Great Barrier Reef Tour: Snorkel and Dive Adventure

Explore the vibrant underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef on a full-day snorkel and dive cruise from Cairns. Discover the diverse marine life and stunning coral formations at three different dive sites. Perfect for confident water enthusiasts.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Silverswift Dive & Snorkel - Begin your adventure by checking in and collecting your boarding pass at the Reef Fleet Terminal. Board the Silverswift at the Cairns Marlin Wharf between 8:00 - 8:30 am. This state-of-the-art 29-meter catamaran will serve as your base for the day. Throughout the day, you’ll explore three distinct locations,…
What's Included
  • Use of Prescription masks
  • Lunch included
  • Guidance from a professional guide
  • Environmental Management Charge (EMC) covered
  • Snorkeling equipment provided
  • Choice of water activities: snorkeling, introductory diving, or certified diving
  • Dive equipment provided (for diving options)
  • Morning and afternoon tea
  • Guided snorkel tour with reef expert
What's Not Included
  • Drinks
  • Wet suit hire for snorkelers (approximately AUD $12.00)
  • Optional activities (if options not selected)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Surcharges on fuel
Additional Information

Embark on an all-day excursion from Cairns to the vibrant underwater ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef. Regardless of whether you’re an expert or a newbie, a snorkeler or a scuba diver, this dive and snorkel journey from Cairns offers an exceptional glimpse into the rich marine biodiversity and unique coral varieties the Great Barrier Reef is renowned…

Location
1 Spence St
Spence Street
Online check-in opens 24 hours prior to your travel date. You’ll receive both a text message and an email prompting you to complete your check-in. On the day of travel, please present your digital boarding pass at the vessel. Boarding commences from 8:00am, vessel departs strictly at 8:30am.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(446 Ratings)
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1 star
Daniel
May 24, 2026
Super organized diving at the Great Barrier Reef - Very well organized, very friendly and helpful, good buffet including vegetarian options, great dives!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
James_h
Apr 17, 2026
Great Barrier Reef fun - The ride to The Great Barrier Reef was a bit rough but the crew helped everyone to be as comfortable as possible. The diving was good but visibility was somewhat limited due to recent weather. All in all a great experience.
Review provided by Viator
Joshua_k
Apr 7, 2026
Great Reef Experience - We had a great experience with Silverswift yesterday on the GBR. We walked over from our cruise ship which was an easy 5 minute walk. The crew was professional and made us feel safe for our 3 dives on the reef after not diving for a couple years. They also, helped my elderly parents have a memorable day out snorkeling in tough current conditions on the reef. Big shout out to Vini the Brazilian dive master for easing my wife’s nerves diving and showing us shark, turtles, stingrays, so many fish and endless corral. Also, shout out to the brunette microbiologist for helping my parents snorkel. Great food and service as well, highly recommend and would come back again! Only minor con is they should charge less for the digital pictures they take for you underwater and they would sell more as we would have purchase more.
Review provided by Viator
James_k
Apr 6, 2026
Great trip to GBR - Overall great performance by the crew. Everyone did a fantastic job and tour and diving was as advertised.
Review provided by Viator
Bryce712
Mar 30, 2026
Very strong SCUBA diving experience with Silverswift! - Really had a strong experience with Silverswift. This is more of a dive-oriented boat than the other two outfits I dove with in Cairns, AU, and it showed. We did three fives total and saw nudibranchs, parrotfish, triggerfish, spotted garen eels, a giant trumpetfish, a potato cod, giant clams, sea cucumbers, and on and on. I felt very safe diving with this group and would recommend it to others that are looking for a more experienced scuba diving group than some of the other boats that cater more to snorklers or "intro to scuba" folks. Their photo package was surprisingly expensive compared to others, but that's my only real complaint with this group. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mohammad_b
Mar 30, 2026
Great day out - Great experience- definitely go for the introductory dive, and if you don’t have an underwater camera, seriously consider renting one from the tour operator.
Review provided by Viator
Cindy_f
Mar 29, 2026
Great team of dive crew. ... - Great team of dive crew and boat crew. We did the 3 dive package and were not disappointed. Team took great care of us from check in to disembarking. Vinnie and Kenji were very informative and helpful with gear and underwater sightings. Melanie the photographer was fabulous! Boat was air conditioned and lunch and tea was very tasty. We would do this tour again!
Review provided by Viator
Mary_k
Mar 26, 2026
Felt pampered and cared for on a once in a lifetime excursion - Book this! As a solo female traveler, I cannot praise this excursion enough. All of the crew on the ship were wonderful, the company was very responsive to messages when I had questions, and it was the most pampered I have ever felt on a dive trip! I did three certified scuba dives and will never forget this day. I would definitely recommend motion sickness tablets, but even with those I did still get seasick because I am an “inland” sort of person no matter how much I want to love being on the water… But the staff were incredibly helpful and sat with me when I wasn’t feeling well and gave me ice to help me feel better. I really love that it was smaller groups of divers and the quality of the gear, hospitality of the dive master, and even the lunch were just perfect.
Review provided by Viator
Hbhakh
Apr 16, 2026
Better for divers - We recently spent several days in Cairns for the primary purpose of going snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. We have snorkeled at many places around the world over the course of 30+ years. Accordingly, we booked 3 consecutive trips with 3 different companies. Altogether, we snorkeled 7 different spots on the reef. The weather was challenging on all three days with high wind and scattered showers. We were prepared for this and managed to complete the trips without getting sick. We checked in online, which allowed us to go directly to the boat. This was very convenient. The boat held about 90 people with 2 decks. It didn’t have dedicated storage space so everyone’s items were mixed together. The seating areas were comfortable but a bit crowded. The trip to/from the reef was very rough. At least half of the passengers were sick. The crew was very good about passing out airsick bags and helping people get out in the fresh air. That couldn’t be a fun job but they did it without complaint. We made 3 stops at the reef, fairly close together. The currents were strong at all three but the boat was parked in such a manner that the most difficult swim was getting to the coral heads, getting back was fairly easy. The snorkeling at the first stop was poor with limited visibility. The coral was too deep to see. It may have been better for the divers. The second stop was better but the third was probably the best that we had amongst our three trips. The coral was close to the surface, the variety was good, and the visibility was much better. The food and service onboard was pretty good. There was a hot/cold lunch buffet. It was nice to have the hot food but I’m not sure those that were feeling ill appreciated the strong smell of curry. Drinks, other than water, are an extra charge. My criticism of this trip is that it seemed to be geared much more to the divers. Frankly, it felt like snorkelers were second class citizens. The divers always had priority and we were frequently asked to move away or delay for their benefit. While most of the crew were great, the person in charge of the diving was very condescending to those just snorkeling. Several times, he barked that we needed to be off the deck. This was unfortunate since we also paid to be on board. If diving is going to be that much of a priority, they should probably consider not taking snorkelers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joy_r
Mar 28, 2026
Vomit cruise - The dive sites and snorkel sites are all in one reef area but just different locations around the reef. But still a good amount of time spent at the locations. The buffet food was ok if you could eat it. Of note the back of the ship is where to sit if you are sea sick. The boat driver doesn't slow down for rough waves. So if the seas are rough you will vomit. They seem well aware and prepared for this as they had tons of vomit bags and always ready for more. I recommend if diving request the 2nd and 3rd dive sites as they won't really reimburse you if you miss your dive site for sea sickness. They said they would but only gave 15% back and not the 50% verbally promised by the dive master. So, if weather was better probably would have been a better experience. Oh well.
Review provided by Viator
From $217
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).