Diving
The honest part first, because it changes how you book. There is no dive school and no dedicated dive day on this site, so a Cairns diving tour here is not a product you buy on its own — it is a line you add to a boat booking. Of the eighteen listings compared here, five name scuba in the operator’s own words and thirteen do not mention it at all. Those five run from $179 for a nine-hour day where the dive is an upgrade, through $203 for a boat that snorkels and dives two named sites at Upolu Reef, up to $470 for two days under sail with a night aboard the yacht. Below: which listing says what about diving, what a Cairns diving tour looks like as part of a reef day, what the operators ask of you before you can get in the water, and how the fares compare once you count the hours.
Quick answer
The short answer. Book the boat, then add the dive. The practical version of a Cairns diving tour on this site is $203 if you want snorkelling and diving on the same day at two named sites, $179 if you want the option without committing to it, $216 if you would rather spread the day over three different reef sites, or $470 if one day in the water is not enough. Anything else on this site is a snorkelling, island or evening trip, and a Cairns diving tour is not what it sells.
The one thing to understand
Search for a Cairns diving tour and you will find two quite different things sold under the same words. One is a dive operation: a shop, a course, a boat that carries divers and nobody else. The other is a reef day out of Cairns where most people snorkel and some people dive, and where the diving is arranged on board by the crew. Everything on this site is the second kind, and saying so plainly is more useful than pretending otherwise.
What that means for the booking. You choose the boat first — how long it stays out, how many reef sites it visits, how many people it carries, what the meal is — and the dive is added to that. On $179 the operator describes it exactly that way: snorkel the reefs, eat on board, and upgrade to a scuba dive. On $193 the wording is snorkel, scuba dive or simply relax and enjoy the journey, which is the same arrangement written the other way round.
Two listings treat diving as part of the day rather than an extra. $203 says snorkel and dive two unique reef sites, Wonder Wall and Aquarium, on the outer edge of Upolu Reef and Upolu Cay — the sites are named, which is unusual and worth something when you are comparing. $470 is built around diving from the start: two days on the water, a bed on the yacht and a night dive, in a small group.
And one is a Cairns diving tour by geography. $216 takes the Silverswift catamaran to three different reef sites at the outer edge in a single eight-hour day, and you snorkel or dive at each of them. Three sites instead of one is the whole argument for it, and at 657 reviews and 4.7 it is the listing this site puts first.
What we are not going to tell you. What the dive upgrade costs, because the listings set that at booking and no figure on this site would be honest. How deep you go, how many dives you get, what the water looks like on the day, or what you will meet down there — none of that is published, and none of it is ours to promise. Read the listing page before you pay, and ask the crew on the morning.
The five listings
Five rows out of eighteen. The wording in the last column is the operator’s, shortened; the fares and ratings are the live ones.
| The listing | Fare | How long | What the operator says about diving | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns: Great Barrier Reef Premium Snorkel, Dive & Culture | $179 | 9 h | Snorkel the reefs, lunch on board, and upgrade to a scuba dive | 4.7 · 892 |
| From Cairns: Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Premium Catamaran | $193 | 9 h | Snorkel, scuba dive or simply relax and enjoy the journey | 4.8 · 3,875 |
| Cairns: Outer and Coral Cay Snorkel and Dive Cruise | $203 | 8h 30m | Snorkel and dive two named sites, Wonder Wall and Aquarium, at Upolu Reef | 4.8 · 1,626 |
| Cairns: Silverswift 3 Great Barrier Reef Sites in 1 Day | $216 | 8 h | Three reef sites in one day, snorkel or dive at each of them | 4.7 · 657 |
| Cairns: 2-Day Great Barrier Reef Dive and Snorkel Boat Trip | $470 | 2 days | Two days of diving and sailing, a night aboard the yacht and a night dive | 4.6 · 104 |
How the day runs
The shape is the same on every one of these boats, and it is worth knowing before you pick, because the difference between a good Cairns diving tour and a long day of waiting is mostly the number of hours the boat spends at the sites rather than getting to them.
The run out. These are full days. $193 and $179 are nine hours, $203 is eight and a half, $216 is eight. Part of that is the crossing to the outer reef, and no listing here publishes the distance or the running time, so neither does this page. What you can read off the listings is the total, and a longer total usually means more time in the water rather than a faster boat.
The briefing. Divers get a separate one. This is where the crew ask what you have done before, sort out gear and sizes, and pair people up. On $470 the group is small by design, which is the listing’s own selling point and the reason the briefing is not a queue.
The sites. One boat here names them: $203 dives Wonder Wall and Aquarium on the outer edge of Upolu Reef, and spends time at Upolu Cay. $216 visits three sites without naming them. $182 and $193 also work two locations each, though neither mentions scuba, so they are a snorkelling day rather than a Cairns diving tour.
Lunch, and the gap between dives. Four of the five dive listings say a meal is included; $193 goes further with a buffet, wine and cheese on the way home, but again, no scuba. The eating happens while the boat moves, which is why the hours look long on paper and short in practice.
The way back. By the time a nine-hour day gets in, the afternoon is gone. If you have one day in Cairns and you want a Cairns diving tour in it, do not put anything else after it. If you have two, the evening listings on this site — $54 at ninety minutes, $102 at two and a half hours — belong on the other day.
Before you book
All of them are on the listing page or come up in the briefing. None of them is something this site can answer for you.
The listings sell the upgrade rather than a course, so the crew will ask. If the answer is no or not for years, say so at booking rather than on the back deck: $179 and $193 both frame scuba as an option on a snorkelling day, which is the gentler way in.
It is set on the listing at booking and it is not part of the fare shown here, so read the listing page before you pay. This site quotes the boat, not the dive.
One, two or three changes the day completely. $216 visits three, $203 dives two named ones, and the shorter listings on this site work a single mooring.
$470 says it must be booked at least ten hours in advance and is marked likely to sell out; $193 carries the same sell-out note. A Cairns diving tour booked on the morning of is optimistic in season.
$470 is the only listing here with a bed on board and a night dive. Two days, small group, under sail. Everything else on this site is back in Cairns by evening.
On these listings the divers and the snorkellers travel together and get in at the same moorings. If half your group does not dive, that is not a problem to solve — it is how these boats are built.
Every listing on this site states Free cancellation within its own window. Read the window rather than assuming it, and book the boat you want rather than the one that is left.
Diving against snorkelling
It buys depth and time, and it costs flexibility. A snorkeller on $147 is in and out of the water as often as they like with marine biologist guides and a choice of fifteen exclusive moorings, rated 4.9 from 626 people — the best score on this site. A diver on the same kind of boat gets a fixed number of dives at fixed times, and spends the gaps on deck. Both are good days; they are not the same day.
If only one of you dives. That is the ordinary case on these boats, and it is the reason $179 and $193 word their listings the way they do. One booking, one boat, two different afternoons. Nothing about a Cairns scuba diving tour on this site requires everybody in the party to be certified.
If you have half a day rather than a whole one. None of the five dive listings is short. $126 is four hours with a guided snorkel and a choice of moorings, 1,931 reviews at 4.7, and $147 is five. Neither mentions scuba. A Cairns diving tour needs the full day, so if the day you have is half a day, book the snorkelling boat and dive on the next trip.
If the reef is not the only thing on your list. $298 pairs one day at the outer reef with a day in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation with a local guide, meals included, 287 reviews at 4.7. It is not a dive trip and it does not claim to be, but it is the listing people usually mean when they say they want the water and the forest in the same booking.
Every trip, current fare
The other way to read a Cairns diving tour: not the fare, but what an hour on the boat costs. The two-day trip has no hourly figure here on purpose — half of those forty-eight hours are night and sleep, and a number would only mislead.
| Tour | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns: Great Barrier Reef Premium Snorkel, Dive & CultureThe listing with the scuba upgrade | 9 h | $179 | Reef sites, lunch on board and a scuba upgrade if you want it | $19.89 | 4.7 · 892 |
| From Cairns: Great Barrier Reef Cruise by Premium CatamaranThe most-reviewed listing here · 3,875 reviews | 9 h | $193 | A full day at the outer reef, snorkel or scuba, meal included | $21.44 | 4.8 · 3,875 |
| Cairns: Outer and Coral Cay Snorkel and Dive CruiseSnorkel and dive, 1,626 reviews at 4.8 | 8.5 h | $203 | Wonder Wall and Aquarium at Upolu Reef and Upolu Cay, snorkel and dive, meal | $23.88 | 4.8 · 1,626 |
| Cairns: Silverswift 3 Great Barrier Reef Sites in 1 DayOur top pick · 657 reviews at 4.7 | 8 h | $216 | Three reef sites in one day, snorkel or dive at each, meal included | $27.00 | 4.7 · 657 |
| Cairns: 2-Day Great Barrier Reef Dive and Snorkel Boat TripThe highest fare here · two days | 2 days | $470 | Two days of diving under sail, a night aboard the yacht and a night dive | — | 4.6 · 104 |
Flying up from the other end of the country for it? The day still has to fit around the flight.
See what fits on arrival day→Book direct
The boat that dives two named sites, the one where scuba is an upgrade, the three-site day, the most-reviewed boat on this site, the two-day trip with a night dive, and the best-rated half day for anyone in your party who would rather snorkel.
★ 4.8 · 1,626 reviews
★ 4.7 · 892 reviews
★ 4.7 · 657 reviews
★ 4.8 · 3,875 reviews
★ 4.6 · 104 reviews
★ 4.9 · 626 reviews
Common questions
Not as a product of its own. Five of the eighteen listings here name scuba: on $179 and $193 it is an upgrade, $203 dives two named sites, $216 lets you snorkel or dive at three, and $470 is built around diving over two days.
The listing sets that at booking and this site does not quote it. What is shown here is the boat: $179 for nine hours, $203 for eight and a half, $216 for eight.
The listings sell scuba as an option on a reef day rather than a course, so the crew ask what you have done before and sort the groups out on board. Say what your experience is at booking, and read the listing page — it is the only place with the answer for that boat.
$203: Wonder Wall and Aquarium, on the outer edge of Upolu Reef, plus time at Upolu Cay. It is the only listing on this site that names the sites, and it carries 1,626 reviews at 4.8.
Yes, and on these boats that is the usual arrangement. Divers and snorkellers travel on the same vessel to the same moorings, which is exactly how $193 and $179 describe their days.
On one listing. $470 is two days of diving and sailing with a bed on the yacht and a night dive, in a small group, 104 reviews at 4.6. It asks for at least ten hours’ notice and is marked likely to sell out.
Eight to nine hours for the single-day listings, which is most of the daylight. Plan nothing after it, and keep the evening listings — $54 and $102 — for another day.
That is not something a listing promises or this page can. What the listings do publish is where the boat goes, how long it stays and how many sites it works, and those are the parts of a Cairns diving tour you can actually compare before you book.
Every listing on this site states Free cancellation within the window it gives. Read that window on the listing page, and if your plans are still moving, book the days separately rather than as one package.
Go deeper
Cairns: Silverswift 3 Great Barrier Reef Sites in 1 Day
★ 4.7 · 657 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h