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The Great Barrier Reef. Beautiful. Coral gardens reaching up to the surface, providing haven and habitat for a multitude of marine life. Whether it’s your first visit or your next visit, make sure you make it with ABC Snorkel Charters. Maximum 12 guests. The most personalised reef tour around with your own in-water guide. Bucket list.
Small boat, big experience. Departs Port Douglas, maximum 12 guests.
Everything about the ABC Snorkel Charters day trip has been designed to maximise your experience on the reef. From the super informative reef talk on the voyage out – I never knew octopuses have a mini brain in each arm (!) – to the pristine reef sites and having your own guide around the reef to make sure you don’t miss a thing. Just awesome.
“This trip stands out for all the right reasons! Small numbers. Awesome boat. Great crew. Fantastic snorkelling. 100% the best bit is having your own in-water guide. This creates a connection between you and the reef. The opportunity to learn more and engage fully with your underwater surrounds, leaving you feeling enriched and enlightened.” – Julie Johnston
ABC Snorkel Charters have permits to visit a range of outer reef locations from Port Douglas, they’ll choose the best ones on the day, pending weather and tides. Our first stop was at Chinaman’s Reef and hands down, this is one of the best outer reef snorkel sites we’ve seen. Plate corals packed tightly around one another, with branching corals adding their own textures and colours. Troughs and gullies, coral coves and bommies. It’s what you want to see when you visit the reef.
Our second site was a new one, they had never visited before. This is not something you usually get to do on a day tour and is made possible thanks to ABC Snorkel Charters’ roving permit. There were turtles, iridescent giant clams, diagonal-banded sweetlips, colourful chromis fish, cod, trouts and we even found nemo!
So exciting to explore new reef sites, that other boats can’t visit. Part of the ABC difference.
ABC Snorkel Charters make the day all about you and your reef experience. It begins at their Port Douglas office at 8am and returns around 3pm. During the day you explore two reef sites and have around an hour in the water at each one. They visit sites zoned Low Use which are only available to operators with less than 15 guests – so it’s just you and your crew in the water.
The whole team was awesome but a special shout out to Sam. Marine biologist. In-water guide. Snorkel super star. Sam guided our son – and us – around the reef in style. He even towed his own Baywatch-style flotation device with him, which meant when our 9-year-old got tired, he hitched a ride over the reef and was able to make the most of every single minute. You won’t get that style of service on any other boat!
Small operator big service and simply stunning reef, offshore from Port Douglas.
Check in is at 8am at their office, which is on Macrossan Street Port Douglas, or you can arrange a pick-up from your accommodation. They provide all of your snorkel equipment, including mask, fins, snorkel and lycra sunsuit, with the option to purchase your own kit and rent a GoPro for the day. Lunch and refreshments is BYO with the option to purchase cool drinks and chocolates on the boat. Tea, coffee and hot soup is included. These trips are not suitable for non-swimmers.
Reef Adventures Mission Beach runs small number, half day snorkel tours to Beaver Reef. The crew are all about ensuring your time on the reef is the best it can be. We saw colourful corals with literally hundreds of fish darting around us, it was like being in an aquarium.
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If you can’t decide between a Cairns reef or island day tour – no problem – do them both in one action packed day with Great Adventures. This full day itinerary includes 2 hours at Green Island and 3 hours at the Outer Great Barrier Reef, with buffet lunch and semi-submersible tours. It ticks all the boxes. Cruise. Snorkel. Dive. Explore.
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Fast boat, smooth ride and guided dives on some stunning Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef sites, that’s what Silverswift is all about. They visit 3 reef sites each day, with plenty of time for diving and snorkelling. Meals, snacks and equipment are all included, so without further ado, let’s dive into our review.
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