Full Day Reef Cruise and 10 Minute Helicopter Scenic Flight

Amazing experience, don’t miss out this experience

First time we visited Cairns and did the Great Barrier Reef, and what an amazing experience the whole experience from the staff at the checking desk to the last member of the crew were very supportive and friendly. Lunch was included they served steak, see food, etc and Tran and coffee throughout the day. Special thanks for Kiki for being such an amazing instructor and being so supportive while I “panic” down the water. Highly recommended

the best experience ever

We really enjoy the snorkeling and the helicopter ride. The crew was amazing and the food delicious.

They still haven't reimbursed me for the helicopter ride.

I didn't like that when I checked in they told me that the helicopter ride was not available because they didn't have the boat for that. and I wanted to live that experience but at the last minute they told me that they didn't have it available. I don't understand how they play with people who want to live the dream and they already knew that they didn't have it available but they notified until the last day that the trip was. But but the crew was excellent, very attentive and attentive to everything thanks to the boat crew.

Great organization

I liked everything about the activities. The organization was great, the food quite good and abundant and the staff was friendly. Thank you guys.

Oh wow

Scuba diving was great. Helicopter experience as well. The personnel were very polite and friendly. Well organised. Special thanks to Ruth who was amazing.

Amazing!!!

Amazing day out snorkelling and flying over the GBR. Would recommend doing the helicopter flight so worth it! The food was really nice and plenty of it. The crew was amazing, really friendly and helpful. Thank you for a great day ☺️

Amazing and Seamless Experience!

What a great trip! We experienced some choppy waters but the staff kept everyone enthusiastic and properly medicated (sea sickness). It certainly did not ruin our day. I cannot say enough about how the staff worked together and made such a fun, educational, and safe atmosphere. We chose to Scuba Dive and take a helicopter ride. We felt we had every opportunity to see two beautiful reefs from all three view points!

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT REEF AND HELICOPTER DAY WITH DOWN UNDER CRUISE AND DIVE.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT REEF DAY! We had the best day with Down Under Cruise and Dive, they were all so incredibly great to spend the day with.. The food was unbelievable, so much choice and never ran out. We can’t wait to book again. Highly recommend this package with Down Under.

My idea of a great day out

The whole trip was amazing, a once in a lifetime experience and the crew really went out of their way to make you feel included. Personal care was great and the buffet for lunch was very nice too.

Best crew

Amazing experience. Number of people were not too many. There were decent spaces to hang out in and activities to do. Fave part of this tour was their CREW!!

I love Down Under Dive tours

Your boat is magnificent. Your service was excellent. Saxon and Hastings reef were spectacular, I saw so many fish. Food was top class. Best value in Cairns. Hank

Another bucket list item checked off

Diving the Great barrier reef was a lifelong dream and bucket list item for my husband who is 81 years old and in good health. Phil, one of the dive instructors, created such a delightful experience for him, that he went on a second dive the same day. The crew members seem to work together like a family and made the experience that much more enjoyable. And they are also incredibly knowledgeable and everyone is so friendly and they get to know your name right away. I like the extra counting and making sure everyone is on board. We opted to take the helicopter home in addition to the 10-minute scenic route and that provided another experience and a shorter day.

A fantastic experience with a great tour company.

What a fantastic, well organized tour. Everything went smoothly from start to end. The staff was exceptional. They were so friendly and helpful. They took safety very serious with several checks throughout the day. The two reefs we went to were wonderful to experience. We could not do the helicopter ride because of bad weather in Cairns. Food was good. A chance of a lifetime - rain or sun!

Great Barrier Reef

As they said in their talks it’s not the ok barrier reef it’s the Great Barrier Reef and it really was since arriving in cairns the weather has been awful and I was pleased we got to experience some of what we wanted. The staff on board were absolutely incredible and I can not thank them enough for making the experience what it was. My son a natural water baby was right at home and got to live the dream and dive and snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. I found it harder but the staff were incredible giving me advice hints and tips to try and ensure I felt at ease and got the best out of my experience. Thank you. Due to the bad weather communication with Viator to arrange a refund as there was no helicopter ride was quite simple and sorted well. 100% recommend just hope you have better weather.

Can’t control the weather . . .

Very professional operation. Great boat, attentive staff. The weather was not great - choppy seas - lots of sea sick passengers. The staff was great though in managing. We did make it out to the reef and had a decent time in the water. The current was strong and it was a bit cloudy. Saw the resident sea turtle, which was a treat. The helicopter was cancelled due to weather, but refund through Viator was prompt. Would go again in better weather.

Awesome

That was very awesome tour! I went to there by myself. But I made some friends there! And there were a lot of friendly and lovely staffs there. Also I made friends of staff crew

I would do it again

Great experience. Professionally handled. Food exceeded expectations. The only complaint was that it got a bit crowded while snorkeling. Perhaps it’s because everyone was so excited

The reef coral the best experience!!!

Was Amazing, the reef coral wonderful and the flight without word! The Best! We come back soon for repite the experience! Thanks to the crew!!!

Incredible Experience - MUST DO!!

Stop what you are doing and immediately book a tour with this company!! We did the Great Barrier Reef Scuba/Snorkel with the helicopter ride and it was PERFECTION. The entire staff runs a very well organized experience from start to finish. From check in to the very end, they have thought of very single detail. We felt safe and well cared for. And the staff were all top notch. They even had a photographer that took some amazing pictures that were available to purchase. A few tips - take a motion sickness pill right as you board. They warned all the guests multiple times that it can get choppy and so many ended up in the back of the boat getting sick in a paper bag. It is not a money grab - they truly want you to have a good time so bring them along or buy them from the staff. The first reef had the most time allowed to snorkel and dive - take advantage of every single minute. Don't jump in the water, see some cool fish and then get back on the boat. You will likely miss something incredible like a turtle!! Enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the reef. We also highly recommend the helicopter experience. It was incredible to see it from the sky and appreciate how vast it is. We felt so safe and thrilled to have this be part of our experience. Finally, if you want to scuba, be sure you sign up for it when you book this tour. Don't think that you can just ask to do it on the day of because it will likely be full and then you will miss that incredible opportunity to dive the Great Barrier Reef.

Amazing crew makes for an amazing day in the Great Barrier Reef

AMAZING day tour to the Great Barrier Reef. Boat with great amenities, awesome food, and a super friendly crew made this a day to remember.

I mean - it was awesome

Ah man. Highlight of my trip to Australia. I was a bit worried there would be a lot of people, but it never felt too crowded and we always felt well looked after. Large, knowledge staff! They were funny, fun, and good to be around. I HIGHLY recommend doing a first time dive and not just snorkling. Its one of the rare ways you can scuba without being certified. It was safe, fun, and easy. Even my wife, who was worried, had a BLAST. The helicopter ride was cool, but take it or leave it. We saw some turtles from up high, so that was cool! But yes - this company was great, and I highly recommend booking it. We had a great day. The staff really seemed to care that we all enjoyed ourselves. Shoutout to Phil, who was our guide for the scuba. He was a character. We saw a turtle. He really made sure we all had a great experience.

Lots of people, not intimate, but good

Mass market snorkeling and scuba diving outfitter. Be prepared for 160 folks to share the boat with. Helicopter tour was canceled - don’t get your hopes up even if the weather looks good. Assigned seating was a surprise but the boat was quick to the reef and lunch was pretty good.

Great crew and dive sites but no helicopter

Went out for an introductory dive and helicopter tour but the weather prevented us from going in the helicopter. The crew on board was great, very friendly and organized and the scuba dive was incredible as well as a couple hours of snorkeling. The helicopter being cancelled was a major bummer especially when hearing the same helicopter outfit had cancelled most of their flights over the past month. Time to find a new service so it doesn’t reflect poorly on this crew. So what we experienced was great but what we didn’t experience was disappointing.

Great tour and staff!!

This was an AMAZING tour! I can't say enough good things about it! Unfortunately, my experience we viator to book this tour leaves me a bit frustrated. I wanted to go scuba diving and after several emails and phone calls with viator they still booked my friend and I for the wrong activities. I was really disappointed but I appreciate that down under was able to accommodate me to go snorkeling instead.

Wonderful experience of Great Barrier Reef in a day highly recommended

This tour covered the Reef very well in a day They had everything as advertised Plenty of snorkeling time and we also took helicopter tour Overall great experience

Spend a Nice Day Out at the Reef

This is an excellent tour to take for anybody seeking a nice day out at sea with ample time to take in the reef, whether snorkeling or diving. The crew was friendly and ever helpful, food and drink were outstanding and the day provided us with memories we won't soon forget.

Great crew and reef snorkeling was excellent

The crew were top notch all of them! Very accommodating and professional. Took one star off because we could not do the helicopter portion due to some weather in the area. Weather seemed to clear but it was still a no go. Weather is not their fault but we did not get the full experience. The reef snorkeling was excellent!!

For Great Barrier Reef tours, look no further!

It was an awesome experience. The Greta Barrier Reef in itself is fascinating, which was nicely accentuated by the professional, warm and fun attitude of the staff members. Food served on board was great too, ample variety and cooked to perfection!

Great Barrier Reef Experience

Great day on the Evolution boat snorkeling the GBR. The team was very professional, fun and energetic. Very organized and safety was their top priority. They did a head count at least 6 times during our cruise and were always approachable. Unfortunately, we booked the helicopter tour but it was canceled the day before b/c their helicopter had damage from the Dec 25 cyclone. We had a great experience and would recommend to anyone who wants to see the GBR.

Disappointed with organization

Good: Helicopter and snorkel were great! Epic spots! Crew was very nice Average: Food was Ok, not great. Scuba Diving was not the best, first dive was short and very controlled ( no freedom to be a bit on your own in the water, always with nested arms like a chain) I could not take my action camera to record the diving. Bad: we were not the first to check in (7h30) that means that we got numbers in the middle (try to be the firsts or last ones if you want to do a lot of activities). In the first stop everything was ok, although there was no freedom in diving and no action camera. They said it would be ok to dive free with camera on the second dive to be done in the second stop and I was interested in gooing because thats what is great about diving (freedom). They organize the heli and scuba dives based on the checkin numbers, that means that I was on the 4th group for heli and 3rd for scuba diving. I shown my interest in second scuba diving and Aron(responsible for scuba) told me that I should do the heli first and then do the diving. What happened is that I didnt done the scuba because there was no time after the heli and since I was expecting the heli to be quick (10m each) I also didnt had the chance to snorkeling because I waited 1h30 for the heli. Conclusion, wanted to do snorkling, scuba and heli and only done the heli because they are disorganized. I would recommend you have this in mind and try to coordinate with them beforehand.

Tour of a lifetime

The trip of a lifetime! Our trip took place after the cyclone so we weren’t able to do the helicopter tour, but they endeavoured to provide a wonderful day out with excellent service and were very prompt with our refund. The views were incredible, we got some amazing photographs and made some unbelievable memories. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend and already have done.

Tripadvisor book is a catastrophe!!!!!!!!

You canceled our flight when we was in middle of cruise in ocean never we will repeat booking with your company…. Is not fair no ofer explications rezonabile ….. in the reef helicopter of nautilus company flight with others our friends they booking others more srious never never never with Tripadvisor

Good tour of the reef

We really enjoyed this tour. Our group was the only boat at the two distinct reef stops. We saw a lot of sea creatures. The equipment provided was of really good quality - the stinger suits (like a light version of a wet suit) provided excellent sun protection. Reef safe sunscreen was even provided. As a traveller you did not need to bring ANY equipment to enjoy yourself. The tour operator thought of everything. The number of people on the t tour was a bit larger than we expected but it wasn’t an issue.

Peak experience! Highly recommend

This was a peak experience. The crew delivered a well organized and safe outing. We saw all kinds of colorful fish and coral and never felt crowded despite the large group of passengers. The helicopter ride over the reef is something I will never forget. I highly recommend the add on, it was worth the extra money.

Incredible reef experience!

The snorkling experience and helicopter ride is so amazing! And the crew were all very welcoming and humorous, kept everyone very entertained. The only downside maybe is the lunch? I didn't eat the prawn, but the steak and fish were both kinda dry, but very ok if eaten with sauce. Overrall amazing experience!

This is worth waiting for.

We look forward to meeting up at the Flying Childers each week with my Family. We wouldn't go anywhere else since Marsden's took the pub over and Sam who runs the pub. No other Local pub compares. The Staff are so welcoming and friendly. The atmosphere is warm and Cosy. Blake and Melissa, the staff take note of all the customers and we don't even have to ask what drinks we want, they already know. Going to the Childers is like visiting our extended family. The staff are amazing. We couldn't resist fish and chips tonight. So fresh, big and tasty. Much better than soggy fatty chip shops. Thank you all once again at the Bessacarr flying Childers. Dogs are given treats in the bar too. The pets are spoilt rotten and the bar atmosphere is great too. Many thanks for the great hospitality Sam and all your staff AM😇

Best in town, look no further!!

Just returned from a spectacular day out! This package has it all! I am not a natural in the water, let alone the ocean; nor had I snorkeled before. I was actually a little nervous that I had spontaneously signed up. But, I was in Cairns & I was not going to let this opportunity pass me by! Checking in was seamless, collecting my flippers & snorkel equipment a breeze. The ride out to the outer reef was a little nauseous for some, but once we anchored it was all hands on deck! Once suited & booted, entry into the water was easy & a quick 5 minute intro was all that was needed & off I went! I learned that we were swimming in a national marine park area, I could hardly believe my eyes! The entire crew was brilliant, it’s apparent they love what they do! They kept things running to a schedule whilst still ensuring we had a phenomenal day! If it’s in your budget, the helicopter ride is a MUST! All in all I am so grateful that I got to see a tiny part of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as a variety of marine life. The highlight of my experience was that a few meters below, a shark about a meter long swam right by! An unforgettable day, well worth every penny!! Highly recommend!

Great Barrier Reef experience

We both had a wonderful day snorkelling. Was very well looked after by the staff. Highly recommended

strongly recommend

I had a lot of fun with "Down Under Cruise & Dive." The staff is amazing, super fun and helpful. It was a full day, with lunch included (very good, by the way). I went to visit 2 different spots of the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns. I went snorkeling and I did a 10-minute scenic helicopter flight, it was incredible! I strongly recommend the activity and especially "Down Under Cruise & Dive"

The best experience

I did the 10 min helicopter ride & all day snorkelling. The crew were fantastic and super entertaining, and caring. Saw the most incredible marine life and views. Morning tea, coffee/tea, lunch & afternoon tea all included which was lovely!

fantastic experience up in north QLD

The season and weather was just right. We saw fish and live coral reefs during the snorkeling, and the 10-min heli experience was also fantastic

Unfortunately for me I booked

Getting on and getting off. You still owe money. Pay up! Accordingly my fun may not stop for months. Do yourself a favour don't try VIator, steer clear of down under cruise and dive. Both parties are unprofessional.

Wasted a day.

This activity is not worth it. At least not for us. With this being the most expensive activity we availed during our trip, we were excited, but we were given a series of bad timeslots and events. You have the option to do a guided cruise but it clashes with the helicopter ride, so it isn't really an option. The guided snorkelling isn't really worth it as well. They just swim you around the base of the boat and if you're just there, there really isn't anything to see. Like literally nothing. This trip is not for everyone. During the helicopter ride, which we were most excited about, we got seated at a bad spot as well. For the supposed 10min ride, all we saw was the ocean, the reef only popped up a couple of times, but most of the air time scenery was on the other side, frankly we saw nothing we wouldn't see from atop the boat. Perhaps if you got seated better, given a timeslot that would fit both the helicopter ride and the marine tour (despite the added charge), it would've been better. But frankly, waste of our money. Wasted our limited day in Cairns with this one. Absolutely disappointed. Any stars I give would only be because SOME (not all) of the staff were nice, and the food was good. Otherwise, really bad experience.

Amazing staff unique experience

The best experience made possible by an amazing crew! Special shout-out to Jack and Frankie who went above and beyond to make it possible to get a second dive and helicopter flight squeezed in which has made today the perfect day The team are great, the snorkel locations and equipment are amazing l! The dive teams are so good at what they do they made a first time diver feel like a natural The food on board Jn the buffet was amazing, steak pasta and a good selection of snacks with a great priced bar Can’t express enough how much I’d go with this company I can’t imagine a better experience then what they provide

Spectacular day on the Reef.

All 5 of us were thrilled with this day long excursion- action packed from beginning to the end. From the fiesty seas to the exciting helicopter ride, the tour had packed in everything as well as the beautiful reef snorkelling experience.

Loved the helicopter ride!

It was my first time in a helicopter and I am hooked! The whole experience was very well thought out. Thank you!

Extremely Happy.

I had been on another great barrier reef two days prior and had been disappointed to say the least. The boat wasn't very well built for choppy waters, parts of the tour that were advertised felt like they were being ran by children, no information about things, poor structure, poor communication etc etc. This tour was day and night, very well communicated with before and during the trip, the structure of the day was detailed and ran through well, all the staff seemed to be very good at their jobs and very professional. There was also an abundance of staff which I was very surprised about. The snorkelling spots were great and staff helped with everything. The boat was big enough and built in a way to handle the bad swell. The equipment was all good quality and in good condition. The lunch was much better with hot food such as steak, fish and a veggie option as well as the salad, pasta and bread. We had morning snacks and afternoon snacks including a free glass of wine. Everything ran smoothly, on time and was very well put together. Safety was of high concern with checks all day for head counts. We were given detailed information about what we may see, that we weren't to disturb any of the reef or marine life and that certain marine creatures were very friendly and may get close but again not to touch them. I would highly recommend doing any trips with these guys and if I come back to Cairns this is where I will book my trips for sure.

Careful- Viator try not to reimburse cancelled helicopterride

Do NOT book a helicopter ride with Viator - as they often get cancelled and they try not to reimburse you! We had to make 2 bookings for 2 persons each as 2 wanted introduction dive and 2 not. The reimbursement of the cancelled helicopterride we were informed was only for 1 out of our family of 4!! Despite the cruisemember told us that of course everyone who had booked and paid for the helicopterride would be fully reimbursed as the cancellation happens very frequently due to weather condition. Still waiting to receive the reimbursement - and really not easy to get in contact with Viator customer “service”.

Great day on the reef

Lovely day on the reef. Lots of fish and coral seen while snorkelling and turtles from the helicopter. An amazing experience. Crew were very experienced, helpful and informative. Food was great. Definitely recommended

Awesome staff and nice experience. Helicopter package highly recommended

We did the Get High snorkelling plus helicopter package with our preschooler. Great staff. Nice experience especially the helicopter ride. Beware of seasickness. Nobody thought they were prone but lots of nauseous people including my kid.