Full-day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef - Michaelmas Cay

You will be picked up from the hotel in the morning and driven to Cairns, where the boat departs for the Great Barrier Reef.

The boat you sail on is a 100-foot luxury catamaran, and today’s destination is a sandbar on the outer reef, Michaelmas Cay.

The sail out here takes just over two hours, with morning coffee served and a marine biologist giving a talk about the reef along the way. The boat anchors off the sandbank, and the next few hours are yours to enjoy the fantastic coral reef.

You can choose to snorkel directly from the boat, or head over to the sandbar and snorkel from there. A small boat sails at a regular intervals between the catamaran and the sandbar throughout the day, so you can always get back and forth.

If you’ve never snorkelled before, this excursion is a great introduction, as you can walk straight into the water from the sandbar while the guides help you with tips on how to breathe through the snorkel.

If you’re not all that keen on snorkelling, you can enjoy the white sand, take the glass-bottomed boat and look at the underwater life through the glass or spot some of the island’s birds. If you fancy a test dive on the coral reef, this is also possible.

You have a good 4 hours on the reef, and in the middle of the day, a buffet lunch is served on board the boat before you head back to the mainland. Back in Cairns, you will be driven back to your hotel, where you will arrive late afternoon.

All snorkelling gear is included in the price, and there are wetsuits on board the boat that you can borrow free of charge. There are guides to help you throughout the day – and morning and afternoon coffee and lunch are also included in the price.

This tour departs from Cairns, Palm Cove & Port Douglas.