Cairns Dive Adventures

Duration: 5 days – 2 Cairns / 3 Great Barrier Reef
Certification: PADI Gold Open Water Certification
Operates: Year round | Transfers: Included
Departs: Daily 8.00am (except Sunday)
Returns: Daily 4.00pm (except Thursday)

Do you want to learn to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef? Then this is the course for you!  Pro Dive Cairns provides 5 day learn to dive courses in Cairns and on the Great Barrier Reef, which end with you being a certified PADI Open Water Diver, enjoying recreational dives on the Great Barrier Reef aboard their liveaboard vessel, Scubapro.

Learning to scuba dive is an amazing experience and involves four different stages: getting a dive medical, learning the basic skills and requirements in class and the pool and open water scuba diving.  This course includes everything except the dive medical and completes the basic skills and introductory scuba training over two days at the Pro Dive training centre in Cairns, before heading to the Outer Great Barrier Reef on a specialised liveaboard dive vessel to complete your certification and enjoy open water diving over three days / two nights.

Nine Great Barrier Reef scuba dives are included in this course: the first four dives are a part of your PADI Open Water Certification and then there is time for five recreational dives, including a guided night dive.  This package includes all dive equipment and insurance, dive instruction and manuals and meals on the boat.  It does not include the dive medical, which must be obtained in Cairns beforehand.  Courses are available in English, German and Japanese.

Highlights & Inclusions

• PADI Gold Open Water Certification
• 2 days of tuition and pool training in Cairns
• 3 days and 2 nights, liveaboard dive trip
• 9 Great Barrier Reef dives, including a guided night dive
• All dive equipment, including wetsuits and computers
• Dive log book & insurance
• 2 Passport Photos
• All meals & linen (except towels) on board the boat

Pro Dive Cairns are one of the most respected and trusted ‘learn to dive the Great Barrier Reef’ in Cairns service providers.  With over 25 years experience and accreditation as a PADI 5 Star Training and Instructor Development Centre, you can be assured you will enjoy the highest standards of dive education available anywhere in the world, when you sign up for a Pro Dive Cairns learn to dive course.

Committed to providing their dive students with the best quality, safety, professionalism and value, Pro Dive Cairns begin your introduction to scuba diving at their modern, purpose-built dive centre in Cairns featuring air-conditioned class rooms and a heated, training pool.  The liveaboard component of your learn to dive course is completed aboard one of the Pro Dive Scubapro vessels.

There are three of them and each is identical with central air-conditioning, 16 cabins and 8 bathrooms.  Manufactured to provide superior ride and passenger comfort in all weather conditions, the Scubapro boats have dedicated, spacious dive decks allowing easy access to and from the Great Barrier Reef.  All meals during the liveaboard component of your Pro Dive learn to dive course are included, and prepared fresh on board daily.  When you aren’t in the water you can relax on the sun deck or air-conditioned interior.

Medical Notes

• An Australian Dive Medical must be completed prior to starting the course. This is an additional cost and can be undertaken locally at several Cairns doctors / medical clinics. The medical assessment must be less than 12 months old and reflective of your current health.
• Please note: International Dive Medicals and Diver Fitness Certificates will not be accepted, unless they are compliant with Australian Standards AS4005.1.
• Some medical conditions will prevent you from learning to dive.  These include: asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and heart or lung conditions.
• The minimum age of participants is 12 years of age.  (No maximum).
• You must be able to swim 200m and tread water for 10 minutes to participate in this course.
• We recommend you do not fly for at least 24 hours after your last dive.

Pro Dive Cairns: Sample 5 Day Learn to Dive Great Barrier Reef Itinerary
Monday (Cairns): Your learn to dive course commences with a complimentary coach pick-up to take you to Pro Dive’s professional dive centre in Cairns for an 8.30am registration.  Spend the morning in the air-conditioned classroom, learning the academic side to scuba diving.  This includes equipment, safe diving techniques and depths, pressure and decompression and dive safety signals. After a one hour lunch (not included) break, you enter the heated dive pool for 3.5 hours of scuba dive instruction.  Your first day concludes at 5.30pm.

Tuesday (Cairns): It’s straight into the pool at 8.30am this morning for more pool training and confined water diving, which basically means learning to breathe underwater and staying submerged.  At 12.30pm there is a quick trip to the Pro Dive retail store (in case you want to get your own mask, snorkel or other equipment) and then a one hour break before you return to the dive centre at 2.00pm to complete your last classroom modules and final written exam.  This evening there is an optional 2.5 hour (not included) Reef Teach marine biology presentation.  This is a great way to learn more about the Great Barrier environment, ecosystem, corals and marine life, before you head to sea tomorrow.

Wednesday (Great Barrier Reef): Today is the day you head to the Outer Great Barrier Reef and it starts early with a 5.45am coach pick-up and 6.15am check-in at the Pro Dive retail store, before boarding the Scubapro vessel for a 7am departure.  Enjoy a light breakfast on board and settle into your cabin quarters on the outward journey, you’ll be in the water before you know it.  At 11.30am you enter the water for your first training dive with your professional, qualified instructor right there to assist and calm your nerves.  Afterwards, its back to the boat for a hearty lunch and then back in the water for your second training dive: there are four to complete before you are certified.  Dinner that evening is served at 6pm and there is plenty of time afterwards to relax and unwind with dive buddies.

Thursday (Great Barrier Reef): This morning begins with the deepest dive of your training and it’s an early start at 7am.  A hearty cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs is served afterwards, as you prepare for your final training dive at 10.30am.  Celebrate being a certified diver over lunch and then it’s back into the water, where you can enjoy your first, certified dive on the Great Barrier Reef.  Enjoy the freedom of exploring the Great Barrier Reef with your dive buddy, it’s an amazing experience.  Dinner is served at 6pm and afterwards there is the choice of taking a guided night dive.  These are really a completely different experience and definitely worth taking advantage of.

Friday (Great Barrier Reef): It’s your last day of scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, so start early with a 6.30am dive.  During breakfast, the Scubapro makes it way to the last dive site of your trip, which is made just before lunch at 11am.  In the afternoon you return to Cairns and complimentary transfers back to your accommodation in the city or Cairns Northern Beaches at 4pm.  It is a tradition that instructors and newly qualified divers meet up for dinner that night at a local restaurant. This is not included in the price and is completely optional, but it’s a great way to wrap up the most amazing and life changing course you may ever undertake.

Passenger notes:

• Minimum age for guests: 12 years old (no maximum)
• What is not included in the ticket price? Dive medical; meals or accommodation during first two day component of the course in Cairns; Reef Teach marine biology seminar; $50 fee including a $16.50 Government Environmental Management Charge as well as a Port Departure Tax and administration costs.