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Great Barrier Reef Tour: Exclusive Snorkel and Dive Experience
4.7
508 Ratings
Cairns City
Embark on an unforgettable adventure with Tusa Reef Tours. Dive into the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, indulge in gourmet meals, and enjoy inclusive diving experiences.
Embark on an unforgettable adventure with Tusa Reef Tours. Dive into the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, indulge in gourmet meals, and enjoy inclusive diving experiences.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
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5RM8F2FR+84R - Experience Tusa Reef Tours, a journey beyond the ordinary to the Great Barrier Reef. Every aspect of your day is meticulously planned and expertly managed to ensure a premium, all-inclusive full-day trip like no other. Our dedicated staff, committed to delivering 5-star service, ensures your journey is unforgettable.
With Tusa Reef…
- 5RM8F2FR+84R - Experience Tusa Reef Tours, a journey beyond the ordinary to the Great Barrier Reef. Every aspect of your day is meticulously planned and expertly managed to ensure a premium, all-inclusive full-day trip like no other. Our dedicated staff, committed to delivering 5-star service, ensures your journey is unforgettable.
With Tusa Reef Tours it’s up to you! Choose to spend your day snorkelling, introductory diving or certified diving, whilst at 2 stunning outer reef sites. Experience our “open dive deck” for seamless activities, and personalized options like choice of tank size and the unique “finderella” service for effortless transitions in and out of the water. Receive comprehensive equipment briefing and tuition, indulge in gourmet meals and snacks crafted by our in-house chefs using fresh local ingredients and enjoy all-inclusive alcoholic beverages on the return journey to Cairns.
Relax in comfort with our spacious lounge seating or sun deck and explore with exclusive underwater headsets offering recorded commentary. Discover the Great Barrier Reef with Tusa Reef Tours, where every moment is designed to exceed expectations and create lasting memories.
What's Included
- Choice of snorkelling, intro diving or certified diving
- Bone-Conducting Waterproof Headsets with Commentary
- Use of Snorkelling/Dive Equipment
- Partnership with Reforest for carbon offset
- All inclusive alcoholic beverages on return journey
- Lunch
- CBD Hotel Transfers
- Reusable Tusa Reef Tours water bottle
- Unique ‘Finderella’ service
- Choice of snorkelling, intro diving or certified diving
- Bone-Conducting Waterproof Headsets with Commentary
- Use of Snorkelling/Dive Equipment
- Partnership with Reforest for carbon offset
- All inclusive alcoholic beverages on return journey
- Lunch
- CBD Hotel Transfers
- Reusable Tusa Reef Tours water bottle
- Unique ‘Finderella’ service
Additional Information
Welcome aboard Tusa, our purpose-built vessel designed for comfort and safety, offering an immersive experience on the stunning Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy inclusive CBD hotel transfers before being welcomed with breakfast on-board. With a maximum of 40 passengers and a high staff-to-guest ratio, your day is tailored for exclusivity.
Experience our unique…
Welcome aboard Tusa, our purpose-built vessel designed for comfort and safety, offering an immersive experience on the stunning Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy inclusive CBD hotel transfers before being welcomed with breakfast on-board. With a maximum of 40 passengers and a high staff-to-guest ratio, your day is tailored for exclusivity.
Experience our unique “Finderella” service, ensuring you’re fully prepared for underwater exploration. All snorkel and dive equipment are provided, with comprehensive briefings and tuition. Indulge in gourmet meals prepared by our chefs using local ingredients. Relax in our spacious lounge seating or sun deck between reef sites and discover our bone-conducting underwater headsets for commentary, before refreshing with a freshwater shower. Our all-inclusive experience includes alcoholic beverages on the return to Cairns.
Please advise which activity you will be participating in on the day when booking (snorkelling, introductory diving or certified diving)
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Evidence of dive certification is required from all divers wishing to participate in a certified dive
- It is required by Queensland law that you must wait at least 24 hours after diving before going to altitude or flying – there is no guarantee that following these recommendations will prevent decompression sickness. All participants will be required to complete a health questionnaire prior to diving. Some medical conditions can pose a hazard during diving, and it is recommended that individuals with these conditions undergo evaluation by a physician, as they may be unable to dive.
- Please arrive at the vessel at 7.30am for boarding
- Participants MUST be at least 12 years of age
- Please advise if you wish to dive for staffing and equipment purpose or service will not be guaranteed (Introductory OR Certified)
Location
Cairns Marlin Marina
Spence Street
Check-in 7:30am A Finger, Cairns Marlin Marina for an 8:00am departure. Returns to the original departure point at approximately 4:00 pm.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(508 Ratings)
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Brenda_z
Jun 8, 2024
The unbeatable Tusa Reef Tour!!! - Tusa Reef Tour is the best tour to see the great barrier reef:
The sites they presented for viewing the corals and sea creatures are unbeatable! They go to the outer reefs which are much further out from the shore where have various vibrant corals and very colorful tropical fish, very much like what we see in the movies.
Their on-board service is unbeatable - Tusa has a very well maintained large faster boat that’s nice and clean with padded bench and table space for each of the tourists. They provide breakfast, a restaurant style lunch, and snacks. Hot tea and water throughout the day. They even have a hot water shower equipped in a clean bathroom. They give you a detailed tutorial in a very small group setting on how to use the snorkeling and scuba diving equipment, and each of the possible creatures that you may encounter under the water. They have at least one staff to help you put on the equipment from head to toe, and help you practice in water until you feel comfortable before diving into the water. They have a staff diving with you arm-in-arm at all times, which provides strong confidence needed for new divers. The entire prep and diving process makes you feel like you’re receiving a VIP service.
The day before Tusa Reef Tour, we took a similar boat tour with another company, it was a very disappointing experience. It was a smaller boat with very loud engine noise. The boat was not well-maintained, we were told upfront the restroom toilets could be clogged. Tourists said that they saw toilet dirty water spilled on the entire floor in that tiny bathroom. Before diving they just briefly gave a quick overview to a large group of people, with a very loud boat engine noise (much less engine noise on the Tusa boat) it’s hard to hear clearly, and they don’t care if you’re ready or not, just rush you into the water due to the time scheduled. The worst part is that the boat only goes to the inner reef (they don’t tell you this), we ended up only seeing the reef rocks, no corals and only very limited number of non-colorful fish, and their staff told us that “this is what the real coral reef is like, don’t believe those you see on the Internet”. we were shocked, because that’s not what we took 30 hours of flight to come to the Great Barrier Reef for.
After both tours, we did some searches and found out the differences: The Outer reef is more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from the shore, It has high biodiversity with a greater abundance of larger scale of species, clearer and higher visibility in water, and known for its spectacular coral formations. The Inner reef is less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the shore, it’s much less in all characteristic features comparing to the outer reefs due to the sediments and the influence of freshwater runoffs.
Based on this search finding and our actual boat tours experience, we believe the Tusa Reef Tour worths every single extra penny we paid (although Tusa tour is at higher price than other tours). We had the opportunity to see the good part of the Great Barrier Reef, it’s a once in a lifetime unforgettable stunning experience!
Review provided by Viator
Naga_p
May 2, 2024
Great experience!! - Great experience. Staff went above and beyond to make sure we are comfortable and take care off. Definitely recommend them if you are considering for a day trip.
Review provided by Viator
M7634dkchadl
Apr 24, 2024
BAD WEATHER GREAT DAY - Went out on the reef tour yesterday and the CREW absolutely made trip! We had bad weather and the crew made a bad day good! Couldn’t be happier with the experience we had. Very nice boat with a smooth ride and plenty of amenities. The crew waited on us hand and foot. If you’re spending the money to be in Cairns to dive/snorkle, don’t short yourself on the trip! Book with Tusa.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lucycy312qx
Apr 7, 2024
Best on the reef - What an amazing experience, we absolutely LOVED our day with Tusa, and would highly recommend! We chose Tusa as they are one of the only operators in the area with a roving licence, enabling them to pick the best locations each day. We were looked after impeccably by all the crew, who all knew SO MUCH about the marine life and absolutely loved sharing all their knowledge with us. We snorkelled for well over 2.5 hours in total, and Sandra was the perfect guide, helping us along the way, teaching us about everything we saw and making sure we were comfortable. I could never have imagined we would have seen so many incredible fish and coral varieties, it was just the best day. The boat was stunning and so special and comfortable, and all our food and drinks were prepared fabulously by Juliet. Thank you all so much!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pipp601
Apr 6, 2024
Outstanding dive team. - Impressive company and workers...second only to some of the diving. Seamless operation of professional, talented and enthusiastic and safe team. I have done a fair but of diving over 20 years....I don't think it could be done better. Tusa should be proud of it's team. Everyone was giving their absolute all, Matt was my dive guide and was the example of an excellent dive guide. Thank you all for hopefully changing the standard for diving in general.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rhonnie75
Apr 4, 2024
AMAZING (crew and reef) - Neither of us had dived for a while so were a little nervous, especially as it usually takes me forever to equalise the first time I dive after a long break. I decided to abort the dive (safely and under supervision) to save the other divers waiting for me. Back onboard they arranged a different instructor to go back in the water with me so I didn’t feel like I was holding anyone up and after taking my time had a lovely first dive after several years. Second dive I joined the group again in the afternoon. Reef was fantastic but crew were amazing (each and every one of them). Could not recommend highly enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
366nicholasp
Mar 20, 2024
Great dive company - This was the perfect dive trip for myself, my wife and brother. This company is ‘dialed in’: they are an efficient, hard working well organized and passionate team.
pros: was on schedule, Not overcrowded, large air conditioned clean and newer boat, great dive equipment, friendly staff, decent food, efficient but strictly following safety protocols, good dive sites.
Cons: none really
We had Sandra as a dive instructor. She was great. very friendly and knowledgeable and super passionate about what she does. She spent a good amount of time teaching us about all the marine life we encountered on each dive. She really we t above and beyond and it was very appreciate.
Overall I Highly recommend this dive company and it truly lives up to its reviews. It is well worth the extra cost and I would definitely go again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ak_worldtravelers
Mar 6, 2024
Must do in Cairns - Had an amazing day!
Great boat - not overly crowded, even at full capacity.
The crew was amazing-very thorough safety briefing, very attentive and the food was delicious.
Our guide (little Pedro) did an incredible job. He found some of the coolest and smallest marine life.
Had such a great time and really wish we could go out with the team again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
30augustinj
Mar 3, 2024
An amazing first dive, not crowded, and cool crew ! - Absolutely amazing experience !
It was my first dive, and I LOVED it !
a- Diving
The diving instructors are very professional, giving a good briefing both on diving skill and on the flora & fauna we will see while diving.
b- More than diving
The mood onboard was very nice, with very helpful crew members, helping enjoyable fresh drinks.
c- Spots
The spots chosen for diving were really nice !
Among other things, we saw a turtle (about 1m tall), and a shark (not dangerous at all).
d- Number of people
Onboard we were no more than ~30p. (I think).
This sounds like a lot, but we do not dive together, hence you do not feel at all you are that many.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Glamslam
Feb 26, 2024
Book with another company that believes in customer service - Do not book with this company if you want a company that believes in customer service. I inadvertently double booked this cruise for my family of 3. The company suspected the double booking as it was the same date and the same number of people. They could have questioned me about it BEFORE the trip so I would have been able to cancel 1 booking within 24 hours without penalty. I only found out about the mistake on the day of the cruise at pickup. The cancellation policy is free cancellation up to 24 hours and as I passed that deadline, they would not refund for the double booking.
I understand rules but I also understand that companies make EXCEPTIONS to rules to make customers happy. We were customers paying for 3 passengers. I literally BEGGED them to make an exception and refund us for the EXTRA $1200 for the phantom double booked people who didn’t cost them anything as they didn’t eat or dive or even exist! Tusa Reef is literally holding on to money they didn’t earn for a service they didn’t provide!!!
Lest you say that the double booking prevented them from selling spots on the boat, that isn’t true because I counted only 30 passengers that day and their limit is 40. All they kept repeating was that the “rule was the rule” as they wouldn’t make an exception and held on tight to my $1200 which they did not provide a service for.
To add insult to injury I asked them to COMPROMISE and refund me 50% of my double booking which would give them a hefty $600 as a late cancellation fee and they just refused that as well as they insisted “a rule is a rule” and displayed how little they are concerned or care about customer service!!
Even without this adventure costing me double, I will caution that if anyone has special food requirements or if not everyone in the party is able or wants to scuba dive, this cruise is too expensive and overpriced and does not represent good value.
Review provided by Tripadvisor