Great Barrier Reef guide: What are the best parts of the Reef, and which tours should I choose?
Great Barrier Reef day trips depart from Cairns, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. Alternatively, stay on the Whitsunday Islands or Lady Elliot Island. There is no single best way to see the Great Barrier Reef. But there are dozens of options catering to various tastes.
When reduced to statistics, the Great Barrier Reef is simply overwhelming. At 2,300km long, the Great Barrier Reef is the longest reef system in the world. It’s made up of 2,900 individual reefs, with 600 continental islands and 300 coral cays. Ten percent of the world’s fish species can be found there, as well as 600 types of hard and soft coral and 133 varieties of sharks and rays.
It is an almost incomprehensibly vast underwater ecosystem. As a visitor, you will only ever get snapshots of a few choice segments. Fortunately, there are several of those.
Find your ideal Great Barrier Reef tours by location
Great Barrier Reef tours run from numerous destinations along the Queensland coast. Different tours cater to different tastes – some make sure they go to the best snorkelling spots, others build in beach time and some throw in extra such as underwater observatories and glass bottom boat tours.
Use the following links to start picking the best Great Barrier Reef tour options where you’re going on holiday.
- The best Great Barrier Reef tours in… 1770 | Airlie Beach | Bundaberg | Cairns | Cape Tribulation | Mackay | Magnetic Island | Mission Beach | Palm Cove | Port Douglas | Townsville.
Inner Reef vs Outer Reef
The Great Barrier Reef runs up the north east coast of Australia, along most of the state of Queensland. As a rule of thumb, the further north you go, the closer the Reef is to the coastline. Thats said, the most northerly chunk of Queensland is very remote and sees very few visitors. The aquatic wonderland tends to be more vibrant, colourful and diverse on the outer reef than the inner reef, too. Being able to get to the outer reef quicker is a distinct advantage. Once there – look out for cleaner wrasse. They are the passport to multiple fish sightings.
9 Port Douglas experiences to boost your holiday
- Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour – visiting three amazing snorkelling sites on the Outer Reef. This is the one for seeing the very best of the Reef.
- Visit Agincourt Reef – with a cruise, underwater observatory and coral viewing in a semi-submersible. This is the best Port Douglas Reef tour for less confident swimmers.
- Half-day Low Isles snorkelling tour – ideal for those with less time.
- Daintree River wildlife cruise combo – see lots of crocs, then visit the cascades of Mossman Gorge.
- Sunset sailing cruise – with welcome drinks and appetisers aboard a luxury catamaran.
- Scenic helicopter flight – see the Great Barrier Reef from above.
- Go fishing at a barramundi farm – with lunch included.
- Aboriginal cultural walk – including bush tucker tasting and traditional hunting techniques.
- Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas – meet all manner of native Australian animals.
Best way to see the Great Barrier Reef: Day tours
Most reef day cruises leave from the city of Cairns or Queensland resort town of Port Douglas an hour north. Some aim for smaller, more intimate experiences. These include the Wavelength cruise from Port Douglas, which has a maximum of 48 passengers on board. It flits between several reef sites to offer the best experience according to conditions and wildlife sightings on the day. Several scenic flights also leave from Cairns, including a helicopter trip to Vlasoff Cay.
Outer Reef cruises from Cairns head to the likes of Moore Reef and Hastings Reef. Some offer glass bottom boats and underwater observatories, which are good ways of seeing the Great Barrier Reef for non-swimmers.
An even smaller Reef trip is offered from Cape Tribulation, 142km north of Cairns. Cape Tribulation is one of the closest points on the Australian mainland to the Great Barrier Reef. Small RIB tours with Ocean Safaris leave from the beach, powering towards the Mackay Reef.
Elsewhere bigger, faster vessels and pull up at floating pontoons with considerable infrastructure. The Quicksilver catamaran goes from Port Douglas to Agincourt Reef on the outer reef as quickly as possible, then offers an underwater observatory and coral viewing in a mini-submarine while there.
If you’re pushed for time and just want a quick taster, then the Reef Sprinter heads to the Low Isles from Port Douglas for a 2.25 hour snorkelling tour.
Best way to see the Great Barrier Reef: Island stays
It is possible to stay on several islands along the reef system, most of which are in the Whitsundays group, 385 miles south of Cairns. Options here range from ultra-basic camping on Hook Island and Whitsunday Island to the super-lavish resorts at Qualia and Hayman Island. Hamilton Island is the one with the infrastructure and numerous activity options, including scenic flights over Heart Reef.
There are direct flights to Hamilton Island from Brisbane and other major cities. This is much quicker than driving to Airlie Beach and getting the ferry across.
If the aim is to go snorkelling straight from the beach, however, there tends to be better quality coral viewing from Lady Elliot Island at the southern end of the reef. You can do a day tour to Lady Elliot Island from the Gold Coast.
Lady Musgrave Island near Bundaberg is another option – here you can sleep underwater on the Great Barrier Reef aboard the Lady Musgrave HQ pontoon.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that there are several access points to the Reef, some of them covering quieter, lesser known stretches. Heron Island and Wilson Island, for example, are accessed from Gladstone via the Heron Island ferry.
It is advisable to wear a stinger suit while snorkelling, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll encounter crocodiles on the Great Barrier Reef.