Reef
down to 18 m
Moore Reef Pontoon (Sunlover)
Try-dive or certified dives to 18 m from a permanently moored outer-reef pontoon, with 5–12 m of water beside it.
- Open Water
Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)
Diving in Australia
17 documented dive sites, 9 of them for Open Water divers. Known for manta rays, grey reef sharks and silvertip sharks.
- Best months
- May–Aug
- Water
- 24–30 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced
- Diving from
- Day boats, Liveaboards
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas) in October
Good season- Sea
- 27 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 28 °C
- 23 °C at night
- Rain
- 40 mm
- one of the driest months
- Wind
- 13 km/h
- on average
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
May–Aug dry and clear; Jan–Apr wet monsoon season; coral spawning Oct/Nov.
Dive sites in Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m9 sitesReef
down to 15 m
Fitzroy Island
Shore or boat dives on rocky reefs to 15 m near Cairns, where epaulette sharks hide under ledges.
- Open Water
- Walking sharks
Reef
down to 20 m
Michaelmas Cay
A sand cay where first-time divers can walk in off the beach into shallow water with green turtles and giant clams.
- Open Water
- Turtles
Wall
down to 20 m
Petaj Mooring
Milln Reef wall and swim-throughs to 20 m with resident turtles and white-tipped reef sharks.
- Open Water
- Whitetip reef sharks
Macro
down to 20 m
Troppo's (Norman Reef)
A shallow Norman Reef mooring bay for novice divers, full of nudibranchs, pipefish and razorfish in the sand.
- Open Water
- Nudibranchs
Reef
down to 18 m
Fish Bowl (Hastings Reef)
A bowl of coral gardens and heads to 18 m on western Hastings Reef, with giant clams, schooling snappers and visiting turtles.
- Open Water
- Reef sharks
Reef
down to 12 m
The Flats (Flynn Reef)
- Open Water
- Clownfish
Pinnacle
down to 18 m
Tracy's Bommie
- Open Water
- Whitetip reef sharks
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m8 sitesReef
down to 32 m
Cod Hole
Ribbon Reef site known for friendly giant potato cod up to 2 m long, with pygmy seahorses on gorgonians around 32 m.
- Advanced
- Whitetip reef sharks
Drift
down to 25 m
Around the Bend
Osprey Reef drift to a manta cleaning station where divers hold a line at 20-25 m as mantas hover in the current.
- Advanced
- Manta rays
Pinnacle
down to 35 m
Steve's Bommie
Isolated pinnacle rising to 5 m below the surface, rich in nudibranchs and pipefish, with large numbers of trevally and cruising barracuda.
- Advanced
- Whitetip reef sharks
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minke whalesSource: spiritoffreedom.com.au | ||||||||||||
| CoralsSource: spiritoffreedom.com.au | ||||||||||||
| Manta raysSource: spiritoffreedom.com.au |
- Peak season
- Seen
Minke whales: Jun–Jul. Corals: Oct–Nov. Manta rays: Jan–Oct
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Grey reef sharks
- Silvertip sharks
- Whitetip reef sharks
- Turtles
- Eagle rays
- Barracuda
- Trevally
- Nudibranchs
- Groupers
- Sea snakes
- Whale sharks
- Hammerhead sharks
- Thresher sharks
- Tiger sharks
- Wobbegong sharks
- Tuna
- Pygmy seahorses
- Scorpionfish
- Napoleon wrasse
Where is the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)?
- How people dive here
- Day boats, Liveaboards
Somewhere quieter?
Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas) is one of the busiest dive hubs in the world. These destinations dive in a similar way and see far fewer divers: Taveuni & Rainbow Reef, Fakarava & Rangiroa and Ningaloo Reef.
See all alternatives to Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas) →Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas): frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)?
- The best months to dive Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas) are May–Aug. May–Aug dry and clear; Jan–Apr wet monsoon season; coral spawning Oct/Nov.
- Is Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas) good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 9 of the 17 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Moore Reef Pontoon (Sunlover), Fitzroy Island and Michaelmas Cay. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)?
- The water is usually between 24 °C and 30 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)?
- Divers regularly see minke whales (Jun–Jul), corals (Oct–Nov), manta rays (Jan–Oct), grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks and whitetip reef sharks.
- How do you dive Great Barrier Reef (Cairns & Port Douglas)?
- Ways to dive here: day boats and liveaboards.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef, Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
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