FAMILY Whitsunday Snorkle & Scuba?

Hi KEAPPS and seeing that as on top of reported coral bleaching there has been reefs damage down around the Whitsundays because of the recent cyclone there, if you want to do a trip to an outer reef area where bleaching may not be so severe ( and local operators will likely know what the situation is ), doing one from Cairns is probably best and you could contact Pro Dive for advice as they have branches in a few different locations on the coast.

You will likely be looking at several thousand $$$ for say a tree day/two night trip for the four of you, possibly even up around $5000 if not higher.

Another option you may want to consider is checking what is available at a few of the islands, even Fitzroy Island a ferry trip from Cairns having quality accommodation and some good snorkelling options and so if you could couple that with an overnighter for hub to do his night diving and I'd not be surprised if some day dive trips could not be arranged, that could work out a whole lot cheaper.

Further down the coast, there are other islands but possibly with less services such as at Dunk Island and then there is Hamilton Island at the Whitsundays from where you could do trips but just how the reef is would be anyone's guess.

Further on, down off Gladstone is Heron Island which is not so expensive to stay at, it having been initially established for university research, bit further south there is Lady Musgrave Island, great for snorkelling and a larger boat going out there did previously have diving available but it caught fire and sank and though there is now a smaller boat doing the trip, I am not aware of if they do diving from it and most likely no night diving as it is not for overnight trips though if you got some camping gear, you can camp out on Lady Musgrave Island.

Further south again right at southern extremity of the GBR there is Lady Elliot Island which again has a great lagoon for snorkelling, not sure about the diving though but suspect it could be arranged but maybe not for night certification and cost for the family to do a trip out to there is going to be getting up in the live aboard sphere.

It could be that you might want to treat hub doing the night cert as separate from your other diving and snorkelling for the kids and things wil work out far cheaper overall.

Hi @KEAPPS,

Hamilton Island is a great place for kids and also offers trips to the outer reef (circa 2 hours by boat from Hamo) which I'd recommend. Why not email tour companies like Cruise Whitsundays to see what the situation is?

We recently spent nine months in Australia so have written a lot on the country (including some posts on Hamilton Island) which may be useful.

Hope that helps,
Rachel

Are you getting a vehicle for this five-month venture?

As per #1, I too would consider an island option, and I think Lady Elliot Island is a particularly good one to consider - if your budget deals with it ... it is beautiful, is totally stinger-free, and accommodates both diving and lagoon snorkelling very well.

Prior to that, you might enjoy a few days in Port Douglas - it is an upscale resort town with good access to the rainforest, reef, and coastal waters (day-trips to the Low Isles for snorkelling, etc). And there are some more budget accomm options in town - it's not all Sheraton.

October-November is the very beginning of the Wet Season, but in Cairns-Port Douglas they are usually good months. However there is a stinger warning in place October-May.

Outside that, you would need to search liveaboard options out of Cairns, Townsville, and the Whitsundays ... I think much of the more easily accessible coral reef suitable for the mass-tourism day-trips are in a fairly poor state. The multi-day trips would take you to better dive spots - their business survival depends on it.

Some of the island resorts in the Whitsundays are nice, but they tend to be very expensive, and it is still a long way to coral reefs.

After the tropical diving experiences, there are more places to dive - essentially from Bundaberg right round to Melbourne.

December is an excellent month along the east coast - but it is very important to know NOW where you will be staying for the period of 24 December to about 8 January, even to 15 January - it is holiday peak, and the coast is often booked out many months ahead.

Is diving the feature of yr trip?
Would u consider travelling to Tasmania?
There is excellent reef diving to be found there, albeit with a colder climate...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-25/deep-divers-reveal-reef-discovery-off-tasmanian-east-coast/7782660
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/travel/destinations/2012/04/top-snorkelling-spots-in-australia/
http://www.tchange.com.au/recreation/divetrail.html

Thank-you so much for this information! I appreciate your insight, and it gives us a number of good options to explore. Based on the other looking I'd done, the price tag for a three day adventure is likely not feasible. I do hope to send my husband out for night diving on his own, as do some snorkeling as a family! I will look into the specifics of some of the locations you mentioned to see what might work for us.

Thank-you, Rachel! I appreciate your tip, and your blog looks helpful too!

Thank-you for your insights, Sunbird!

Yes, we hope to purchase a vehicle. Likely we will try to buy in Cairns. We're having a difficult time deciding what to purchase for our family of four. Something affordable and good on gas would be nice, but I'm guessing having 4WD would be handy! We're also debating some kind of caravan, but potentially just a vehicle that can accommodate our luggage and buying some tenting/camping gear.

Yes, we realize it's the start of stinger season, so we also plan to buy stinger suits. We think it makes most sense to start in the NE in October, and work our way South into March.

We're aware of recent (and ongoing tourism) damage to the reef, so know we'll have to ask some good questions about where to dive.

We have friends near Newcastle we hope to stay with/visit over Christmas/New Years (most likely). We debating making the fireworks for NYE in Sydney one of our "stops", but realize accommodations will be difficult to find and quite expensive. If we could find a house sit, that could make it possible! We've registered on a couple house-sitting sites, so we're hopeful to find a couple stays that way!

Diving is one aspect of our trip, as it's something we've always wanted to do if/when we travel Australia, which is now a reality! We hope to spend time in Tasmania, so I will look into these links as well! Perhaps we could do a tropical and a more cold-water dive experience! Thank-you for the tip, Cazcarolyn!

There are even great diving options out of Sydney - I did my night diving there and on daytime dives there are a lot of rays and sharks etc - you can also easily dive or snorkel from the shore at Shelly Beach in Manly (and other locations).