Cairns or Port Douglas for GBR tour

[udivegirl]

Hello,

 

My best friend and I will be cruising out of Brisbane in November.  Our first time to AUS.  We are wondering which port to do the GBR snorkel excursion, Port Douglas or Cairns?  Does anyone know the difference between the two tours?  Do they use the same platform?  If not, is the reef healthier at one location versus the other?  Which one has more fish life?  Do they both feed the fish (which I hate)?   Hoping to see clown fish 🙂  We are experienced snorkelers and one of us scuba dives.  The less people the better, although I imagine they will both be pretty busy.

 

Thank you for any info you can share.

[Aus Traveller]

From Cairns, Fitzroy Island is quite good. I prefer tours from Port Douglas where there are several to choose from. The company Jet Sprinter offers small-group tours to the outer reef as well as to the Low Isles.

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, udivegirl said:

Hello,

 

My best friend and I will be cruising out of Brisbane in November.  Our first time to AUS.  We are wondering which port to do the GBR snorkel excursion, Port Douglas or Cairns?  Does anyone know the difference between the two tours?  Do they use the same platform?  If not, is the reef healthier at one location versus the other?  Which one has more fish life?  Do they both feed the fish (which I hate)?   Hoping to see clown fish 🙂  We are experienced snorkelers and one of us scuba dives.  The less people the better, although I imagine they will both be pretty busy.

 

Thank you for any info you can share.

I would do a reef excursion from Port Douglas.

 

https://quicksilver-*****/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvL-Iqem0gAMVVKOWCh1BKgSoEAAYAiAAEgKKz_D_BwE

[Hogbay]

8 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

From Cairns, Fitzroy Island is quite good. I prefer tours from Port Douglas where there are several to choose from. The company Jet Sprinter offers small-group tours to the outer reef as well as to the Low Isles.

Jet Sprinter ? Reef Sprinter operates out of port Douglas but outer Reef Tour leaves at 8 am .

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&hl=en-AU&cs=0&sxsrf=AB5stBgXQL_BLnGdDKRoB_7YgkJRu--NcA:1690669974131&q=Reef+Sprinter&ludocid=13422800292576817956&ibp=gwp;0,7&lsig=AB86z5UeZXhgELMxXr22AK5Zs7VW&kgs=52049f5bc89caf4d&shndl=-1&shem=lbse,lsp&source=sh/x/kp/local/m1/4

[Hogbay]

8 hours ago, udivegirl said:

Hello,

 

My best friend and I will be cruising out of Brisbane in November.  Our first time to AUS.  We are wondering which port to do the GBR snorkel excursion, Port Douglas or Cairns?  Does anyone know the difference between the two tours?  Do they use the same platform?  If not, is the reef healthier at one location versus the other?  Which one has more fish life?  Do they both feed the fish (which I hate)?   Hoping to see clown fish 🙂  We are experienced snorkelers and one of us scuba dives.  The less people the better, although I imagine they will both be pretty busy.

 

Thank you for any info you can share.

Hi what ship are you on ? Are you talking about ship tours? They do sell out before you cruise.  Port Douglas is a tender port . I would book both traveling from US as ship tours .

[SinbadThePorter]

10 hours ago, udivegirl said:

We are wondering which port to do the GBR snorkel excursion, Port Douglas or Cairns?

 

If you are doing the Queensland coast from Brisbane, you will also be able to do a GBR excursion from Airlie Beach.

 

In all cases you need to get a ship excursion as the timing won't work for third party excursions.

 

If you are on Quantum all your ports will be tenders. On other ships Cairns will be a docking.

[Aus Traveller]

7 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Jet Sprinter ? Reef Sprinter operates out of port Douglas but outer Reef Tour leaves at 8 am .

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&hl=en-AU&cs=0&sxsrf=AB5stBgXQL_BLnGdDKRoB_7YgkJRu--NcA:1690669974131&q=Reef+Sprinter&ludocid=13422800292576817956&ibp=gwp;0,7&lsig=AB86z5UeZXhgELMxXr22AK5Zs7VW&kgs=52049f5bc89caf4d&shndl=-1&shem=lbse,lsp&source=sh/x/kp/local/m1/4

You are correct - the company is Reef Sprinter, not Jet Sprinter. Apologies. In my defence I will mention that I am on a ship near Iceland. The internet is unbelieveably slow so I didn't check that I had the name of the company correct before posting the comment.

[MicCanberra]

I would go from Port Douglas rather than Cairns if I was visiting both via ship, although if Airlie Beach is also one of the ports, that would be even better.

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I would go from Port Douglas rather than Cairns if I was visiting both via ship, although if Airlie Beach is also one of the ports, that would be even better.

The problem with going to the Reef from Airlie Beach is that the Reef is much further away from the coast in central Queensland compared with the Cairns/Port Douglas area. Port Douglas would be my first choice for a place to take a tour to the Reef.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I would go from Port Douglas rather than Cairns if I was visiting both via ship, although if Airlie Beach is also one of the ports, that would be even better.

Whichever you choose you will probably end up on a big catamaran with hundreds of other cruisers going to a specific fixed(?) pontoon that may or may not have really good quality reefs nearby, and those hundreds of people will all be trying to snorkel it at the same time.

 

If you seriously want to experience the GBR then go to Port Douglas for a few days and go out with one of the smaller boats like Wavelength. That way you'll see three of the best outer reef locations at the time.

Edited July 30, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[udivegirl]

Thank you all!

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

The problem with going to the Reef from Airlie Beach is that the Reef is much further away from the coast in central Queensland compared with the Cairns/Port Douglas area. Port Douglas would be my first choice for a place to take a tour to the Reef.

My point is that at any port it can be done and the other ports have many other options to explore other than the reef.

[cruiser3775]

You will be restricted to doing the cruise ship tours, because the independently run tours leave too early and/or arrive back too late to fit in with the ship docking times.  The ship tours are shorter to fit in, but that means you have less time on the reef. It's about 1.5 hours from Port D or Cairns to get to the reef by fast catamaran, so that's three hours of your excursion just travelling there. From Airlie Beach, the reef is even further out.

[MicCanberra]

8 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

You will be restricted to doing the cruise ship tours, because the independently run tours leave too early and/or arrive back too late to fit in with the ship docking times.  The ship tours are shorter to fit in, but that means you have less time on the reef. It's about 1.5 hours from Port D or Cairns to get to the reef by fast catamaran, so that's three hours of your excursion just travelling there. From Airlie Beach, the reef is even further out.

we did it a few years ago when the ship was at Airlie beach, still about 1.5 hrs each way to the outer reef. the fast Catamaran went directly from the ship.

[Sparky74]

On 7/30/2023 at 4:05 PM, Aus Traveller said:

...In my defence I will mention that I am on a ship near Iceland. The internet is unbelieveably slow so I didn't check that I had the name of the company correct before posting the comment.

What ship are you sailing on? Auntie is sailing in that part of the world at the moment. 

[MicCanberra]

we board NCL Star on Friday, Tromso Norway to Reykjavik, Iceland.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Sparky74 said:

What ship are you sailing on? Auntie is sailing in that part of the world at the moment. 

I hope I am not talking out of school, but am guessing it could be this one??

[Sparky74]

Auntie is on the Oceania Riviera, happily spending my inheritance. 

[MicCanberra]

Coral is at Akureyri today.

[Aus Traveller]

20 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

What ship are you sailing on? Auntie is sailing in that part of the world at the moment. 

I am on the Coral Princess' World Cruise. We had a few little problems early in the cruise - mechanical then rough weather etc that delayed us causing us to miss Oman and Mykonos. As a replacement for the latter, we had a half day in Messina. Since then we have had brilliant weather if a bit hot in Dubai (45 - 46 deg) and in the Mediterranean (low to mid 30s).

 

An exception to the brilliant weather was the day we were supposed to be in Lerwick, Shetland Islands. It was cloudy with some rain and the wind was too strong to allow us to use the tenders safely. Most on board were disappointed but realise this can happen.

 

Yesterday we were in Akureyri (Iceland). I had a great independent tour that visited all the highlights including the spectacular Detross waterfall. Today we will be in Reykjavik (midday until late).

Edited August 1, 2023 by Aus Traveller

[kelsea82301]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:29 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Whichever you choose you will probably end up on a big catamaran with hundreds of other cruisers going to a specific fixed(?) pontoon that may or may not have really good quality reefs nearby, and those hundreds of people will all be trying to snorkel it at the same time.

 

If you seriously want to experience the GBR then go to Port Douglas for a few days and go out with one of the smaller boats like Wavelength. That way you'll see three of the best outer reef locations at the time.

Hello,

 

I was searching CC for Wavelength and saw your post.  We will be in Port Douglas and wanted to snorkel the GBR on March 7th with either Calypso or Wavelength.  

 

We like that Wavelength is a smaller boat and caters to snorkelers (Calypso has divers too) but I'm worried about the ocean at that time and a smaller boat because hubby gets seasick.

 

Do you have experience with either Calypso or Wavelength and do you know how the ocean waves and weather would generally be at that time of year?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

Kelly

[Jean C]

Hi, I can't comment on conditions, but the best snorkelling we have done on the GBR was from a land trip in Port Douglas, and was to the Outer Reef with Wavelength. The Coral was larger than life, colorful and just stunning. We were disappointed with the quality of snorkelling at Low Isles and the Wavelength pontoon. If you are there as a port stop from a cruise ship you will have time constraints and will be restricted to a ship's shore tour as non-ship shore tour timeframes aren't compatible with the ship's arrival and departure times 🌊 

Edited January 16 by Jean C

[Cruise Junky]

Wavelength out of PD were amazing.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

Wavelength out of PD were amazing.  

I agree, we did a tour with them quite a few years ago and it was amazing.

 

I think it was in September and it was a bit of a rough ride out to the reefs. There is no guarantee it would be more or less rough in March as weather and sea conditions seem to be getting more and more unpredictable these days. Take some effective seasickness medication with you.

 

As others have said if you are hoping to do this at a port stop on a cruise it probably won't be possible. It's a long tender to the PD marina and there is no guarantee you would be able to get on the first tender.

[arxcards]

On 1/16/2024 at 12:34 PM, kelsea82301 said:

Hello,

 

I was searching CC for Wavelength and saw your post.  We will be in Port Douglas and wanted to snorkel the GBR on March 7th with either Calypso or Wavelength.  

 

We like that Wavelength is a smaller boat and caters to snorkelers (Calypso has divers too) but I'm worried about the ocean at that time and a smaller boat because hubby gets seasick.

 

Do you have experience with either Calypso or Wavelength and do you know how the ocean waves and weather would generally be at that time of year?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

Kelly

There is no generality in the weather patterns. The reef buffers the ocean and swell to a degree, but not all.

 

You haven't said if you are visiting on the day as part of a land trip or by sea. A common theme through this thread is that it is difficult to squeeze in an independent tour on the day due to the time it takes to tender into Port Douglas from a cruise ship. There is no guarantee you will meet your reef boat in time, and no guarantee you will make it back in time for the last tender to the ship. While likely inferior, ship tours to the reef depart from and return directly to the ship.

Edited January 17 by arxcards