Returning from an adventure-filled 3 weeks on the East Coast of Australia, I can officially say I checked off a bucket list item: I snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef! However, I conducted a lot of research in preparation and spent many hours figuring out the where to visit from and the best tour option. Luckily, I will spare you the time and provide all the details. If you’re looking for the best eco-conscious Great Barrier Reef tour that is full of beautifully colourful and diverse coral, fish and other marine species, keep reading below!
Where to Leave From
Situated along the continental shelf off the coast of Northern Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef sprawls nearly 350,000,000 square kilometres in area and almost 2,300 km long. Brimming with an overwhelmingly diversity in species, it is the most extensive coral ecosystem on the planet. With that being said, it can be overwhelming to navigate the best port to depart from to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Taking into consideration travel, unbridled beauty and eco-tourism responsible tours, I would highly suggest leaving from Port Douglas, about an hour’s drive north of Cairns. Cairns also has an abundance of tours if you are unable to reach Port Douglas, but I highly recommend the tour I share below. The Whitsundays also tends to be more accessible to reach, but I found the best snorkelling was further north.
Snorkel or Scuba Dive?
There are many tours that offer scuba diving, as well as snorkelling. Which is best? Due to nearly 90% of reef life being within a few metres from the water surface, as well as losing colour / light with depth in the water, I would highly suggest snorkelling rather than scuba diving. It is also a lot more accessible for most people!
Tour Recommendation
For my Great Barrier Reef tour, I chose to go with Wavelength Tours in Port Douglas. Owned by local Marine Biologists, they are pioneers in Reef Ecotourism. All their tours are snorkel-only, and visit multiple shallow reefs along the Outer Reef near the continental shelf edge. Guiding only small tours at their exclusive sites, you have the opportunity to explore on your own as well as a guided tour with one of the Marine Biologists from the crew.
The reefs we visited were remarkably more impressive than the snorkel sites I visited further south by the Whitsundays, and featured such a diverse array of coral, fish and other species. I have never see such vibrant colours in nature before! They take photos for you to enjoy after your tour as well and give marine biology talks on the boat. I loved learning about their coral restoration and nurturing program. The boat had two levels and was very spacious, and they had great food and snacks.
This truly felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if you are interested in visiting while also keeping in mine your impact on the environment, I highly recommend Wavelength. This isn’t sponsored, but just happened to be one of the best tours I’ve ever experienced!
What to Bring
Make sure you pack a towel, swim suit, sunscreen and sunglasses for the boat ride. They will supply food/drinks, lycra stinger suits in stinger season, and all the snorkel gear. Wavelength also had an underwater camera that they took photos on for us.
When to Visit
I visited near the end of April, at the tail end of their wet season and really lucked out! They summers can be very wet and windy with cyclones and storms, as well as it is ‘stinger’ season. Stinger season generally runs between November and May in Queensland, which means that dangerous box jellyfish are more active during this time. If you are on a tour and wearing a lycra stinger suit, you should be okay. Although their winter from June to October may be a bit cooler, the waters are calmer, less likely to have dangerous jellyfish and may have whales migrating through! With calmer waters and weather, the water is more likely to be clear and the sun will really make the coral shine!
