• 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
• Departing Hamilton Island at 8.45am we are in the water at approx. 11.00am to 3.00pm
• Our Hamilton Island 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.

The high speed Hamilton Island dive & snorkel tour boat first departs Hamilton Island at 8.00am and heads out to the Great Barrier Reef.

This tour also offers a full day out snorkel only departing from Airlie Beach Shute Harbour at 7.15am and returning 5.20pm.

Our full day reef tour visits two dive and snorkel locations within Bait Reef for a minimum of 3.5 hours and is the perfect option for certified scuba divers.

Please note for all bookings including diving, introductory OR certified, you are required to attend a pool training session prior to your travel date. Pool training sessions are held on Hamilton Island on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 3.00pm for introductory dives & 2.00pm for certified divers, please ensure your schedule allows enough time to attend training session.

The pool skills training is done on Hamilton Island.

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.

Introductory Scuba Diving - Need to know:

Please note for all bookings including diving, introductory OR certified, you are required to attend a pool training session prior to your travel date. Pool training sessions are held on Hamilton Island on Mondays, Wednedays & Fridays, 3.00pm for introductory dives & 2.00pm for certified divers, please ensure your schedule allows enough time to attend training session.

The pool skills training is done on Hamilton Island.

Click Here to view the Medical check list for Introductory Scuba divers.

See more Great Barrier Reef dive tours. 

Certified Diving - Need to know:

Please note for all bookings including diving, introductory OR certified, you are required to attend a pool training session prior to your travel date. Pool training sessions are held on Hamilton Island on Mondays, Wednedays & Fridays, 3.00pm for introductory dives & 2.00pm for certified divers, please ensure your schedule allows enough time to attend training session.

The pool skills training is done on Hamilton Island.

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 may be required to complete a refresher programme if you last was more than 12 months ago. Please discuss this at time of booking

See more Great Barrier Reef tours from Hamilton Island.

Diving FAQs

1. How many dives do I get?
Certified Diver: 2 Dives
Introductory Diver: 1 Dive (if there is availability they can upgrade to a second dive on the boat on the day at the discretion of the Deck Supervisor)

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
Introductory: Max 4 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.
Introductory: Max. 12m
Open Water: Max. 18m
Advanced: Max. 30m

5. Why do I need to do a Refresher/ ReActivate
A refresher is required if you have not dived in 12 months to ensure you are safe to dive and confident in the water. A
ReActivate is required if you have not been diving in 5+ years and refreshes your skills in the pool, as well as reminds you of the Dive theory you learnt during your course. Again this en sur es you are safe and confident in the water

6. What age do I have to be to dive?
Introductory: 14 years +
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

7. 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

8. Is an Introductory Dive a Certification?
No

9. 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

10. 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

11.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.

12. Do you do NITROX diving?
No

13. Do I need to be able to swim in order to do an Introductory Dive?
Yes

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

15. 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

• Hamilton Island
• 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 If last dive was over 12 months the diver will require a pool refresher the day prior to their tour
• b) Approximate amount of dives
• c) Level of certification
• d) All contact details as per all bookings
• Introductory Divers must provide the following details:
• a) All contact details as per all bookings
• b) We need to email a booking confirmation which contains a link to a dive registration form. This form must be completed by the guest within 48 hours of booking
• c) If any further information is required,we will contact the guest directly
• d) The dive booking is not completed until the registration form is complete
• The abovementioned 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.
• Discover Scuba Diver – Introductory Scuba Dive
• DSD (Discover Scuba Diver) must complete a pool session the day prior to their Great Barrier Reef cruise. Session times are generally 7am
• The pool skills training is held on Hamilton Island at our dive facility. A reminder that DSD’s include one dive and one snorkel session. Guests may have an opportunity to purchase a second dive, however this is not guaranteed.
• 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
• Please note for all bookings including diving, introductory OR certified, you are required to attend a pool training session prior to your travel date. Pool training sessions are held on Hamilton Island on Mondays, Wednedays & Fridays, 3.00pm for introductory dives & 2.00pm for certified divers, please ensure your schedule allows enough time to attend training session.
• What age do I have to be to dive?
• Introductory: 14 years +
• 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.

• a) Bookings cancelled within 48 and 24 hours of the tour date will incur a 50% cancellation charge
• b) Bookings cancelled within 24 hours of the tour date or non-attendance on the tour will incur a 100% cancellation charge
• Please advise dietary requirements at time of booking.
• Please note: guests must be able to swim to participate in snorkeling. There will be a guide in the water for assistance, and floatation devices available for those that require them.
• Please note for all bookings including diving, introductory OR certified, you are required to attend a pool training session prior to your travel date. Pool training sessions are held on Hamilton Island on Mondays, Wednedays & Fridays, 3.00pm for introductory dives & 2.00pm for certified divers, please ensure your schedule allows enough time to attend training session.
• You must complete a diving medical questionnaire before being able to dive with us. All certified divers must produce their certification card or log book at the time of booking.