Learning to dive Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is an amazing experience.  Professional operators provide PADI and SSI accredited learn to dive courses from Cairns, including dive trips to the Great Barrier Reef.

Once you have passed your medical, completed your class room and pool work, modern dive vessels transport you to the Great Barrier Reef, where you test your skills and complete your certification while exploring the world’s largest coral reef system.

Slipping beneath the blue waves, you enter a vibrant underwater paradise.  Explore coral bombies encrusted with hard staghorn corals and soft anemones.  Stay a while and watch the clown fish dart in and out of their safe havens, swim with marine turtles, be entranced by the graceful motion of stingrays and slightly scared (if you’re like me) by the presence of the non-aggressive reef sharks.

Some Cairns learn to dive the Great Barrier Reef courses also include a night dive.  This is like nothing else you would ever have experienced and is perhaps the closest sensation you will get to being in Outer Space.  The inky darkness is absolute.  Armed with your torch, you scan across the reef system and see a completely different side of life.  The coral colours are intensified under the torch light, large crayfish are spotted as they search for food, turtles rest for the night and some reef fish have created their own sleeping cocoon.  Emerge from the waters with a new appreciation of this amazing ecosystem.

Cairns Learn to Dive Great Barrier Reef: Top Tips

1. Dive Medicals. It is mandatory that everyone wanting to learn to dive on the Great Barrier Reef, passes a Dive Medical first, which is in compliance with Australian Standards AS 4005.1.  These are provided at doctors and medical centres, open 24 hours in Cairns.  Please note: International Dive Medicals will not be accepted, unless they are compliant with Australian Standards.

2. PADI Learn to Dive Courses. One of the most popular Cairns learn to dive the Great Barrier Reef courses is the PADI Open Water Diver course, which is offered through local company, Pro Dive Cairns.  PADI stands for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and is the world’s leading scuba diving training organisation.  Click here for Cairns PADI Open Water Dive Course information.

3. SSI Learn to Dive Courses. SSI stands for Scuba Schools International and the Cairns Dive Centre offers budget conscious travellers an affordable option to learn to dive in Cairns and on the Great Barrier Reef.  SSI is a similar accreditation to PADI and is internationally recognised.  Click here for Cairns SSI Dive Course information.

4. Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is offshore from Cairns, easily accessible by dive vessels for day tours, overnight tours and live aboard diving trips.  Three Cairns dive operators provide accredited learn to scuba dive courses in Cairns: Pro Dive Cairns, Cairns Dive Centre and Tusa 5, allowing you to tailor your package to your itinerary and preferences.  Things you will see scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef include hard and soft corals, giant clams, sea stars, sea cucumbers and too many fish to mention.

5. Cairns. A thriving tropical city on Queensland’s north-eastern coastline, bordered by the Great Barrier Reef on one side and lush tropical rainforests on the other.  Accommodation options cater to all tastes and budgets ranging from beachside caravan parks to bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels and resorts, self-contained apartments and luxury retreats.  All Cairns learn to dive courses include two or three days participation in classroom and pool learning activities, so when booking your accommodation, it is best to choose something in the city, as transfers to city locations are included in the dive course cost.  Cairns is easily accessible with a domestic and international airport and is connected to Australia through its road and rail networks.

Once you are a PADI or SSI certified Open Water scuba diver, it is a skill you will have for life and a certification that is internationally recognised, meaning you can scuba dive in the Maldives, the Red Sea, Fiji or anywhere else in the world.  Be warned though, the Great Barrier Reef will have spoilt you for future dives.  No where else offers this diversity of plant and animal life, the chance to dive with rare and threatened species and a pristine natural paradise.

Guaranteed to have the best experience learning to dive Great Barrier Reef.