• Visit 3 outer reef sites in the one day from Cairns on a fast catamaran. Small group dive and snorkelling tours, up to 80 guests. Spend 5 hours exploring the reef.
• Our boat is great in all weather as it is a modern catamaran that has stabilisers fitted to reduce rocking motion in bad weather on the Great Barrier Reef.    
• This 29m high quality catamaran is fitted with stabilisers to ensure a smooth ride over rough seas to prevent sea-sickness 
• One of the fastest boat rides to the outer reef of only 70 minutes, cruising at 32 knots. Permits for snorkelling and diving 20 sites daily. 

Cairns diving and snorkelling tour. Visit 3 of the best reef sites from Cairns in a day. There's everything you'll need to experience an underwater world of colourful marine life in safety and comfort including a submerged dive and snorkel platform for easy access.

What to Expect

Known as one of the best Great Barrier Reef tour operators in Tropical Far North Queensland is the QS Group with a fleet of over 10 boats, they really know how to show visitors the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef in every way possible. Join them on this Cairns dive and snorkel tour to see the absolute best coral reef locations off Cairns on a day tour.  Over a 5-hour period you can discover the underwater wonders of the Great Barrier Reef on this Cairns Diving and Snorkelling Tour, a full-day experience visiting three stunning reef locations. Departing from Cairns on a luxury 29-metre catamaran, the captain heads to their chosen outer reefs for guests to explore vibrant coral gardens, unique marine life, and spectacular underwater landscapes.

With up to three dives for certified divers, two introductory dives for beginners, and complimentary guided snorkelling tours, this Great Barrier Reef tour caters to all levels of experience. You’ll explore Flynn, Milln, and Thetford Reefs, known for their excellent visibility, diverse marine life, and thrilling features like wall dives and swim-throughs. Enjoy a first-class experience aboard a vessel designed for comfort, featuring spacious sun decks, air-conditioned cabins, and state-of-the-art snorkelling and dive platforms for easy water access.

Features and Highlights

Dive and Snorkel at Three Stunning Reef Locations from Cairns

1. Flynn Reef:
   • Known for its excellent wall dives, swim-throughs, and overhangs, Flynn Reef is a highlight for divers of all skill levels.
   • Home to vibrant hard and soft corals and a diverse array of marine life, including turtles and reef fish.
   • Visibility: 15–20 meters.
   • Depth: 5–30 meters.
2. Milln Reef:
   • Features include Whale Bommie, Three Sisters, and Swimming Pools, with schools of banded sweetlips, turtles, and occasional white tip reef sharks.
   • Ideal for wall dives and exploring hidden swim-throughs.
   • Visibility: 15–20 meters.
   • Depth: 5–30 meters.
3. Thetford Reef:
   • Offers beautiful coral bommies and a mix of staghorn, plate, and brain corals.
   • Marine life includes butterflyfish, giant clams, and angelfish.
   • Access is dependent on weather and tidal conditions.
   • Visibility: 15–29 meters.
   • Depth: 5–30 meters.

Cairns Diving Options

• Certified Diving: Enjoy up to three dives, guided by professional dive instructors who lead you to the best underwater sites.
• Introductory Diving: Perfect for beginners, with up to two dives available. No experience is necessary—just complete the onboard medical questionnaire and follow your instructor’s guidance.
• Latest Equipment: High-quality dive gear is provided to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience.
• Read our scuba diving travel tips

Private Guide Dive Experience

With this private guided diving adventure, a dedicated and knowledgeable dive instructor will tailor the day’s diving to suit your preferences and skill level.
This highly personalised experience ensures safety and excitement as divers uncover the reef's hidden gems and vibrant marine life at our exceptional dive sites.
The day will include up to three private dives, or if preferred, can be customised to include a combination of dive and snorkelling activities at three sites.
This activity is available for both certified and non-certified (introductory) divers and will be designed for the needs of the participant.
Ideal for groups between 1 – 4 people.

• Rates are inclusive of normal cruise fare.
• Not available on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday or Anzac Day.
• For non-certified divers due to Diving Regulations regarding diving safety in the event of unexpected sea conditions, the maximum number of guests may need to be reduced depending on the conditions of the day of travel. Bookings are essential.
• Available for certified and introductory divers.
• The day will include up to three private dives, or if preferred, can be customised to include a combination of dive and snorkelling activities at three sites.
• Pre-booking essential.

Snorkelling Highlights

• Complimentary Guided Snorkelling Tour: Learn about the reef’s ecosystems from a marine interpreter during a guided tour at the third reef site.
• Easy Access: Submerged snorkelling platforms make entering and exiting the water seamless and safe.
• Top-Quality Gear: Modern snorkelling equipment and stinger suits are included.
• Read our snorkelling travel tips.

Time on the Reef

• Spend five hours exploring three exceptional reef locations, ensuring plenty of time to dive, snorkel, and soak in the beauty of this World Heritage-listed site.

Premium Vessel Features

• Luxury Design: A 29-metre motor catamaran with spacious sun decks, air-conditioned cabins, and a fully equipped bar.
• Small Group Experience: Though the boat has a capacity of 164 passengers, it carries only 80 guests for an intimate and unrushed experience.
• Comfortable Ride: A state-of-the-art ride control system ensures a smooth journey, even in rough weather, perfect for those who experience sea sickness.

Gourmet Meals

• Morning Tea: Refreshments and food to keep you energised 
• Lunch: Enjoy a gourmet buffet featuring seafood, curries, fresh salads, and soups.
• Afternoon Tea: Wind down with refreshments and snacks on the spacious deck.

Flexible and Exclusive Access

• Roaming Permits: With access to 20 exclusive diving and snorkelling sites, the Great Barrier Reef boat tour captain selects the best locations each day based on weather and visibility to ensure the best diving and snorkelling experience in Cairns.
• Personalised Service: One crew member for every eight guests ensures a high level of attention and support.

Perfect for All Adventurers

• Ideal for certified divers, beginner divers, and snorkellers looking to explore the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns.
• Non-swimmers can explore alternate tour options, including Green Island and pontoon experiences.

This Cairns Diving and Snorkelling Tour is the best way to experience the Great Barrier Reef. Book early to reserve your spot on this high quality, adventure-packed dive and snorkel Cairns day tour!

Ready to whisk you away for a day of adventure, we will take you to 3 different wonderful sites at the Outer Barrier Reef where you will spend a leisurely 5 hours.

View all diving and snorkelling tours from Cairns and Port Douglas.

Learn more about all the Great Barrier Reef tours from The Tour Specialists Blog

These are some locations you will enjoy on your day tour out on the Great Barrier Reef.

• Flynn Reef, what can we say it is one of the most popular reefs to dive and offers the novice to the very experienced a very memorable day. This reef offers excellent wall dives, swim throughs, overhangs (and great night diving). An amazing array of marine life, with plenty of hard and soft corals. Visibilty 15 to 20m depth 5 to 30m.
   
• Milln Reef offers a number of exciting dive sites such as Whale Bommie, the Three sisters, Swimming Pools one and two. The dive site Petaj is home to resident turtles and white tip reef shark (its okay they don’t bite you if you don’t bite them). At the Swimming Pools expect to see schools of banded sweetlips and nudibranchs to name a few inhabitants.Milln Reef offers excellent wall dives and swim throughs. Some of those walls are hiding turtles, barracudas, parrot fish and the occasional bull ray. Visibility 15 to 20 m and depth 5 to 30m.
   
• Thetford Reef is made up of numerous coral bommies and is home to many soft and hard corals like staghorn and plate coral and with that goes an abundance of marine life. Giant Clams, butterfly fish, damsels and angel fish. Access to this reef is tidal and very weather dependant. Visibility 15 to 29m and depth 5 to 30 metres.

To ensure a pleasant experience for our guests we also have access to Norman Reef and Michaelmas Reef on days where the are a little stonger. Both sites are vibrant and diverse, ensuring the high-quality snorkelling and diving experiences our guests expect.
On these days we visit two sites at Norman Reef, followed by one site at Michaelmas Reef on the return leg.

 

Complimentary Snorkelling Tour

Our Great Barrier Reef tour boat is suitable for both Divers & Snorkellers each being co-ordinated into the water on opposite sides of the platform.

Make sure you join the complimentary Snorkelling tour on the 3rd site with the marine interpreter as you will learn lots of things about the Great Barrier Reef corals and marine life under the waters surface!

Wet suits are included in the ticket price. As we are a high quality Great Barrier Reef tour we provide all the latest and greatest snorkel and dive equipment to ensure it compliments your reef experience.

Introductory Scuba Diving - Certified Scuba Diving

• Introductory scuba divers (up to 2 dives and no prior experience necessary just fill in the medical questionairre onboard) and listen to your instructor and have the experience of a lifetime.
• Certified divers up to 3 dives with professional dive instructors that show you the cream of the crop in this most magnificent underwater world.

Scuba diving is one of the fastest growing activities in recent years and the Great Barrier Reef is classed as one of the best diving locations in the world today.

Whilst snorkeling and diving you will explore spectacular coral formations and underwater gardens awash with vibrantly coloured marine creatures.

A Highly Personalised Dive & Snorkel Tour from Cairns

On board, the friendly crew will encourage you to relax and enjoy the comfort of the vessel with its full bar facilities, air conditioning and a delicious lunch for hungry adventurers. There's even an afternoon tea you can share on the spacious deck areas with a cold drink and time to share tales of your days adventure.

So if you are looking for a Great Barrier Reef tour from Cairns that offers a day of unique locations on a spacious luxury vessel with a friendly crew and a five star gourmet breakfast and lunch… Well this is your boat! A first class service!

Oh and the crew are multilingual: French, Italian, German and of course English.

If you are a Non-Swimmer see our popular 2 in 1 Great Barrier Reef tour where you visit Green Island in the morning and then cruise to a huge floating interactive pontoon on the outer Great Barrier Reef.  

What we like about this Great Barrier Reef Tour

• This is the fastest Great Barrier Reef tour from Cairns takes just 70 minutes, cruising at 32 knots to reach the outer reef giving you more time to enjoy diving and snorkelling the best of the reef!
• Ready to whisk you away for a day of Great Barrier Reef diving and snorkelling adventures, taking you to 3 different wonderful dive sites at the Outer Barrier Reef where you will spend a leisurely 5 hours exploring the depths of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef.
• A high quality boat for dedicated scuba divers and adventurous snorkellers who wish to see as much of the reef as possible in the one day.
• Smooth ride control system for rough weather perfect for those who experience seasickness but still wish to see and experience the best of the reef from Cairns.
• Its unique as the boat captain chooses the 3 best reefs to visit on the morning of departure based on the weather and underwater visibility, which provides the ultimate conditions for the best experience for divers and snorkellers to see the Great Barrier Reef at its best.
• Our Great Barrier Reef tour has the luxury of a roaming permit for 20 dive sites, 19 of which are exclusive to our boat only, which allows the captain to moor the vessel at the best sites for the conditions, water clarity and the abundance of marine life. 
• High quality 29 metre, luxury motor catamaran that is the fastest, most stable and spacious vessel operating out of Cairns.
• State of the art ride control system that ensures guests receive the smoothest of journeys across the water minimising the risk of seasickness
• Over five hours snorkelling and diving at three spectacular coral reef locations.
• Spacious sun deck areas for relaxing & air-conditioned galley and cabin areas, hot fresh water showers, change rooms and full bar facilities.

Accommodation Return Transfers

Please note: All return transfers will depart Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal 17.30pm. Ocean Sprit and Silverswift
passengers will need to wait for up to 1 hour for their return bus.
Reservations staff will be contacting all passengers with transfers the day prior to travel to update them
on locations and times if it will be a Taxi etc and also advise the OS and SWS pax of the delay with the return
time.

Please see below timetables:

Pick up time@ 06:40
MANTRA AMPHORA (49-63 Williams Esplanade Palm Cove)
PARADISE ON THE BEACH RESORT (119-121 Williams Esplanade Palm Cove)
PEPPER'S BEACH CLUB & SPA PALM COVE (123 Williams Esplanade)
PULLMAN PALM COVE SEA TEMPLE RESORT & SPA
REEF HOUSE (99 Williams Esplanade Palm Cove)
REEF RETREAT (10-14 Harpa Street Palm Cove)
SANCTUARY PALM COVE (6 Cedar Road)

Pick up time @ 06:45
MANGO LAGOON (81-85 Cedar Road Palm Cove)

Pick up time @ 07:00
CNR Moore & Trinity St Bus Stop

Pick up time @ 07:30
CAIRNS SHERIDAN (295 Sheridan Street)
THE LAKES CAIRNS RESORT & SPA (2 Greenslopes Street)
PALM ROYALE HOTEL (7-11 Chester Court)
CAIRNS COCONUT HOLIDAY RESORT (23-51 Anderson Road)
HOLIDAY INN CAIRNS HARBOURSIDE (209-217 The Esplanade)
CAIRNS COLONIAL CLUB (18-26 Cannon Street)
QUEEN'S COURT (167-171 Sheridan Street)
RYDGES ESPLANADE RESORT (Bus Area - Esplanade Side)

Pick up time @ 07:35
181 ESPLANADE P/Up Lake Street Side (181 Esplanade)
BAY VILLAGE (Cnr Lake & Gatton Streets)
CORAL TREE INN (162-172 Grafton Street)
TROPICAL HERITAGE CAIRNS (8 Minnie Street)
CAIRNS PLAZA HOTEL (145 Esplanade)

Pick up time @ 07:40
RILEY (p/u from DOUBLETREE BY HILTON - Abbott St side)
WYNDHAM RAMADA( (p/u from DOUBLETREE BY HILTON - Abbott St side)
IBIS STYLES CAIRNS (p/u DOUBLETREE BY HILTON)
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON (121-123 Esplanade)

Pick up time @ 07:45
BAILEY CRYSTALBROOK COLLECTION (163 Abbott St)
FLYNN BY CRYSTALBROOK (p/u Abbott Street entrance near Night Markets)
MANTRA TRILOGY (p/u Abbott Street entrance near Night Markets)
NOVOTEL CAIRNS OASIS RESORT (122 Lake Street)
THE BENSON HOTEL (Cnr Grafton & Spence)
GILLIGANS - P/up The Benson (50 Grafton St)

Pick up time @ 07:50
PARK REGIS CITY QUAYS APARTMENTS (2-4 Lake Street)

Pick up time @ 08:00
SOUTHERN CROSS ATRIUM APARTMENTS (3-11 Water Street)
YHA CAIRNS CENTRAL (20-26 McLeod Street)

See more snorkelling and diving tours from Cairns.

Tour Languages Offered

• English

Departs From

Cairns

Departure Time

Boarding commences at 8.15am, vessel departs 8:30am & returns 4.30pm

Departure Instructions

• Passengers on Silverswift will receive a digital check-in link from the Silverswift Reservations team 24 hours before their travel date.
• You will first get a text message, followed by an email, guiding you to:
• Check in online.
• Download your digital boarding pass(es)
• On the day of travel, skip the queue inside the Reef Fleet Terminal & proceed directly to the Silverswift vessel presenting your boarding pass(es) to the crew.
• (If you don’t complete the digital check-in in advance, you can still check in at the Reef Fleet Terminal and collect a physical boarding pass. Check-in at the Silverswift Counter inside the Reef Fleet Terminal for your boarding passes between 7.30am & 8.00am)

Pickup Locations

Palm Cove

• Please note: All return transfers will depart Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal 17.30pm. Ocean Spirit and Silverswift passengers will need to wait for up to 1 hour for their return bus.
• Our Reservations staff will be contacting all passengers with transfers the day prior to travel to update them on locations and times.

Destinations

• Great Barrier Reef
• Flynn Reef, Pellowe Reef, Milln Reef and/or Thetford Reefs

Months of Operation

January - December

Days of Operation

Daily

Does not operate Christmas Day

Duration

5 hours to explore the Great Barrier Reef at 3 different sites
Return cruise approx 1.5 hours each way
Boarding commences at 8.15am, vessel departs 8:30am & returns 4.30pm

Available for Purchase / Hire

• Introductory Scuba Diving.
• Certified Scuba Diving
• Wetsuits available for hire onboard for snorkellers

Fitness Level Required

Medium, Active

Restrictions

Scuba Diving – minimum age 12

IN-WATER RESTRICTIONS

Scuba Diving Restrictions

• Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving.
• Participation is subject to a medical questionnaire completed on board with the tour operator
• Minimum age for scuba diving is 12 years.
• Flying after scuba diving: a wait of 12 hours is recommended after one dive, 18 hour after 2 dives and at least 24 hours after multiple dives, before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater.

Read more about Diving Safety on the Great Barrier Reef.

Additional Information

Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving. Minimum age for scuba diving is 12 years. Flying after scuba diving: A wait of 12 hours is recommended but preferably 24 hours, if doing multiple dives, before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater.

Eco Certifications

Your camera,Swimming costume and beach towel, Hat, sunscreen and shirt for sun protection, Cash for drinks at the bar. Credit card for shopping and additional dives, Underwater cameras available for purchase or hire

The minimum age for diving is 12 years. Child price applies to children age 4 to 14. Infants 0 to 3 free of charge