Cairns, Scuba Diving
Secondly to Sydney this has to be one of the best places to have fun in Australia. It was so good I actually went there twice in the space of a year.
Cairns is where I completed my PADI Advanced Open water dive course. I went with Downunder Dive on their Atlantic Clipper for a 4 day live aboard dive course which was absolutely fantastic. I originally looked at diving with a company called Pro Dive but they seemed very up themselves and I had heard many a good thing about the PADI dive courses that Down under Dive offered. Also after some further research I found out they had probably one of the best boats. The SV Atlantic Clipper.
It’s an old 140ft tall ship but has been fully refurbished and has on the modern technology installed. It has very nice air conditioned cabins which cater for 2-4 people, has a large saloon, lounge and even its own bar. Of course it even has a hot tub on the front deck to sit in and relax, chill out and have a beer. The food was fantastic and served from a rather well built kitchen… one of the best things they prepared was probably the most basic of all and that was potato wedges with sweet chili sauce which was often sat waiting for us on deck for when we came out from night dives. Hmm hmm.
The Atlantic Clipper is permanently based at the Great Barrier Reef which would move every day to other parts of the reef, which would either be done over night if a long way or early in the morning if a short distance. This was excellent as you get to see a variety of reefs and have a truly unique diving experience. Downunder Dive had a fast transfer boat which takes you there and back which also allows you to spend as many days and nights aboard as you want.
I truly couldn’t recommend anyone else to dive with in Cairns but if you decide to look elsewhere please be very careful when selecting a dive operator in Cairns as many dive schools use fixed platforms at sea which you stay on and then commute by boat for the diving, not quite the live aboard you expected!
View more of my scuba diving travel photos in Cairns.
Comment by Paul on 20 November 2006:
Fantastic travel blog and I am enjoing the your travel photos and content.
Comment by Paul on 20 November 2006:
Fantastic travel blog and I am enjoing the your travel photos and content.
Comment by Cara Fletcher on 22 March 2007:
I have always dreamt of going to place like this for scubadiving.THanks for this blog it’s really good.
Comment by Cara Fletcher on 22 March 2007:
I have always dreamt of going to place like this for scubadiving.THanks for this blog it’s really good.
Comment by Brigi on 20 December 2007:
Dear Alex,
It sounds fantastic. The coral reefs are amazing. I love Australia.
Where are you from Alex?
I am from Hungary.
Wish you all the best
Comment by Brigi on 20 December 2007:
Dear Alex,
It sounds fantastic. The coral reefs are amazing. I love Australia.
Where are you from Alex?
I am from Hungary.
Wish you all the best
Comment by Dar on 30 January 2008:
I found your blog accidently by searching for this particular picture you have in Cairns, Scuba Diving Oct 2006.
I was in Sosua Beach. My 13 year old son and I had just completed our Padi Diver Training and I wanted a tatoo to celebrate it. The artist had no pictures of a scuba diver so off he went in search of one from the internet that he could tatoo on my ankle.
Forty-five minutes later, he returned with your picture, and I thought you might like to know it’s now tattooed on my ankle!! The outline is tattooed and I’m going to have the color completed at a later date in Canada.
Hope you don’t mind but it’s truly a tribute to this wonderful new world I’ve discovered and all the wonderful folks I’ve met since embarking on this journey. Special note should go to Andy, Andreas and Scott “Booties” of HippoCampo Dive Centre in Sosua who facilitated this new love into a reality I’ve always dreamed of. They too, loved your “picture”!..
Cheers…and I look forward to reading your adventures
Comment by Dar on 30 January 2008:
I found your blog accidently by searching for this particular picture you have in Cairns, Scuba Diving Oct 2006.
I was in Sosua Beach. My 13 year old son and I had just completed our Padi Diver Training and I wanted a tatoo to celebrate it. The artist had no pictures of a scuba diver so off he went in search of one from the internet that he could tatoo on my ankle.
Forty-five minutes later, he returned with your picture, and I thought you might like to know it’s now tattooed on my ankle!! The outline is tattooed and I’m going to have the color completed at a later date in Canada.
Hope you don’t mind but it’s truly a tribute to this wonderful new world I’ve discovered and all the wonderful folks I’ve met since embarking on this journey. Special note should go to Andy, Andreas and Scott “Booties” of HippoCampo Dive Centre in Sosua who facilitated this new love into a reality I’ve always dreamed of. They too, loved your “picture”!..
Cheers…and I look forward to reading your adventures
Comment by Dar on 30 January 2008:
Feel free to contact me and I’ll send you the picture of the tatoo!!
Comment by Dar on 30 January 2008:
Feel free to contact me and I’ll send you the picture of the tatoo!!
Comment by mark on 28 July 2008:
wow now i`m jealaus why have I not bean to either of those places, spent to much time in vegas not much scuba diving there doh!!!!!!!
Comment by mark on 28 July 2008:
wow now i`m jealaus why have I not bean to either of those places, spent to much time in vegas not much scuba diving there doh!!!!!!!
Comment by Daniel Stevens on 22 October 2011:
I couldn’t agree more. There are plenty of operators willing to offer the world, but fail to deliver. I also love Cairns, and stayed there for a few months to work. Although I only went out once to the reef, a friend of mine was lucky enough to go on nearly every major boat. (He loves his diving) But as you said, doing the research beforehand can mean the difference between a great, or not so great trip