Great Barrier Reef Adventure from Cairns including Snorkeling

Unforgettable

Such a great day. The guides were knowledgeable and very friendly. Scooby-doo was an awesome experience and not to be missed!! But take a sea sickness tablet before you get on the boat!!! It’s quite choppy out there at the outer reef …

Snorkeling GBR for all ages

I was rebooked on this boat after my other trip was cancelled, so the staff was very friendly and professional about that. I think this is a great way to see the Great Barrier Reef easily in one day. They take you on a large boat to a pontoon by the reef where you can snorkel and eat lunch. I thought the amount of time there was good - didn't need more because there was not much else to do. There are a lot of people on the boat, but that did not bother me. It was very family-friendly and accessible for an older crowd which was fine by me but just a heads up if you are looking for a younger, more upbeat trip. We went on a gloomier day and it felt like everyone around me got seasick - take motion sickness medicine before!! Snorkeling was great nonetheless.

Things to know before you sign up for Scuba-Doo underwater scooter

We did the Great Barrier Reef Adventure from Cairns. I booked the Scuba-Doo underwater scooter option. I was told that there is no photographer to take your under water photo. That was a big disappointment as I wanted a keep sake. If I had known earlier I would have rented an under water camera in Cairns. Something to remember that you do not see the corals or the fish in color, its a hazy blue color all around. The things appear much smaller too. These are things not told to you before hand and it was disappointing. The experience you have going down in the water was really good. Beware what you sign up for.

Best way to experience the Great Barrier Reef!

Absolutely spectacular way to experience the Great Barrier Reef! The staff and facilities were exceptional! Ruby in particular was absolutely amazing from start to finish!

Probably worth seeing only if you are a newbie to reef snorkeling. Well, at least it's an eye opening experience. Otherwise, sav

Was on a holiday in Cairns with mum and she insisted that we must check out this world popular GBR. Honestly, we might not have done this if I check out all the reviews and pictures prior to booking. 1) Green Island - perhaps my mistake as I went to the wrong side of the island (near the sun deck areas) to check out the place. Being a non swimmer which I don't normally have problem snorkeling around provided there's a life jacket, I was like of surprised that you gotto RENT one if needed. With the kind of price charged for the overall tour, I really wonder how much it gonna costs the operator to offer a 'necessity' for safety purposes. After all, I am pretty sure not everyone gonna take it. Was told by some boat mates that you could see a turtle or two + more fishes near the jetty area. The areas near to the sun deck areas literally has nothing much to offer - water is at low visibility, rather murky. It's really not like how they describe, you can see fishes just close by. I have been to Fiji where I can easily see school of baby sharks swimming around just by the shores. Talking about the sun deck area, I was really annoyed as well by the staff's approach telling me that all benches are out for rent. If I remember correctly, it's at 45 dollars for unlimited time. Guess what, I was merely just putting my phone on the table or probably seconds of sitting on the bench since I am taking selfie. I was eyed and sounded twice despite even the blind can tell that I am taking photos around. 😓 Please be more considerate, after all, am not resting at all on any of the bench. *1 selfie takes max of 5 seconds. 2) Outer Reef - hospitality was not too bad, staffs are friendly and attentive to questions posted. Perhaps the crowd is not too overwhelming for our boat today, everything seems to be nicely organized and arranged. I am blessed and lucky that we do not have any issues on long queues on food, overselling of reef activities (in fact none approached us, probably due to we are Asians and doesn't look like one that gonna do the activities much 😂). Food is OK, though I thought it gonna be a nice seafood buffet since the tour is priced on the higher end. We did the semi-subs once we arrived at the pontoon. Guess what, this experience is the main reason why we are joining the tour, especially since mum don't snorkel or swim. Sadly, it's such a big disappointment - not just from me, but few others too from Aus or Canada that I have spoken too. You really can't see much - water is not crystal clear like, not much variety of fishes... Honestly, it's kind of a waste of time. Some of us in the semi-subs were really cracking jokes that 'imagination is all you need" .😂 Well, perhaps we have seen something way better just within my own country in Malaysia! Bleached corals instead of the anticipated colorful underwater world is a real big disappointment to the GBR. Nevertheless, I am glad that I have at least made the trip here in 2024 instead of when the GBR is totally gone in 20/ 30 years time.... 🙏

Great Disappoint Reef Misadventure

This "experience" only made it to 2 stars because of the personable and friendly crew. Otherwise it was a disappointment on many fronts - the viewing windows on both the sub and submerged deck of the platform were dirty, streaked, and gave a prounced blue-grey tint to everything in the water. Several parts of the submerged platform hatch entry way edges were badly and dangerously rusted. Surprisingly, the number and types of both fish and coral were better from the platform than from the moving sub! Most of the staghorn coral was bleached and broken, though some was still blue and alive. Other corals appeared to be in bad shape as well. The sole highlight was the occasional appearance of "Wally", a very large Maori Wrasse, around the submerged platform viewing windows. The primary way we wanted get in the water, the Scuba Doo, was booked up, even though the attendant at the ticket office told us otherwise (so we actually bought swimwear on that advice!) . Even had that been available there were other issues. There were only coffin sized changing facilities; there were no lockers to store your valuables so someone in your party would have to remain out of the water to hold those. The single good thing about water activities was that Lycra suits were provided for sun and stinging jellyfish protection; BUT sadly I don't recall any mention of that in the tour material. Had one known all of this and still decided to go, the way to do so would be in swimsuit and flip-flops with no valuables whatsoever. Lunch was merely so so. The fresh melons were the exception, being very good. What made lunch a harrowing hassle was that the vast majority of the tour attendees were Chinese. They lined up for lunch well before its starting time and then piled two plates precariously high with every available offering, greatly taxing the serving staff. Seating for lunch was grossly insufficient for the number of passengers, and much of it had already been "reserved" by the Chinese covering the tables up up with mountains of bags. We only managed to get lunch late in the serving and had to return to the tied up boat to find a place to eat it.

So very very disappointed

Absolutely devastated!! The reef around the pontoon was dead. No colour whatsoever. Very few fish The submersible was cloudy … nothing at all to see. Very few fish to view from the cloudy observation area. All in all we really wished that we had booked a completely different trip. Certainly not worth the money. Everyone I have previously spoken to had raved about the reef …… this is NOT … the trip to go on if you want to see colour and beautiful reef. I would suggest that you avoid at all cost!! So many more trips less expensive and hopefully take you to a better part of the reef!

Great Trip with Wonderful Staff

A wonderful trip out to the reef. The itinerary was exactly as published. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food provided on the reef pontoon was very good. The submersible was really good, especially for the non swimmers. One tip - When entering the Reef Terminal to exchange your Viator voucher, look for the Quicksilver Group placard. Highly recommended.

Great Day

Great day out very professional plenty of staff to answer questions under water viewing platform was good and the semi submersible was good

Great trip!

Great experience and such a well run trip. We booked this off a cruise ship and easy to walk to from the port. The experience was identical to what the cruise ship was offering and half the price. The ride out to the platform was comfortable and plenty of seating. The crew did a great job of offering optional adventures and also getting snacks during the ride. Once on the platform it was so easy to get in the water and the reef was amazing. The only time it was crowded is if you stayed close to one of the floating rafts what are there for people who get tired or don't swim well. We were amazed how pristine the reef looked with so many people. Lunch was great, loved the fresh water showers and had plenty of time to snorkel as much as we wanted. Highly recommend.

Rain or shine it is a great experience.

We left in the rain but the experience was fantastic. The weather improved but was still overcast and it didn’t matter. The reef and the fish were amazing. The included semi-submersible was OK if you are not planning to snorkel but you see far mare of the reef and the fish if you plunge in and snorkel. My wife and I have snorkeled in Florida, Tahiti and Hawaii, and this, by far, was the best.

Great adventures

Journey to Green island was smooth but the staff were really pushing you to buy things ( helicopter, parasailing) which was really annoying. Went to Green island was impressed when we arrived but no working showers and again pushing you to buy things . Trip to reef was again staff pushing products to buy . Things on the platoon was very unorganised and could have been managed better . Corals were beautiful and enjoyed this .

It's all about the Coral

The 3 of us loved every bit of this tour. Communication was great beforehand since we weren't sure about timing and location from our cruise ship. We made it in time and we're impressed immediately. Special shout out to Michael helping us to register for the guided snorkeling and addressing health issues. And KEVIN for above and beyond snorkel guidance, picture taking and keeping us safe in a strong current. Did I mention the yummy cake? Such a great snack. Lunch buffet was passable not gourmet but hot tasty sufficient and decent choices. Several well- manned stations to collect and fit gear and then into the water on your own or with guide. We did both and saw much more with guide. Semi submersible we did not plan on using but a schedule was posted. Back on board there was coffee tea and cheese and crackers on return alcoholic beverages available. The highlight - as it should be was the reef. All sorts and number of fish but the coral was the star.

Confusing branding, could have booked a better trip for our needs

Great Adventures is part of a collection of tour groups in Cairns. We booked a Pro Dive Cairns day trip on the Silverswift but due to weather conditions, it was canceled. We then called and were rebooked onto this trip to the Outer Great Barrier Reef Pontoon. The staff was really accommodating, not charging us for the change in excursion (even though we got less dives on this rescheduled bookings!?) And the staff throughout the trip was incredibly patient and friendly. My chief complaint is that I wish these companies would have a consolidated website to show all the trip options because we didn’t have enough time to do anything besides our dives and there was an option to start 2 hours earlier allowing for time at Green Island. These individual companies under their own brand appear to have 1 day trip option a day but after booking, it’s referenced as one company with the same check in desk, leading to different day trip boats. It was very confusing not knowing what “company” we would be with and what were our options for the reschedule. This experience felt far too crowded, accommodating for non-swimmers or first time snorkelers and we were on the boat because we were diving. Next time I would have done a liveaboard or specifically called asking for best options from diving since the websites don’t help you navigate it well enough. There were other activities on the boat like a semi-submergible viewing of the reef, snorkeling, scuba-doos but we couldn’t do any of that because we had timed-dives. We were promised to get at least 1 hour with our first dive and then we only did 38 minutes. Second dive was less than 30 minutes. All in the same reef. If diving, do not do this option. Call them and figure out the best option for you. This company/collective is great customer service just wish we knew more before locking in this rescheduled excursion

Too many people, a queuing race - Green Island & Reef in 1 day is too much

Key thing here is that you need to know there could be 300-400 people on the boat and then the pontoon. That is a lot of people to get on and off the boat (three times), a lot of people snorkel around (flippers in the face anyone?), a lot of people to get lunch, a lot of people to get in the semi-subs, get equipment etc Queue to get tickets, queue to get on the boat, get off at Green island, queue to get back on the boat, queue for the semi-submersible at the pontoon, queue for lunch etc... what to do in what order? Far from relaxing. Hot queuing in the sun. In reality doing Green island and the reef in one day is too much - split it, take 2 days. This tour gave 2 hours at Green island and 3 hours on the pontoon - it was way too rushed. Too stressful. If you have one day just go to the reef, make sure you have 4-5 hours on the pontoon. The boat was full, we could not sit as a family on the way to Green island or the reef, on the way back we reserved seats early on. The food was average - we were travelling with kids, the chicken stir fry sounded like a good option, but there was no chicken in it, just vegetables. Literally no chicken. Fine for an adult maybe. You need 30-40 minutes for lunch. You need 25-30 minutes for the semi-submersible - we made the mistake of doing it first, it was rammed then, but we did not know and we tried to fit it in before lunch - likely better to do a later trip. Try and pick windows that are clean, some were very dirty. Avoid the back with the propellers. You will be sold to the moment you get on the boat - helicopter rides, scuba diving, underwater camera hire, underwater scooter things, parasailing etc. A bit too much really, lots of staff selling. The helicopter stayed put all day, waste of a journey for that vehicle. You could purchase photos, either physical or on a USB. 1) Many other activities we have done in Australia included digital photos FOC in the overall price 2) USB sticks in 2024??? Email? It was $30 for a single photo, we skipped it. The cheese and biscuits on the way back, haha. Bless the staff having to hand out 3 crackers and some cubes of cheese in a serviette. So basic. They did it with a smile, fair play. THE STAFF WERE VERY NICE AND PROFESSIONAL, this review should not show negatively on them. They were friendly and helpful on all occasions. There were plenty of stinger suits, the mask / snorkels probably could have been a bit better, but do they ever fit perfectly :) We did see plenty of fish, and quite a bit of healthy coral. You do have quite a few bumps with other people snorkelling, but overall there was decent space to snorkel. You can chuckle at the people using the underwater scooters, they look funny :) One person in our family did scuba diving and said it was pretty good, but there are a lot of beginners. The tour operator needs to be more open with how many people will be there and also the quality of what you are getting. We felt a bit like cattle being pushed through a system, going to Green island did not help though. Try and find a smaller trip to the reef - I am sure your experience will be far greater. Dear Great Adventures, take less people.

Out and about!

I liked seeing the area, fantastic crew, people from all over the world. Unfortunately the water was a bit too cloudy. You can’t control that.

Very little time at the platform and set up for those who have little water experience

The staff was friendly and the coral was good however there was very little time at the platform once the boat made it there and they were running late. When I looked into extra activities they were for people who did not have very much water experience. I am glad I did not dive as they did not venture very far from the platform and everything could be seen by snorkelling.

Full day GBR tour w/guided snorkling, solo.

In all for the full day, including the guided snorkel option i paid $355aud and i'd say it was worth it. Sure it's expensive, but for such a unique bucket-list experience, you're much more likely to remember the experience and not so much the cost. If you're prone to motion sickness it might be worth asking the staff for the tablets they have on board. I didn't need them in the end, but a couple of moments were touch and go, especially riding the semi-submersible. It gives you great views of the reef, but i very nearly was sick. As i was a solo traveler (and very shy) i found it a bit uncomfortable finding somewhere to sit for lunch and for after the snorkeling. There is a fair amount of seating at the pontoon but everyone else was in groups and took most spaces, so i made do eating my lunch in the corner where it was quiet. I'd like to give a shout out to my snorkel instructor, Desiree. This was my first time trying snorkeling and she was super nice, patient and delightful all round.

there were so many ways to experience the great barrier reef at this spot. I chose the viewing platform and a helicopter

helicopter ride over the great barrier reef to see the enormous size. view observation deck kept us dry. the submersible was awesome. did not have time to snorkel or scubadoo. wish I had more time. would have done that too

What’s not to like…… book up!

Great trip, wonderful reef with stunning colours and variety of fish. Good crew, nice lunch What’s not to like……book up!

Reef is amazing, tour company not so much

First, the Great Barrier Reef is stunning, and totally worth the visit. I just don't know that this is the company to use. I talked to some local people in the dive shops, and it came highly recommended. I think, in hindsight, there's some collusion here. We paid a premium for this trip, thinking it would be worth it. It wasn't. The boat arrived more than 15 minutes after the supposed departure time. The snacks and coffee that were supposed to be served on the journey didn't happen (reason given: sea was too choppy, but really it wasn't - maybe 5 people seasick). The trip is essentially 2 hours out (with a long stop at Green Island, where we sat around for people to depart and more people to board), and 2 hours back (same thing), with less than 3 hours at the actual reef (the lateness of the boat was just taken from our time at the reef). The food was mediocre at best, which is fine. But, the key element was to see the reef, and we were fighting for space with the 200 or so (maybe more) other people trying to do the same off of a 3-4 metre (12-14ft) platform - it was intimidating to my daughter. Not to mention the 'guided' tours that just hung out at the launch site while acclimating people. The equipment available was subpar at best - I've seen similar snorkels for sale at Dollar Stores (no dry top, so you end up having to blow out the snorkel every few minutes, due to the waves), and the masks were tough to get a good seal. I also wasn't impressed with the hard sell for all of the add-ons for the first hour of the boat ride. Basically, once we got moving, the crew started wandering around trying to sell stuff - left a bad taste. In fairness, some of the crew were really good, but overall would not waste my money on this. Should have spent less for this style of experience.

Amazing experience

Very slick organisation and great experience. We had the morning at Green Island and then on to the pontoon at the Great Barrier Reef for the afternoon. Green Island is beautiful and only takes about 45 minutes to walk around through the forest and on the beach, so time for a dip in the crystal clear sea too. At the pontoon, the semi submersible and underwater viewing observatory provided great views of the reef and fish. A marine biologist was also on board the boat to explain more detail about the reef, fish and climate, which we thought was very good. Staff were friendly and polite. We did not do the snorkelling, though the facilities looked good, but added on a 10 minute scenic helicopter flight, which was well worth it and provided a different perspective. Fabulous trip and great memories.

Loved it a great day out

The whole day was amazing and doing the extras like the Scooba Doo and diving was an excellent experience. Would highly recommend it to do. The buffet was great as there were many choices.

Unprofessional.

Spent most of our time on the boat. Weren’t informed that if we went on the early boat we could actually spend time on green island. We just got to see it and stay on board while others got on and off. The snacks were appalling. Three jatz handed to you on paper towel with some small squares of cheddar cheese. We missed out on tea and coffee on departure as again no information about getting it before departure. Felt sorry for two of the team members as they got told off in front of us for giving out too many biscuits and cheese. Unprofessional. Over priced.

Amazing experience

Whales as well ! Abundant marine life, perfect weather, awesome crew and staff. Green island and then out to Moore Reef. Our son did his first dive, absolutely loved it, Emilia was his instructor, very professional with a personality as well 10/10. Snorkeling over the reef, glass bottom boat was amazing we saw lots of amazing coral and fish species. And then on return to cairns - whales even, just too top off a perfect day out. Just do it !

Amazing day out on the reef.

We had an amazing day on the outer reef with different activities to choose from both for swimmers and non swimmers. Friendly and helpful staff.

Expensive for not much!

Paid $270 each for this trip and was very disappointed. We took over two hours to get there due to having to go via green island. When we got to the pontoon we had 3 hours before getting back on board. In that time we had a go on the submersible, wet seats, dirty windows so couldn’t really see much, floated over coral which was dead and not many fish. Lunch was served but no seats as people dumped their gear on tables , of which there were only a few, and so we had to stand against the rail and eat. The curry was meant to be hot yet only Luke warm which is a good safety issue as was the stir fry. At least the prawns were on a bed of ice. By this time we had an hour to get snorkel gear and have a go before getting out and back on the boat to go via green island again. Therefore over four hours of travelling for a rushed 3 hours at the pontoon. Would I recommend it, no way, expensive at $274 each and the main part of the day was rushed.

Great Day

Was a great day , lunch could have been a bit better . Don’t waste money on the scubadoo’s .. better to just do snorkeling. Would recommend the day out

Was relaxing and exciting at same time loved it

Awesome trip highly recommend and great service from Jordan and Takaio they are an asset to your business thanks guys for making our day better !!!

Great time, good crew and an amazing reef experience

We took the full day trip starting at Fitzroy Island and then onto to the Reef. The team were great and very service orientated. On the way out the seas was very rough and there were a lot of waves. The staff did their best to cater to everyone's needs. We swam with beautiful fish and met "wally' the massive Maori Wrasse. Overall a great family experience.

Excellent tour to Green Island and Barrier Reef

Excellent tour to Green Island and Barrier Reef platform One of our "bucket list" adventures and this tour did not disappoint Excellent spacious boats for travel to the reef locations, adequate time at both Green island and then the platform, excellent snorkelling equipment provided (including stinger suits which were really good) and a feeling of good overall safety. The locations were both fantastic in terms of coral and the fish we were able to see. One minor complaint would be too much selling of other activities whilst on the reef. But overall an excellent day and a memorable experience

A core memory day

Amazing day at the GBR. The boat ride there was super rocky but they provided ginger tablets to help with the nausea. Upon arrival we had a delicious lunch and then got into our gear. Get very safe having full body coverage to protect our body from jellyfish (which we never even encountered). Great amount of time to explore the reef with huge area to explore on our own supervised by a lifeguard. A must do for the bucket list! Hope to go back again, worth every penny!

Great Barrier Reef conquered with the best team

What a great experience from start to finish- great welcome on board, everything was provided as promised- food, great adventure, good people. Best part was the snorkelling experience in outer reef for 3 hours with life guards watching us making us feel safe while we enjoyed coming close to the beautiful coral and life under water. The spread of food for lunch was delicious and catered to vegetarians and non vegetarians equally. Every card was taken by the team to make this trip a memorable and special for me and as expected. Highly recommend it for all adventure lovers.

Snorkeling Adventure

Snorkeled from their pontoon using their equipment. Very well organized. Hearty lunch. Even though the sea had white caps, our roped-off area was calm and we saw many colorful fish. Most of the coral is whitewashed although we saw many with deep purple tips so they are growing back. Also enjoyed viewing the reef from their semi-sub as well as their underwater observatory (part of the pontoon). The trip out to the pontoon was on a very large catamaran which they tied up to the pontoon. Changing rooms and showers available. It was a very rocky 2-hour ride out to the pontoon but fortunately we had taken Bonine ahead of time.

The reef

From the time of checking in and then boarding the catamaran, everything was done very professionally and staff were very friendly and helpful . The catamaran stopped at Green Island first and then onto our platoon. Great day out on the reef , with doing the semi submerged submarine and enjoying a smorgasbord lunch . Just a great day out there .

Reef good, boat not!

We enjoyed our time snorkeling at the reef, amazing experience and saw lots of fish, sadly dead coral too. The boat experience was not so good, crowded, little seating outside. Lunch was ok, hot selection poorer than the cold. On reflection we should have chosen a smaller company with less people as we don't do crowds!

Fantastic

Great crew, great time! Weather was challenging, but the show went on. Food was beyond expectations Thanks!

Beautiful fish and coral

If the weather cooperates, this is an outstanding excursion. I selected a guided snorkel and our guide explained the coral and fish. We were able to touch a sea cucumber and a hard coral, which were the only sea life we could touch. There were several different fish some of which swam right up to you.

Day on the reef

What a great day put on the reef left Cairns marina about 10.30am dropped a few people off at Green island and about 45mins from there to pontoon day goes quick so plan what you want to do we done a Helicopter tour and Snorkelling but you can also go scuba diving mini sub and scuba doo rides under water, lunch included

Excellent customer service

Absolutely blown away with the professionalism of the crew. They transitioned from the boat to the pontoon seamlessly. They made the whole experience a joy and I highly recommend using Great Adventure. Everyone did such an amazing job.

Amazing Day - Highly Recommend

We went on our Great Barrier Reef trip with Great Adventures and Quicksilver Group in December 2022 and couldn’t have been more delighted. We chose to fly out to the reef giving us the opportunity of a later start without missing any time on the reef. We flew with Nautilus Aviation and had the experience of a lifetime. The stunning views over the barrier reef will stay with us for the rest of our lives and our words couldn’t even begin to do this part of the trip justice. If you can stretch your budget to include the flight, do not even give it a second though, just do it, you wont be disappointed. Upon arrival onto the pontoon, we were given information on the activities available then taken to our scubadoo session which we had prebooked. Again, this was sensational and not to be missed. We have scuba dived many times, including on the reef but the freedom offered on the scubadoo without the need to worry about buoyancy, pressure etc made this a completely different experience. Also keeping your hair dry was another lucky bonus. On the scubadoo, we saw some pristine reef along with many beautiful species of marine life. The highlight of this part was getting to meet Wally, the giant, friendly blue Wrasse. He was inquisitive and keen to photo bomb and be included in our pictures. Again, memories like these are priceless. The rest of the afternoon included snorkelling the reef and taking a trip on the semi submersible boat, both of which showcased the barrier reef in all its glory. The staff were great and went out of their way to make the day enjoyable. We thoroughly recommend booking your barrier reef trip with Great Adventures, the know what they are doing and how to make your day really enjoyable and filled with amazing memories.

Excellent Snorkeling Tour Guide

My family and I were very happy with the snorkel tour we had arranged with the tour guide, Phil, who went out of his way to ensure we had a great experience. He moved at our pace and was quite knowledgeable about the marine life and the various groups’ efforts to restore the coral reefs. On our way back to Cairns, he even provided a list of helpful tips for our upcoming road trip in Australia by canvassing some of his colleagues. If you are going to book a snorkeling tour with this company, I would recommend asking for Phil.

Boat staff very attentive...

Boat staff very attentive but the reef looks like it’s dying ……………..c fhfhhfhf BFF gfbghufhfh her egg h my the FB few g G red g he TV get th try he get the re f th y NHG FB vg

More bleaching than I had realised

A well organised day but I wish we had left out the Green Island option. As for the Reef it was mixed emotions for me. I have wanted to Dive the Great Barrier Reef for years but unfortunately I am now too old, I can however still snorkel so I was really looking forward to this trip. As I said it was well organised with underwater observation and a semi-submersible tour in addition to snorkelling/ I was shocked! I knew the reef was dying but I hadn't realised how bad it was. This has a knock on effect on what fish and marine life is there. So a good, if sad day out.

Nothing Spectacular. Disappointing thought it would be a highlight of vacation.

Beautiful book ride. Not impressed with the Platform location. Would have opted to go out on boat with multiple stops at different locations with less people if done again. Too many people in one location you constantly were running into people or being kicked. Did not see many fish, no turtles, sting rays or anything that stood out. Lunch was okay.

Great day out for the whole family

We emded up "choosing" this trip due to limited departures among all tour providers, but we were very happy with our day out :-) The stop for a couple of hours at Green Island was a fab place for our kids (7 & 11) to have their first go at snorkeling and get used to the equipment, right off the beach. Managed to spot a few fish and a couple of turtles too! The trip out to the reef had a decent swell but the staff kept an eye on everyone and were very caring. It was all go once we arrived out on the platform and it was a very well oiled machine. A quick trip on the semi sub since there were limited numbers of trips happening and then into a lycra suit and out to snorkel. Snorkelling was fabulous with so many fish and loads of coral to be seen. Kids had an amazing time and didnt want to come back in! Lunch was just okay....but then we were there for the reef and not to sit around making trips to the buffet. Made good time on the trip back again, with decent swell continuing and a quick stop at Green Island again. If we were to go again, we probably wouldnt stop at Green Island again and would choose a trip with more time at the pontoon - who would have thought that 3 hours wouldnt be enough!!! But we would certainly try to choose Great Adventures again.

The food provided is just...

The food provided is just okie, nothing special. Suitable for family with kids but the time spend on the platform is too short. Can’t finish all the activities. However, staffs are friendly and helpful.

A sad day.

Well organised on boat. The food was only acceptable. Not much to see. Dead coral and a few fish. I understand that the reef is dying and that is sad. I feel they should have spoken to us to let us know that we were going to see dying coral.

fantastic reef and snorkeling tour

fantastic trip well organized, food was fantastic equipment was fantastic. enough time to enjoy and see the reef and fish drinks were great apart from the miserable bar man who was a jobs worth and never smiled without the name badge on (how convenient). but the other staff were fantastic and helpful and friendly top marks to all the staff apart from mr misery.

Sensational Reef Experience not to be Missed!

Our day on the Outer Reef was sensational! Of course the perfect weather made it a pleasant 2hr cruise at 20knots, 25km offshore We arrived after an excellent briefing from the professional caring crew and on screen, so we were confident about the range of options available on the fixed pontoon. We were helped into wet suits, goggles and fins so were ready to go snorkelling after 15mins. We had easy access off a large platform into a clearly marked snorkelling area. The colourful coral and abundance of fish life were really exciting to see. What a unique experience to see an underwater world that many can’t even imagine. There was also an hourly trip on a semi submersible with glass sides, so you could watch the reef glide by and not even get wet! After a delicious lunch and sunbake on the spacious upper deck we headed back at 3.30pm. THIS IS THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME!