.
After your first days dives, settle in and get comfortable and enjoy some good meals and get to know your new dive buddies because it is now an 8 hour journey overnight to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
Monday and Tuesday are both spent at Osprey Reef (Weather permitting). Osprey Reef is packed with so much action two days hardly does it justice.
The waters of the Coral Sea are renowned for their transparency and feature visibility of up to 100 metres that other dive locations dream about.
Here at Osprey Reef you will see the likes of Gray Whaler sharks, Silvertip sharks, reef sharks, schooling barracuda, trevally, other pelagics and even the odd Hammerhead Shark.
Be amazed at the fantastic coral at Osprey Reef that features sheer walls laced with Gorgonians, sea whips, and bright yellow soft corals rising from the oceans floor thousands of feet below.
Wednesday night you will be travelling most of the night to reach the Ribbon Reefs so tuck yourself in and enjoy the ride.
The itinerary for Monday and Tuesday are weather dependable. You will spend Wednesdasy at Ribbon Reef Number 3 diving the sensational spot at Steve's Bommie, The Temple of Doom and Flare Point.
If the weather allows, you will also go out to Bougainville Reef in the Coral Sea and dive an old ship wreck and underwater caverns.
Wednesday night will be spent cruising back to Cairns whilst you are are peacefully sleeping in your comfortable cabin.
On Thursday morning wake up to enjoy your last breakfast on board with your dive buddies as you return back to Cairns at approximately 6:30am and then courtesy trasfers back to your Cairns holiday accommodation.
This is the ultimate scuba diving experience in Australia that allows passengers to truly discover the immensity and uniqueness of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Australia.
During your 7 days and nights of diving, experience the two diverse eco systems of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea.
Your cruise will include the Ribbon Reefs, the Cod Hole, a chance to explore Lizard Island, Osprey and possibly Bougainville Reef in the Coral Sea.
This 7 day and 7 night adventure departs Thursdays at 12:00pm and returns the following Thursday at 8:00am.
During your trip, you will be able to undergo up to 26 amazing dives!
Late Thursday morning a courtesy shuttle will pick you up from your Cairns holiday accommodation and take you to Cairns Marlin Marina where you will be introduced to the crew and given an orientation of the liveaboard dive boat, your home for the next seven days and meet your new dive buddies.
No time is wasted and soon you will be enjoying your first lunch while cruising out to the Great Barrier Reef coral gardens and your first taste of the scuba diving locactions you are about to explore.
During the afternoon you will do an orientation dive and a twilight dive. Then it is time to settle in for some dinner as you cruise northwards to the Ribbon Reefs.
On waking you will see you have arrived at the beautiful Ribbon Reef Numbers Nine and Ten. On Friday and Saturday you will get to experience several sites with up to four to five dives a day including a night dive on the Friday.
Some of the spectacular scuba diving sites you will experience are Permission Bommie, Wonderwall, Pixie Reef Pinnacle, Lighthouse Bommie and the Clam Gardens.
Be amazed at the abundance of giant clams and colourful coral. In the afternoon you'll head to High Five where you do your first drift dive and then it is an evening dive at Georgie's Wall.
Sunday morning you will arrive at the Cod Hole, famous for its humongous Potato Cod fish who love divers attention.
You will also get to do a dive at Challenger Bay and dive with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
If you are game, try a drift dive at Dynamite Pass; a renowned channel the sharks hang around to catch the fish that pass thru with the fast currents that pass between the reefs.
In the afternoon you will have a dive in the Snake Pit full of Olive Sea Snakes. All scuba diving locations may vary according to the weather and ocean conditions at the time of the journey.
On the Saturday evening you will arrive at Lizard Island where you will enjoy the much anticipated roof top sunset drinks and Australian barbeque.
Sunday morning you will have a great chance to explore the historical locations on exclusive Lizard Island then its back in the tender and onto the liveaboard and back out to the coral reef gardens again before lunch for more scuba diving.
You will have a chance during the afternoon to do two or three dives on Ribbon Reef Number Ten, the Cod Hole, Challenger Bay, Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Wall, and Pixie Pinnacle. Next it is a ten hour journey overnight to Osprey Reef.
You will wake up Monday morning to find yourself at Osprey Reef where the waters are clear, giving you up to 100m of visibility in some dive locations.
This is exciting diving, both Monday and Tuesday are spent diving at Osprey Reef at a multitude of different sites where you will dive with sharks such as Grey Whaler sharks, Silvertip sharks, Reef sharks, occasional Hammerhead sharks, schooling barracuda, trevally, and other pelagics.
Tuesday night you will then sail to the Ribbon Reefs whilst you are enjoying a well earned rest.
On Wednesday you will head to Ribbon Reef Number 3 and do three dives at Steve's Bommie, Temple of Doom, and Flare Point.
If weather permits, you will do a fourth dive at Bougainville Reef with its underwater swim thru caverns and a submerged wreck.
After the final dive of the day it is time to settle in for the final boat cruise back to Cairns.
On Thursday morning you will enjoy your final breakfast onboard before you reach Cairns at 6:30am.
You will have the whole day back at your hotel accommodation ahead of you to rest, recover and reflect on the amazing scuba diving you have just experienced over the last seven days in Queensland Australia on the Great Barrier Reef.
Whether you try the 3 day, 4 day or 7 day dive excursion with us on the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns be prepared to encounter a life changing experience, one that you will remember for a long time, especially diving with sharks.
For your flight please ensure that baggage weights don't exceed 20 kilos and that only soft sided baggage is taken.
If you have other luggage that you need stored then please advise at time of booking.
Eleven spacious air-conditioned cabins all contain their own private bathroom and are serviced daily. A range of cabin types is available and the three premium cabin types contain TV/DVD and CD player.
The on board chefs provide first class restaurant quality meals and can cater to specific dietary requirements with enough advance notification. Australian wine and soft drinks are complimentary with the evening meal.
As a guest on board you may dive with your buddy to your pace and interests with no set limits on time, depth or style of diving outside of normal safe diving practices.
An orientation dive is offered on the first dive upon leaving Cairns, and a safety instructor will be in the water on most dives just in case you need some orientation on the dive location.
Guided dives will be offered on one or two dives each day.
The boats dive crew and service crew are dedicated professionals who work together as a team to ensure your diving experience is spectacular and your time on board is fun, safe, and a first rate memorable experience that surpasses all your expectations.
Enjoy a one way low level flight over the spectacular coral reef systems between Cairns and Lizard Island on your 3 Day Cod Hole or 4 Day Coral Sea cruise.
A spectacular way to begin or end your dive trip! The flight will save you travelling time, allowing more dives and more time in the clear waters of the northern end of the Ribbon Reefs.
Wide screen TV Projector unit and DVD movie library. Passengers are also welcome to view their own digital images or videos through the projector. Computer & CD burner for digital image download.
Digital cameras (Sony DCS-P9) and housings available for hire.
On Board TSMV SP FD
Specifications
Length 37.0 metres
Beam 7.1 metres
Speed 12 knots
Displacement 250 tonnes
Fresh Water Unlimited
Passengers Maximum 26
Crew 8 — 10
Extras Fully Air-conditioned throughout
Electronic Stabilizers
When booking this liveaboard tour ask about our luxury Cairns Dinner Cruise boat or our luxury Dive and Snorkel Day on T6 which carries only 60 passengers daily to the Great Barrier Reef.
Take a look at more shark diving tours on the Great Barrier Reef and our swim with Minke whales dive trips
Cairns
Cairns
January - December
Thursday, Sunday
Choice of 3, 4 or 7 Days
T Shirts, Polo, Caps, Jumpers, Jackets, Vests, Stubby Cooler plus more!
Medium
On 3 & 4 Day Cruise there are light aircraft restrictions, your total weight of your luggage is limited to 20 kilograms/ 45 lb per person, including your dive gear and carry on luggage.
Scuba Diving Restrictions
Read more about Diving Safety on the Great Barrier Reef.
Personal items and toiletries, swimwear, hat, and sweatshirt in the winter (May - September).
Our T&Cs:
All cancellations must be in writing.
We understand things may change, so we have made cancellations very easy.
In every instance we always recommend you purchase travel insurance for life’s last-minute hiccups.
Please see our terms and conditions for details prior to booking.
Tour Operator's Cancellation Policy:
2. Payments
2.1. In order to confirm your booking you must make a deposit payment that is no less than 30% of the total value of your booking, or as otherwise agreed with us.
2.2. You must make payment of the remaining balance of your booking, to us, no later than 30 Days before your Travel Date.
2.3. Bookings made within 30 Days prior to your Travel Date must be paid in full at the time of booking.
2.4. We reserve the right to cancel your booking if full payment is not made in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
2.5. Group deposits and payments will be subject to Group Terms and Conditions.
2.6. Prices are charged in AUD and any refund to be given in accordance with these Terms and Conditions will be paid in AUD. Any currency fluctuation that takes place in the meantime is at your risk and will not be reimbursed by us.
au$2,200.00
Prices are AUD, per adult and include all levies fees and taxes.
Tour Code: 139