How to See the Best of the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns

The Great Barrier Reef near Cairns in Far North Queensland is often given the title of the world’s most extraordinary reef - you only have to peep the cover image of this blog post to know that ;)

There are numerous ways in which one could explore these reefs. Helicopter or seaplane, private boat or how I’ve managed to tackle it, tour providers.

This fragile nature of the marine world is under serious threat so It’s really important to keep in mind when taking any tour to the Great Barrier Reef that environmentally friendly options should be of priority. 

The great news is that all of the tours listed in this blog post are 100% eco certified meaning their primary focus is on experiencing the natural area whilst fostering environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation.

But heck if you are heading up to Cairns, the best way to see the great barrier reef is to cover these 3 basis:

Down Under Cruise and Dive are my favourite Great Barrier Reef tour out of Cairns. I’ve taken their tour twice over the last few years & both trips were onboard their luxurious reef vessel Evolution (a large, modern award-winning catamaran). 

It’s a super comfortable luxury catamaran that takes you out to explore Saxon, Hastings & Norman Reef.

These reef locations have been carefully selected for the clarity of the water and the abundance and diversity of marine life & i’ve certainly managed to find some of the best coral structures to photograph taking this tour.

If you’re staying in Cairns and want to explore Agincourt Reef or some of the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas - most of the Quicksilver tours will offer a hotel pick up service from Cairns - this is offered as a day trip (return) but if you can, i’d recommend staying the night in Port Douglas. 

The best way to see Agincourt Reef is from above:

Aboard the Quicksilver catamaran you can choose to pimp out your reef experience with a range of optional extras.

These include things like the underwater observatory, 10 minute helicopter flight or an introductory scuba diving lesson.

I’d recommend booking a packaged deal before jumping onboard - we did this through Klook Travel - & were able to lock in an awesome rate on the reef & helicopter experience

It’s not always a given that you’ll see a sea turtle when taking a tour to the Great Barrier Reef but in my opinion, the best chance of seeing one is at Mackay Reef 25 minutes boat ride off Cape Tribulation. 

The Ocean Safari vessel takes a maximum of 25 passengers allowing you to experience tropical paradise and the pleasure of a small group. 

I’ve done this tour twice, the first of which was in March & the second was in January. Both were great. I’d recommend the cooler months (March - August) as this part of the world is notoriously hot.

This half day eco tour visits two different snorkel destinations, each with an extraordinary array of marine life and coral species. It only takes 25 minutes to reach the first location, Mackay Reef, after enjoying that you’ll head onto Undine Reef.

I love this tour because it only caters for 25 people offering 2 sessions a day (morning & afternoon) & on both occasions I was fortunate to photograph sea turtles.

Follow Jake for more adventures on his site and also Instagram: