Cairns
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OceanQuest is a premium liveaboard experience offering trips ranging from overnight stays to multi-day/night trips. A modern state of the art liveaboard vessel, OceanQuest is permanently based on the reef which offers scuba divers and snorkellers the choice of overnight to multiple nights and days exploring the Great Barrier Reef.
Your arrival to OceanQuest is via the day boat transfer. The operation will have you initially spending the morning diving or snorkelling on the day boat seeing you transfer to OceanQuest by early afternoon. You will be able enjoy a late afternoon dive with also a night dive on offer.
Everyday (Monday through to Sunday)
OceanQuest – 18 twin cabins and four double cabins. All cabins are air conditioned with en suite bathrooms
Norman Reef / Saxon Reef / Hastings Reef
Diving Experience
Unique to OceanQuest is they offer two great diving experiences you diving with reef sharks at night and a fluoro night dive experience. At night casting a soft light at the back deck of the vessel attracts an array of fish life ultimately bringing in a number of local reef sharks. This added experience has become a real highlight among divers and spectators alike. The use of a fluoro torch allows you to see the Great Barrier Reef in a very different light on your night dive. The fluoro torch has a special mask filter which creates a neon light effect on the coral. Be amazed as the corals natural bio fluorescent properties are brought to life in pops of yellow, purples, pinks and greens.
All scuba divers must meet medical questionnaire requirements and some conditions or medications may prevent you from diving. If you have any concerns please advise us when making your enquiry or booking.
Day 1
7.30-8am: Pick up from your city accommodation (if booked) and check in at the dive centre on Draper Street, before transferring to the marina
8.30am: Set off from Cairns Marina for the 90-minute trip to the Outer Barrier Reef. If departing on Wednesday, you’ll set off on board OceanQuest and settle into your cabin on the way. If departing Thursday or Friday, you’ll be on our day boat SeaQuest and select your equipment and receive in depth safety briefings along the way.
10am: Arrive at the reef for your first snorkel or dive (SeaQuest only)
12pm: Enjoy lunch while we move to our second dive and snorkel site (SeaQuest only)
12:30pm: Second dive or snorkel opportunity (SeaQuest only)
2.30pm: Transfer to OceanQuest and settle into your cabin (SeaQuest only)
3.30pm: Third dive or snorkel session (Or first session if departing on Wednesday)
6pm: Dinner is served!
6.30pm: Gear up for one of our unique liveaboard dive experiences, or simply chill out on board
8pm: Dessert is served
10pm: Bar closes
Day 2
7.30am: Breakfast
8.30am: Dive/snorkel session
10.30am: Dive/snorkel session
12pm: Check out
12.30pm: One final lunch before you board the transfer vessel for the trip back to Cairns
3pm: Depart Outer Barrier Reef
5pm (approx): Return to your accommodation
Day 1
7.30-8am: Pick up from your city accommodation (if booked) and check in at the dive centre on Draper Street, before transferring to the marina
8.30am: Set off from Cairns Marina for the 90-minute trip to the Outer Barrier Reef. If departing on Wednesday, you’ll set off on board OceanQuest and settle into your cabin on the way. If departing Thursday or Friday, you’ll be on our day boat SeaQuest and select your equipment and receive in depth safety briefings along the way.
10am: Arrive at the reef for your first snorkel or dive (SeaQuest only)
12pm: Enjoy lunch while we move to our second dive and snorkel site (SeaQuest only)
12:30pm: Second dive or snorkel opportunity (SeaQuest only)
2.30pm: Transfer to OceanQuest and settle into your cabin (SeaQuest only)
3.30pm: Third dive or snorkel session (Or first session if departing on Wednesday)
6pm: Dinner is served!
6.30pm: Gear up for one of our unique liveaboard dive experiences, or simply chill out on board
8pm: Dessert is served
10pm: Bar closes
Day 2
7.30am: Breakfast is served
8.30am: First dive and snorkel session
10.30am: Second dive and snorkel session
12.30pm: Lunch is served
3.30pm: Third dive and snorkel session
6pm: Dinner
6.30pm: Briefing and night dive/sharks in the dark/fluoro dive
8pm: Dessert
10pm: Bar closes
Day 3
7.30am: Breakfast
8.30am: Dive/snorkel session
10.30am: Dive/snorkel session
12pm: Check out
12.30pm: One final lunch before you board the transfer vessel for the trip back to Cairns
3pm: Depart Outer Barrier Reef
5pm (approx): Return to your accommodation
Day 1
7.30-8am: Pick up from your city accommodation (if booked) and check in at the dive centre on Draper Street, before transferring to the marina
8.30am: Set off from Cairns Marina for the 90-minute trip to the Outer Barrier Reef. If departing on Wednesday, you’ll set off on board OceanQuest and settle into your cabin on the way. If departing Thursday or Friday, you’ll be on our day boat SeaQuest and select your equipment and receive in depth safety briefings along the way.
10am: Arrive at the reef for your first snorkel or dive (SeaQuest only)
12pm: Enjoy lunch while we move to our second dive and snorkel site (SeaQuest only)
12:30pm: Second dive or snorkel opportunity (SeaQuest only)
2.30pm: Transfer to OceanQuest and settle into your cabin (SeaQuest only)
3.30pm: Third dive or snorkel session (Or first session if departing on Wednesday)
6pm: Dinner is served!
6.30pm: Gear up for one of our unique liveaboard dive experiences, or simply chill out on board
8pm: Dessert is served
10pm: Bar closes
Day 2
7.30am: Breakfast is served
8.30am: First dive and snorkel session
10.30am: Second dive and snorkel session
12.30pm: Lunch is served
3.30pm: Third dive and snorkel session
6pm: Dinner
6.30pm: Briefing and night dive/sharks in the dark/fluoro dive
8pm: Dessert
10pm: Bar closes
Day 3
7.30am: Breakfast is served
8.30am: First dive and snorkel session
10.30am: Second dive and snorkel session
12.30pm: Lunch is served
3.30pm: Third dive and snorkel session
6pm: Dinner
6.30pm: Briefing and night dive/sharks in the dark/fluoro dive
8pm: Dessert
10pm: Bar closes
Day 4
7.30am: Breakfast
8.30am: Dive/snorkel session
10.30am: Dive/snorkel session
12pm: Check out
12.30pm: One final lunch before you board the transfer vessel for the trip back to Cairns
3pm: Depart Outer Barrier Reef
5pm (approx): Return to your accommodation
Minimum – 11 dives (5 Training Dives + 6 Fun Dive)
Take your diving to the next level with PADI Advance Course. Your training dives will include a boat dive, peak performance buoyancy dive, deep dive and navigation dive, plus a fifth dive in an area of your own choice!
There are no formal classroom sessions with this PADI course, and no exam! The only academic work required is to read the relevant chapters in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Manual and complete the knowledge reviews at the end of each chapter.
You will need a minimum of two days to complete your PADI Advanced Open Water Course on the Great Barrier Reef.
Your 5 training adventure dives include two core dives in Deep and Underwater Navigation. The remaining three adventure dives will be a selection of Night Dive, Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, Fish ID, Underwater Naturalist and Boat Diver.
Minimum – 6 dives (5 Training Dives + 1 Fun Dive)
Take your diving to the next level with PADI Advance Course. Your training dives will include a boat dive, peak performance buoyancy dive, deep dive and navigation dive, plus a fifth dive in an area of your own choice!
There are no formal classroom sessions with this PADI course, and no exam! The only academic work required is to read the relevant chapters in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Manual and complete the knowledge reviews at the end of each chapter.
You will need a minimum of two days to complete your PADI Advanced Open Water Course on the Great Barrier Reef.
Your 5 training adventure dives include two core dives in Deep and Underwater Navigation. The remaining three adventure dives will be a selection of Night Dive, Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, Fish ID, Underwater Naturalist and Boat Diver.
Trip Duration: 4 Day 4 Night Minke whale expeditions during June and July. (Spaces are limited and trips sell out quickly)
Dive sites:
Ribbon Reefs including Steve’s Bommie, Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie’s Pinnacle, Clam Garden, Challenger Bay and more (dependent on conditions)
OceanQuest has 18 twin cabins and four double cabins. All cabins are air conditioned with en suite bathrooms.
Included:
Day 1
Off we go! Check-in will either be at our dive centre or directly onboard Ocean Quest (our team will advise details with your booking confirmation). We then make our way out to the Outer Barrier Reef and enjoy two dives at either Saxon or Norman Reef. You’ll enjoy one more afternoon dive and one night dive before we steam to the Ribbon Reefs overnight.
Day 2
Wake up to the sun rising over the Great Barrier Reef at Steve’s Bommie, one of the best dive sites on the reef thanks to its huge array of marine life including schools of fish, sharks, rays, nemos, octopus and more. You will enjoy four dives today, two at Steve’s Bommie and two others (including one night dive) at various other sites on the upper Ribbon Reefs.
Day 3
We kick the weekend off with more diving and snorkelling opportunities throughout the Ribbon Reefs, giving you the opportunity to explore some of the Great Barrier Reef’s most untouched areas. Four dives are included in today’s itinerary. Your two morning dives will be at Lighthouse Bommie, where most of our interactions with Minke whales take place. You’ll also have an an afternoon dive and another night dive.
Day 4
Explore more of the Great Barrier Reef at various dive sites along the Ribbon Reefs over four incredible dives – two in the morning, one in the afternoon and one night dive. The reef locations that we visit are less frequented by any other boats, and are home to many tropical fish species and bright mesmerising coral. After your night dive (finishing around 8pm) we will steam south towards Cairns.
Day 5
Wake up to your last morning on OceanQuest. After breakfast, you will be transferred back to your Cairns city accommodation at approximately 9am, so you’ll be able to plan other activities on this day.
Please note itinerary may vary slightly depending on weather conditions. Our dive schedule will be adjusted to enable as much in-water interaction with the Minke whales as possible.
Yes! For most of our day trips and overnight trips, you’ll be travelling on the same vessel as all our other passengers – so if you or your travel partners are certified divers and others in your group are not, you’ll share your journey out on the reef together and complete your dives/snorkel experiences at the same sites.
The difference between between our Premium Day Trip and our Value Day Trip is the vessel you will be travelling on and, how long you’ll have on the outer Great Barrier Reef. For more information visit each trip page to get an overview of what’s included.
Child snorkel age is 4-14. Please see below for learn to dive age restrictions. There is no minimum age restriction for travelling on vessels when accompanied by a parent or guardian, but children must remain supervised at all times if they are not undertaking a course.
Your lunch on board our day trips will be a fresh tropical buffet lunch with hot and cold options. If you have special dietary requirements, please advise us at time of booking.
Meals on board OceanQuest are chef-prepared. As long as we are advised at time of booking we can cater to most dietary requests. Please contact us for further queries.
Bookings and enquiries can be made via phone, email, online and via WhatsApp. Live chat is also available online.
We strongly recommend travel insurance to cover you if your snorkel or dive trip is cancelled due to illness, poor weather, travel delays, lost luggage and legal costs. Travel insurance may not cover diving accidents and/or treatment/evacuation. For that we recommend separate insurance – please email us for appropriate dive insurance companies.
Box jellyfish, also known as ‘stingers’, are pale blue, transparent jellyfish. They can measure up to 20 cm along each side of their cube-shaped bodies, and their tentacles can reach up to 3 metres long. Their sting can be very painful, and even fatal in some cases.
Box jellyfish live in the warmer coastal areas sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef, and are most numerous between November and May. We provide protective lycra suits during these months to protect all snorkellers and divers.
Yes, we offer complimentary accommodation transfers on our dive courses and overnight trips to and from selected Cairns CBD hotels.
All equipment is included in the trip cost. For a certified diver, this includes a regulator with a console computer, buoyancy control device (BCD), snorkel, mask, fins, wetsuit, emergency signalling devices, tank and weights/weight belt.
The maximum depth for recreational diving is 18m if you hold the standard PADI Open Water Diver Certification (or equivalent), and 30m if you hold the PADI Advanced Open Water certification (or equivalent).
Some of the best dives on the Great Barrier Reef can be done in less than 15m of water, where stronger light can result in an even better view of the abundant marine life.
You can choose to book a guided dive on our day or overnight trips for $20 per person per dive. If your certification or a medical condition prevents you from diving unsupervised, you will be required to dive with a guide.
All divers are asked to complete a medical questionnaire on board. You don’t require a medical if you answer no to everything and are under 45 years of age. If you are over 45, or answer yes to any questions, a further medical will be required. You will also be asked to fill out a general disclaimer which differs from company to company.
Queensland’s code of practice on diving states that for a single no decompression dive, you should not fly/go to altitude for at least 12 hours, or 24 hours if divers have had multiple dives per day for several consecutive days, or have made dives that require decompression stops.
Altitude is defined as 300m/1000ft above sea level. Certain other tourist attractions around Cairns and Tropical North Queensland involve travelling to altitude. These include the Atherton Tablelands and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, so we recommend a gap between booking these experiences and any dive course or trip.
Our overnight experience diving usually finishes by midday and our day trips by 2pm, which makes it easier to plan some down time between diving and flying/going to altitude.
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