I get seasick and never slept on a boat; How is the weather (waves) at the day diving spots and overnight stays?

Please note that is fantastic you are planning to spend a few days in Cairns to dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

In general, for first-time divers or people who are prone to seasickness and want to experience liveaboards or just people who would like a stable boat, we would always recommend what is known as a TWIN hull vessel. These are the most stable boats on the sea. At night they do park them on the lagoon western sides of the reef, this generally keeps them out of the wind and waves of the eastern sides of the reefs.

The advantages of staying out overnight on a liveaboard are that you get to dive the full spectrum of the day like early morning sunrise dives, twilight dives, and even night dives. This sort of diving you cannot do on day boats. Another factor to consider is depending on which time of the year you decide to come to Cairns, this can also affect the ocean surface conditions. Some of the best months of the year to dive in Cairns when the wind is low and underwater visibility is high are APRIL / MAY and OCTOBER / NOVEMBER each year.

So if you are flexible in your travel dates choose the above months to give yourself the best chances of enjoying calm ocean conditions.

Please note the one-day dive tours will also park on the western sides of the reef to keep out of the wind and waves. Day boat diving generally departs Cairns at 8:30 am and returns to Cairns around 4:30 pm. Remember you cannnot do sunrise, sunset and night dives on the day boats.