• Spend 3.5 hours snorkelling and scuba diving 2 different coral reef locations on Bait Reef on the outer Great Barrier Reef from Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach.
• Departing Hamilton Island at 8.00am we are in the water at approx. 11.00am to 3.00pm
• Our Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach outer Barrier Reef dive and snorkel tour carries only a maximum of 60 guests on busy days making this a personalised reef tour
• One of the newest multi storey high speed boats in the Whitsunday Islands that will have you diving and snorkelling the outer Great Barrier Reef in comfort

Hamilton Island dive and snorkel tour to the outer Great Barrier Reef daily on a high speed catamaran with only 60 guests. The reef boat has come from Airlie Beach with guests and calls into Hamilton Island on the way to Bait Reef. We visit 2 reefs on the outer Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

What to Expect

With two departure points Shute Harbour in Airlie Beach and from Hamilton Island prepare for a breathtaking adventure as you embark on a full-day snorkelling and scuba diving tour, exploring the outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. This day tour in the Whitsundays is specially curated to deliver an intimate reef experience with only 60 guests aboard, ensuring personalised attention and ample space to soak in the stunning marine vistas.

Features and Highlights

Luxurious and Swift Catamaran Journey

• Rapid Transit: Experience a fast 2-hour cruise each way on a high-speed catamaran from Hamilton Island, ensuring more time to enjoy the reef. 45 minutes to Airlie Beach.
• Comfort and Elegance: Our newly custom-designed catamaran features a spacious layout with comfortable seating and modern amenities, making the journey as pleasant as the destination.

Extended Reef Time

• Ample Exploration: Spend a minimum of 3.5 hours on location at two different reef sites around Bait Reef, chosen daily based on optimal conditions for visibility and marine activity.
• Diverse Marine Life: Encounter vibrant coral ecosystems, majestic sea turtles, giant trevallies, and a myriad of colourful reef fish. Keep an eye out for friendly reef sharks and the seasonal migration of humpback whales.

Professional Dive and Snorkel Services

• High-Quality Gear: Utilize top-tier Mares dive equipment and wetsuits, included in the Great Barrier Reef tour price for both snorkelling and diving.
• Expert Guidance: Our PADI 5-star certified crew provides insightful, safety-first diving briefings and in-water assistance, catering to both novice snorkellers and seasoned scuba divers.

Culinary Delights

• Gourmet Meals Included: Enjoy a delightful selection of meals throughout the day, including a lunch buffet, morning and afternoon tea, all freshly prepared aboard.
• Dietary Accommodations: Specific dietary needs are catered for upon request, ensuring a seamless dining experience.

Educational Opportunities

• Informative Commentary: Gain valuable insights into the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem and marine biodiversity with educational talks from our marine naturalists.
• Interactive Dive Experiences: Certified scuba divers can enjoy two guided dives, under the careful supervision of our experienced dive masters. Please note you must have dived at least once in the last 12 months from your tour date, and you must produce your dive card.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Visibility and Dive Conditions: Daily conditions vary, but our Great Barrier Reef dive and snorkel boat crew selects the best sites to maximise underwater clarity and calm.
• Marine Sightings: From small reef fish to larger pelagic species and occasional shark sightings, the biodiversity of Bait Reef is spectacular.
• Reef Health and Conservation: We are committed to the Great Barrier Reef’s health, actively participating in conservation efforts and ensuring our Whitsundays tours are eco-friendly.

Certified Diving Details

• Dive Certification Requirements: Display a valid certification card and logbook. Divers must have dived within the last 12 months to participate.
• Dive Depths and Sites: Dive depths vary with certification levels, with maximum depths of 18m for Open Water divers and up to 30m for Advanced divers.
• Medical Requirements: Divers aged 60 and over must undergo a dive medical examination. All divers may need a doctor’s certificate depending on their medical history.

Embark on a Day of outer reef Discovery. Join us for a day where the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef unfold before you, providing not just snorkelling and scuba diving but an immersive experience into one of the world’s most beloved marine environments the Whitsundays. From educational insights to close encounters with aquatic life, this Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island Great Barrier Reef tour promises an unforgettable adventure in the heart of the reef.

Learn more about the Great Barrier Reef and the best places to visit. 

Hamilton Island Dive & Snorkel Tour

On a full boat tour we carry a maximum of only 60 guests to ensure a more personalised and quality Great Barrier Reef tour experience.

We spend approx. 3.5 hours on the reef from 11.00am to 3.00pm

• Top of the line dive and snorkel equipment and high speed catamaran. Travel between sites in comfort on our newly custom designed dive & snorkel cat
• Informative. Educational Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Island commentary en route
• 5 Star PADI rating.  We are one of the Whitsunday Islands few PADI 5 star accredited operators.
• We dive and snorkel 2 sites around Bait Reef and your skipper chooses these on the day and these may be Stepping Stones, Paradise Lagoon or Mantaray.
• Travel time: Airlie Beach to Hamilton Island approx. 45 minutes, Hamilton Island to outer reef 2 hours

What will you see on the Great Barrier Reef?

Bait Reef has some wonderful vibrant coral varieties, colour and busy marine life. The fringing inner reef tends to be slightly more colourful due to the nature of the soft coral that grows around these areas.

You will find numerous smaller reef-dwelling fish such as parrotfish, angelfish, batfish, damselfish and fusiliers. At the outer reef, you can expect to see a hard coral platform reef with impressive drop offs and our friendly resident giant trevallies, along with countless colourful reef fish.

If you're lucky you might even get a visit from a friendly sea turtle, mantaray or white tip reef shark whilst on one of our trips!

Keep an eye out for humpback whales during the months of July to September.

Certified Diving - Need to know:

Please note for all certified dive bookings you must have dived at least once in the last 12 months from your tour date.

You must produce your certification card and/or log book at the time of booking
Your full day experience includes two dives at the reef
Your fees include all gear hire
You will be guided by our experience Divemasters or Instructors
As some of our dive locations are advanced dive sites you must have dived with 12 months of your tour date.

See more Great Barrier Reef tours from Hamilton Island.

Diving FAQs

1. How many dives do I get?
Certified Diver: 2 Dives

2. How many others will I Dive with?
Standard dive ratios are below. These may be reduced depending on the dive conditions
Certified: Max. 6 divers per Instructor

3. How long is each dive?
All dives have a maximum time limit of 50mins, however the length of time underwater is subject to air consumption

4. How deep will I dive?
This is dependent on the certification levels of the divers in your group.
Open Water: Max. 18m
Advanced: Max. 30m

5. What age do I have to be to dive?
Certified:
10 - 12 years: MUST dive with a parent/guardian depth restricted to 12m and a maximum of 4 pax to an instructor
12 - 14 years: MUST dive with an adult certified diver/parent/guardian
15 - 18 years: Parent/Guardian must sign paperwork and be on board
There is no maximum age for divers however those aged 60+ are required to undertake a dive medical before diving

6. Where can I get a Medical certificate completed?
Dive medicals can be completed in Airlie Beach at Whitsunday Doctors Service or 121 Medical. If a normal doctors certificate is required, they are able to get clearance through the Medical centre on island, or via their own GP. Dive medicals and Doctors certificates are different and are dependent on the ans wers given in the Dive History and Medical Questionnaire

7. What branding is the equipment used?
Our BCDs are Mares Rovers and OceanPro GBR. Our regulators are a mixture of Mares and Oceanic/ Ocean Pro

8. What size tanks do you use and what valves?
We have 12 litre Aluminium tanks onboard, with adaptable valves. Should you wish to bring your own regulators, our tanks can acc ommodate both DIN and YOKE/ A CLAMP style regulators

9.Should I bring my own dive gear?
Guests are more than welcome to bring their own dive gear we will provide them with tanks and weights. However it does not cha nge the price of the tour & Explore are not responsible for any damage/ loss if they bring their own equipment.

10. Do you do NITROX diving?
No

11. Do I need to be able to speak fluent English in order to dive?
Yes

12. Can I dive on medication?
Yes, however you will be required to show a doctors certificate to clear you for diving

Tour Languages Offered

• English

Departs From

Hamilton Island

Departure Time

• Departs from Hamilton Island 8.00am - Returns 4.00pm
• Departs Airlie Beach Shute Harbour at 7.15am

Departure Instructions

• Make own way to the Hamilton Island marina
• Make your own way to the Airlie Beach Marina

Destinations

• Great Barrier Reef
• Two selected moorings around Bait Reef

Months of Operation

January - December

Days of Operation

Daily

Closed Christmas Day

Duration

8 hours in total
2 hours cruising to location each way
3.5 hours on location
10 hours from Airlie Beach - Shute Harbour: 7.15am - 5.20pm

Fitness Level Required

Medium

Restrictions

• We at Explore reserve the right to make changes to the product including but not limited to: schedule changes and product alterations
• All bookings are subject to availability, weather, and minimum numbers. Explore will, however, make all efforts to accommodate all bookings
• Certified Divers must provide the following details:
• a) Date of last dive. N.B Certified divers can only dive on this tour if they have dived within 12 months
• b) Approximate amount of dives
• c) Level of certification
• d) All contact details as per all bookings
• The above mentioned necessary details are supplied to Explore within 48 hours of the reservation being made. Failure to do so may result in the booking being cancelled or remaining unconfirmed until the required details have been provided by the guest and approved by Explores Dive Manager.
• Flying after Diving
• All divers should be advised that after diving, they should wait a minimum of 12 hours before flying in pressurised aircraft. Where divers have had daily multiple dives for several consecutive days or have made dives that require decompression stops, the minimum time before flying after diving is to be extended to 24 hours.
• 1 (one) dive – the fly time following 1 (one) dive is 12 (twelve) hours
• 2 (two) dives – the fly time following 2 (two) dives is 24 (twenty-four) hours
• What age do I have to be to dive?
• Certified:
• 10 12 years: MUST dive with a parent/guardian depth restricted to 12m and a maximum of 4 pax to an instructor
• 12 14 years: MUST dive with an adult certified diver/parent/guardian
• 15 18 years: Parent/Guardian must sign paperwork and be on board
• There is no maximum age for divers however those aged 60+ are required to undertake a dive medical before diving

IN-WATER RESTRICTIONS

Scuba Diving Restrictions

• Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving.
• Participation is subject to a medical questionnaire completed on board with the tour operator
• Minimum age for scuba diving is 12 years.
• Flying after scuba diving: a wait of 12 hours is recommended after one dive, 18 hour after 2 dives and at least 24 hours after multiple dives, before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater.

Read more about Diving Safety on the Great Barrier Reef.

• Towel, hat sunscreen money for drinks souvenirs extra dives
• Divers need to bring dive certification

• Children must be 5 years and over for this tour.
• Children must be 12 - 14 years old to participate in diving and must dive with a certified parent or guardian. All certified divers must produce their certification card or log book at the time of booking.