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PADI Open Water Course, 5 Days with Liveaboard

Learn to dive in a pool, qualify on the actual Great Barrier Reef.

A five-day PADI Open Water course: two days of classroom and pool, then a 3-day/2-night liveaboard on the reef with nine dives, including a night dive, and your certification at the end.

⭑ 4.8 283 Google reviews 📍 Great Barrier Reef ⏱ 5 Days 👥 Up to 18 🔥 Active

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Overview

Most people learn to dive in a quarry. You get to do it on the Great Barrier Reef, which is like learning to drive in something Italian. This five-day PADI Open Water course is the most popular learn-to-dive format in Cairns for exactly that reason.

The structure: two days of classroom and pool training in town, then three days and two nights living aboard on the outer reef, logging nine dives, four training dives to qualify, then five pleasure dives including a night dive to celebrate. Everything is included: PADI certification and manual, log book, all equipment down to the dive computer, wetsuit and torch, dive insurance, corrective-lens masks if needed, Cairns city transfers, and fully catered buffet meals aboard with unlimited tea, coffee and Milo.

Budget for the environmental management charge and fuel surcharge at check-in (about $120 combined). You arrive a swimmer; you leave a certified diver with a Great Barrier Reef log book.

Why you'll love it

  1. 1

    Full PADI Open Water certification

  2. 2

    3-day liveaboard on the reef

  3. 3

    Nine dives including a night dive

  4. 4

    All gear, even dive computer

  5. 5

    Meals and city transfers included

  6. 6

    Dive insurance included

More photos

Itinerary at a glance

1 Day 1 · Classroom and pool, day one

Get a free transfer from your Cairns city accommodation at 8am (Northern Beaches transfers cost extra) and check in at the dive school's training centre at 8:30am. Classroom training begins at 8:45am, then pool training starts at 1:30pm after a lunch break at 12:30pm (lunch not provided). A free return transfer runs at 5:30pm.

2 Day 2 · Classroom and pool, day two

Free transfer at 7:30am, then an 8am equipment briefing with a hands-on walk-through of the scuba gear. Pool training starts at 9:15am, with a lunch break at noon (lunch not provided). At 1:15pm you gear up at the shop for your liveaboard fitting, then it is the final academic session and exam at 2pm, with a free return transfer at 5:45pm.

3 Day 3 · Onto the Great Barrier Reef

Free transfer at 6am, check in at 6:20am and depart at 7am for three days and two nights on the Great Barrier Reef, with a light breakfast on board. Training dive 1 is at 11am, lunch at 12:30pm and training dive 2 at 2:30pm, then a snorkelling opportunity at 4:30pm and dinner at 6pm. At 7:45pm you can watch the certified divers head out on the trip's first night dive.

Accommodation
Liveaboard boat
Meals Included
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
4 Day 4 · Get certified

Training dive 3 is at 7am before breakfast, then training dive 4 at 11:15am, the last one needed for your Open Water certification. After lunch at 12:45pm, dive 5 at 3:15pm is your first as a newly certified diver. Dinner is at 5:45pm, followed by a guided night dive (dive 6) at 7:30pm.

Accommodation
Liveaboard boat
Meals Included
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
5 Day 5 · Sunrise dive and home

Dive 7 is a sunrise dive at 6:30am as the reef wakes up. Breakfast is at 7:30am, then dive 8 at 9am and dive 9 at 11am, the last of the trip, finished by noon. After lunch, head back to Cairns with a free return transfer at about 4pm. An optional farewell dinner (extra cost) with fellow passengers and crew is at 7:30pm.

Accommodation
Liveaboard boat
Meals Included
Breakfast, Lunch

What's included

✓ What's included

  • 9 Dives (4 training dives and 5 pleasure dives, including one night dive)
  • PADI Open Water Certification
  • PADI Open Water manual
  • Dive Log Book
  • 2 Passport Photos
  • All dive & snorkelling equipment - includes dive computer, wetsuit and dive torch.
  • Dive Insurance
  • Corrective lens mask (if required)
  • Accommodation transfers (Cairns City)
  • All accommodation, meals and bed linen (on board the boat)
  • Fully catered, buffet style, freshly prepared meals
  • Unlimited tea, coffee and Milo

✕ Not included

  • ✕Digital underwater camera hire (extra cost)
  • ✕Environmental Management Charge ($100 from 1 April 2026), payable at check-in
  • ✕Additional Cost for Northern Beaches Pickup (from 1st January 2026)
  • ✕Fuel surcharge of $25 AUD per person, collected at check-in on the day of travel.

Common questions about this trip

  • What's the cancellation policy?
    Full refund if you cancel before the end of Day 1 (6pm). No refund after that. Dive plans can change for weather or unforeseen circumstances. Wanderlust handles the refund for you, refunds mirror the operator's terms 1:1 (including if the operator cancels) and we chase it on your behalf.

Got a question that's not here? Ask us or hit the chat, instant AI reply with a follow-up from the Wanderlust crew.

What travellers say

Reviews from real travellers

Public reviews of the operator who runs this tour on the ground.

The operator's track record

4.8 on Google · 283 reviews

Review excerpts below are from Tripadvisor.

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
via Tripadvisor
"The dive site were excellent. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience."
B

Ben S

Tripadvisor review

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
via Tripadvisor
"Diving was a luxury, as the equipment would be arranged for you, and the gear was all in good condition. The food was great, and the dive sites were even better."
R

Roam15168122648

Tripadvisor review

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
via Tripadvisor
"What I really appreciated was that there was absolutely no pressure to push yourself. The crew took our worries seriously and adapted things to our individual pace, which made such a difference to me as a first-time diver."
P

Paulina R

Tripadvisor review

Traveller reviews, source shown on each · shown as excerpts.

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