Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is a coral formation, the largest such in the entire world, located off the Pacific coast of Queensland, Australia. It is home to a spectacular array of marine life and offers awesome diving opportunities.

Most travellers will arrive in the coastal cities of Far North Queensland, usually Cairns but sometimes Townsville or Proserpine (known to some airlines as the Whitsunday Coast). Transfer to the islands of the Great Barrier Reef is then by boat.

In addition, some of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef have airports, some served only by short hop flights from Cairns, others from the Australian east coast capitals: Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Operators to these islands have fewer or no competitors on their routes and so these are typically more expensive than flying to Cairns. Islands with airports are Hamilton Island and Lizard Island.

Diving and snorkeling

The Great Barrier Reef is a famed diving destination, although divers with experience of the tropics find parts of it overused and damaged.

Most travellers learn to dive in Townsville, Cairns or Port Douglas: all have a very competitive dive industry. Most students prefer to do a two day pool and classroom course, followed by a two or three day liveaboard visiting the Great Barrier Reef to the east of Cairns.

It's possible to learn with some of the operators that travel to the Coral Sea, but check first about the difficulty of their dive sites.

Some day trips to the Great Barrier Reef are available from Cairns and Port Douglas diving operators. These trips involve about 2 hours boat travel in each direction and will cost $170-$200.

Most operators do three day liveaboards to the reefs east of Cairns, starting about about $500 for 3 days diving and 2 nights on the boat, meals included.

Snorkelers can often travel on these trips to the Great Barrier Reef for reduced prices, but check first about the suitability of their sites for snorkeling. Serious divers generally prefer the five or seven day liveaboards visiting the Coral Sea to the north.

Some of the islands have a fringing reef, and it is possible to dive or snorkel from shore.

The southern part of the reef off Townsville is known mostly for the wreck of the Yongala, visited on both liveaboards and day trip operators from Townsville, Ayr and Magnetic Island.

The Yongala sank in 1911 in about 30 metres (100 feet) of water. As the bottom is otherwise featureless in this area, it is a haven for fish and coral. However, as the site is unprotected many trips have to be cancelled if weather conditions are not favourable.