Enjoy an affordable Cairns Great Barrier Reef intro dive experience with the local experts. You’ll be transported from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef aboard SeaQuest for a magical way to experience diving for the first time.
No experience? No problem! As long as you’re comfortable in the water, you can usually dive. Our expert dive instructors will brief you, teach you everything you need to know and help you practice your skills at the surface. With a maximum of four divers to one instructor, you’ll feel safe and confident as you learn to scuba dive, descending down to a maximum of 12m (40 feet) and experiencing the Great Barrier Reef in all its glory.
After your introductory dive, take a break on board to enjoy a tropical buffet lunch and enjoy the view from our sundecks. Then hit the water again for another dive or snorkelling session before we dock beside our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest for a quick transfer, before returning to Cairns.
SeaQuest is purpose-built for your intro diving experience, with a semi-submerged rear dive deck and state of the art equipment. We carefully choose the best sites for the conditions on the day around the Norman, Saxon and Hastings Reefs to ensure you see the best of the outer reef with its colourful corals, darting fish, turtles, rays and other abundant marine life.
Keen for even more time in the water? Our sister vessel AquaQuest spends up to five hours a day at the outer reef.
Includes all equipment and tuition. Intro dive participants must be 12 years or older. Prices valid to 31st March 2026. Price is per person and inclusive of GST and all fees, including the GBRMPA environmental management charge (EMC) which contributes directly to the management of the Marine Park. Learn more at gbrmpa.gov.au
8am: Check in at Finger C, Cairns Marlin Marina
8.30am: Depart Cairns
10am: Arrive at first dive site
12pm: Move to second site and enjoy lunch
12.30pm: Second dive or snorkel opportunity
2.15pm: Move to location of our vessel OceanQuest to transfer overnight passengers
2.50pm: Depart for Cairns
4.30pm Arrive Cairns
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“The two reef sites they took us to were just amazing. The variety and colours of the corals and fish were beautiful! We even saw nemo and reef sharks! The diving was great and we had a fabulous instructor. There’s a whole other life underwater, so if you’re thinking about trying diving, do it!”
– Chloe
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“Great staff who looked after us really well on SeaQuest. The diving was fantastic, thanks particularly to Adam and Levi for making everything run so smoothly. Highly recommended.”
– Richie
All introductory scuba participants must meet medical questionnaire requirements. Some conditions or medications may prevent you from diving. These requirements can be found on our Can I Dive? page, and we strongly recommend reviewing before booking.
Queensland’s code of practice on diving states that for a single no decompression dive, you should not fly/go to altitude for at least 12 hours, or 24 hours if divers have had multiple dives per day for several consecutive days, or have made dives that require decompression stops.
Altitude is defined as 300m/1000ft above sea level. This includes going to the Atherton Tablelands (a popular local scenic attraction), so please be aware if booking tours to follow your dive trip. Under normal circumstances, you should be out of the water from your last dive of the day at 2:30 pm.
