Great Barrier Reef Diving & Liveaboards

What a Great Barrier Reef liveaboard is actually like

You board in Cairns, transfer out to the outer reef, and from then on the boat is home. Days run on a dive schedule: briefing, dive, eat, surface interval, dive again, with a night dive after dinner on most trips.

Cabins range from bunk rooms to air-conditioned en-suites, meals are cooked aboard with dietaries handled on notice, and gear is mostly included.

Learn to dive, certified trips or the Ribbon Reefs: how to choose

Not certified yet: the PADI Open Water Course, 5 Days with Liveaboard from $1,199 is the most popular format, two days of classroom and pool in town, then three days and two nights on the outer reef logging nine dives, four training dives and five pleasure dives including a night dive. Certification, all gear down to the dive computer, dive insurance, meals and city transfers are included; budget around $120 for the environmental charge and fuel surcharge at check-in.

Not certified and not sure: the OceanQuest 2 Night Liveaboard from $949 takes newcomers for two intro dives or snorkelling only, in air-conditioned en-suite cabins with Cairns CBD transfers included, while certified divers on the same boat log up to ten dives on Norman, Saxon and Hastings reefs and watch Sharks in the Dark at night.

Certified and keen: the Certified Dive Adventure 2D/1N (4 Day Dives, 1 Night Dives) from $789 gives you up to six dives on board including a night dive, all meals, gear and reef levies included; the Certified Dive Adventure 3D/2N (7 Day Dives, 2 Night Dives) from $1,129 stretches that to up to nine dives with two night dives. Wetsuit hire is the only gear extra on both.

Certified and chasing the famous sites: the Cod Hole & Ribbon Reef 3 Night Liveaboard from $2,399 runs to the remote Ribbon Reefs day boats cannot reach, up to eleven dives in a group capped at ten, with the resident giant potato cod of the Cod Hole as the headline. It is the furthest-ranging trip here and the one experienced divers plan a holiday around.

Medicals, flying and what to bring

You fill in a dive medical questionnaire before any dive, including intro dives; some conditions need a doctor's sign-off, so sort that in Cairns beforehand if you have asthma, ear issues or take regular medication. Do not fly for at least 18 to 24 hours after your last dive, which matters if you are leaving Cairns the day you get off the boat. Bring your certification card and log book, swimmers, a warm layer for surface intervals, seasickness tablets, reef-safe sunscreen and a dry bag.