Christina

Anyone have suggestions(or one's to stay away from) for Tour Operators to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns? I will be there next month & would like to do some snorkeling/intro-dives.<BR><BR>Thanks

Caro

Hi there, if you want a quality intro dive experience, stay away from the bigger boats. In Port Douglas, I would recommend Calypso for an introductory dive experience.<BR>They have transfers available from Cairns.<BR>Avoid Green Island, and Fitzroy Island. Make sure the boat you choose goes to the outer reef, also check the travel time and the amount of passengers they take. Some trips take 400 people and take 3 hours to get to the reef.<BR>If you just want to snorkel, then Wavelength ex Port Douglas are the best to choose from. They have transfers available from Cairns and Palm Cove.<BR>Cheers

pat

Stay away from the Quicksilver. Much too big! I can`t believe Bill Clinton went on it!

Mina

From what I remember, Bill Clinton likes BIG...<BR><BR>(I'm going to get slammed for saying that, aren't I? I promise the next time I say something, it will be somewhat constructive!)<BR><BR>Christina, I enjoyed Poseidon and Quicksmart (owned by Quicksilver, but a much smaller boat).

Christina

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going with Wavelength & Poseidon. Wish me luck!

jules

christina,<BR><BR>i would recommend passions of paradise. they will pick you up and they depart form cairns. i have had excellent service from them. you can check them out at www.passions.com.au. have fun!

Lisa

Another vote for Poseidon,they offer both snorkelling and scuba diving. I think they even have snuba. Small nice boat, good service, good food, fantastic!

lisa

cairns diving is based around backpackers, hoardes of people, japanese groups etc, cheap and cheerful but RUSHED, Id recommend Port Douglas for your trips out - quicksilver is good but BIG, for a small intimate experience Id suggest Haba dive Port Douglas - I stayed at Plantation resort in Port Douglas which was fantastic value, they organised everything, we just booked flights and left the rest to them! my kind of holiday, bummer to come back to work in Seattle!

Patti

Good one Mina!!! Bill does do his best to stay in the limelight tho. Have you heard he's probably going to do a talk show?

Mina

I have heard that Patti. Wouldn't surprise me...the man seems to love Hollywood/show biz. His first guest will probably be Ms. Streisand... <BR>