Based on the dual attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and neighbouring Coral Sea, good year-round diving, an abundance of colourful and exotic life forms and safety standards that are among the highest in the world, dive tourism has flourished. This is particularly so north of the Tropic of Capricorn, from the Whitsundays to the Far North Queensland towns of Cairns and Port Douglas, where the outer edge of the 2,000km long Great Barrier Reef meets the Coral Sea. With less travelling time to these sentinel reefs, the heaviest concentration of dive facilities are located in this northern region. Besides offering advanced to instructor level training programmes that can be incorporated into a holiday schedule, leading facilities even include an extended live-aboard trip as a part of the course. While an enormous number of operators run day trips to the Reef, almost all of whom offer some sort of supervised underwater experience, from snorkelling to a 'Discover Scuba' dive, there have, until fairly recently, been surprisingly few dedicated day boats catering to the more demanding needs of experienced, certified divers.
Today there are a range of purpose built vessels to choose from.
One of the very few Far North Queensland operators to readily embrace technical diving, TUSA also offers ANDI Nitrox and Rebreather training courses and, for those already certified, the choice of air, nitrox or rebreathers for their dives. The ultimate way to experience the best diving is to take an extended trip on one of the numerous live-aboard dive vessels that operate from the region. Diving the far northern reefs to the tip of Cape York Peninsula, 'Reef Explorer' caters to the avid diver with time to experience underwater nature at its finest, while the Port Douglas-based 'Undersea Explorer' is leading the world in pioneering research oriented, recreational diving excursions to the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea. The latest addition to the Deep Sea Divers Den's fleet, the 28.6m 'OceanQuest', accommodates up to 38 passengers. With 14 permanent moorings on some of the more remarkable reefs, the diving is aimed at every level of experience and is nothing short of spectacular.