Green Island is a great reef day tour option for the family, especially those with young children and toddlers. Its sandy beaches slope gently into the sea and there are lots of shady trees. Several boats visit the island, but you must book Great Adventures to take advantage of the resort’s day facilities, including the freshwater pool.

Certified divers, who also happen to be parents, will see the very best of the Great Barrier Reef by taking a dive boat day tour.? Although these are not usually recommended by operators (who will suggest an island or pontoon trip as the way to go), we think if your baby is not yet crawling…

Reef Teach is a two-hour, educational presentation providing a fantastic insight into the Great Barrier Reef, its inhabitants and the evolution and survival of one of the seven wonders of the world. Did I mention it’s also fun and engaging? A great way to learn about the reef and why it’s so special.

Can you take a baby to Green Island? Yes you can and do so with confidence, as no doubt you will be one of many families enjoying this Great Barrier Reef island escape.? We took our 6.5 month old baby boy over to Green Island and spent the night at the resort.? This allowed plenty…

Helmet diving is a great option for non-divers and swimmers to be able to spend time under the sea, getting up close and personal with the fish. Is it better than an introductory scuba dive? There’s no right or wrong answer here. To do an introductory scuba dive, you do need to know how to swim, as you will be swimming around the reef, albeit accompanied by a scuba instructor. Helmet divers walk on an underwater pathway underneath the pontoon. Both experiences are very different. For more information on this, please visit the Cairns Helmet Diving page on our site

The passengers on board today’s Reef Magic trip were aged between 5-months and 72 years old. Everyone had a great time! Which just goes to show the versatility of the Reef Magic Great Barrier Reef day tour. Some people stayed dry and saw the reef through the glass-bottom boat, semi-submersible and underwater observatory, others got wet and went snorkelling, scuba diving and helmet diving. The catamaran was comfortable, the staff friendly and all in all, this is a great way for baby to visit the Great Barrier Reef

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions offers fabulous liveaboard dive trips to the Ribbon Reefs (including Cod Hole) and Coral Sea. These trips are suited to all levels of divers, but experienced divers will really appreciate the option of diving solo, longer and deeper than other trips. Spoilsport has an excellent floor plan for divers and a spacious dive deck with good facilities for underwater photographers. Overall, a class operation guaranteed to please.

Silversonic is a quality reef tour that takes guests to exceptional dive and snorkel locations. The trip is a great option for divers looking to experience the Ribbon Reefs with a guide. The crew are friendly and helpful and are all about making your day that little bit better. As one of the premium reef tours from Port Douglas, this trip is worth every extra cent.

Tusa Dive is undoubtedly one of the premium day dive operations in Cairns. The boat is modern and the staff friendly, efficient and professional. The diving and snorkelling is fantastic with great dive sites. For the certified diver, you can really see the company has a diving background and really takes care of the certified divers on board. That being said, all of the snorkelers and introductory divers had a fantastic day out on the reef as well. All in all, this was a memorable and magnificent day tour to Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef.

Fitzroy Island is a continental island 30km offshore from Cairns. Access is via a comfortable 45-minute boat transfer and accommodation is available at the 4.5 star Fitzroy Island Resort. The island has tropical vegetation, a mixture of rainforest, mangroves and open woodlands and the coral beaches have fringing reefs and bommies. Guests can snorkel and…