Experience the Great Barrier Reef on a day trip from Cairns with Divers Den, whether you’re a snorkeller, first-time diver, or certified diver. Just 90 minutes from Cairns, you’ll spend five hours at the reef, visiting two incredible dive sites selected from their exclusive moorings at Norman, Saxon, and Hastings reefs. These sites offer ideal conditions and an abundance of marine life, from colourful corals to turtles, stingrays, clownfish, and giant Maori Wrasse.

Their vessel, AquaQuest, is purpose-built for diving and snorkelling, with a spacious dive deck, a sunken platform for easy water access, and state-of-the-art equipment.

Relax on their large sun decks, enjoy air-conditioned indoor spaces, and fresh hot water showers. After a morning of reef exploration, recharge with a delicious buffet lunch featuring hot and cold dishes, salads, rolls, and tropical fruit.

Their liveaboard vessel OceanQuest is the ultimate Great Barrier Reef overnight experience from Cairns. Spend your days and nights exploring the best outer Great Barrier Reef dive sites aboard our floating accommodation, with snorkel, intro dive and certified dive options available.

Visit their colourful dive and snorkel sites during the day, and at night everything from the air conditioned cabins with en-suites, lounge and bar, are designed for your comfort.

Their three-deck, 35metre catamaran is purpose built with a spacious dive deck, large open sundecks and hot, fresh water showers. All delicious meals are prepared by their onboard chef, including hearty breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Enjoy a well-deserved dessert treat after your day in the water!

With more than 14 permanent moorings at Saxon and Norman reefs, and selected sites at Hastings Reef, snorkellers and divers of all levels can explore the reef and its diverse marine life from early morning to night.

At night, relax in the lounge and bar. Or if you’re keen for more undersea adventures, try a unique night dive experience like Sharks in the Dark or Fluoro Diving to make your time on board their floating reef hotel truly unforgettable.

Offering five extra dives, including a free guided night dive, this five-day PADI Open Water Diver course including a two-night liveaboard stay is our most popular learn to dive option. After two days of expert tuition at our purpose-built Cairns dive training facility, you’ll hone your skills on the reef to become a certified PADI Open Water Diver.

Make the most of your time on the water diving the Great Barrier Reef, exploring from early morning to night! Night diving is a regular activity in scuba diving, and to become familiar with the water at this time of day is a huge benefit. This free guided dive will expand your knowledge as a diver and give you a window into the weird and wonderful world that is night on the Great Barrier Reef.

You’ll also have the opportunity to gain even more skills by adding on the PADI Adventure Diver course or PADI Nitrox Course, supervised by our expert instructors.

There’s nowhere better than the Great Barrier Reef to learn to dive! If you want to complete your PADI Open Water Diver training in just four days, but also include an overnight experience, this dive course is designed for you.

Spend your first two days at our purpose-built, five-star dive training centre in Cairns, then develop your dive skills on a once in a lifetime overnight experience adventure on board our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest. Our world class instructors will make sure you’re thoroughly trained in theory and in the pool before you set out for the reef.

During your overnight trip, we choose amazing sites at Saxon, Norman and Hastings reefs, so you’ll experience all the colourful treasures at these Cairns Great Barrier Reef dive locations as you gain valuable dive experience.

Spending the night at the Great Barrier Reef and waking to sunrise on the water, knowing you’re about to become a PADI certified diver is a thrill like no other! After you’ve completed all your training dives you’ll also have the chance to take your first ‘fun dive’ before returning to Cairns.

Want to learn to dive in Cairns, the home of the Great Barrier Reef? With world class instructors and a five-star dive school, this is a convenient and affordable PADI Open Water Diver course.

You’ll get all the top class tuition offered over two days of pool and classroom training at our Cairns learn to dive facility, as well as two memorable day trips to the Great Barrier Reef. These day trips are the perfect place to enhance your skills at two stunning reef sites with colourful and abundant marine wildlife.

At the end of two day trips you’ll have completed four open water dives, and be a certified PADI Open Water Diver! That’s when the real fun begins…

Dwarf Minke whale diving trips from Cairns are a highlight of the scuba diving calendar, and one that can only be experienced at the Great Barrier Reef. Amazing encounters with these inquisitive whales happen at the peak of their migration every June and July.

We operate four-day, four-night Minke whale expeditions every year during June and July. Spaces are limited and trips sell out quickly!

Expeditions are open to both snorkellers and divers, with whale interactions strictly controlled. Dwarf Minke whales grow up to 8 metres (26 feet) long, and a closeup encounter with these majestic 6-tonne creatures is an experience you will never forget.

Minkes often approach snorkelers, divers and boats, so there is every chance to see them close up. Their success rate for close sightings during a Minke whale dive over the peak season is over 90 percent and your interaction with the whales could last two hours or more!

Minke whale expeditions take place on our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest. With air-conditioned cabins, each with en suite bathroom, a comfortable lounge and bar and an onboard chef delivering delicious hearty meals, you’ll have everything you need to rest and relax after your minke whale encounter.

Once you have completed your PADI Open Water Course, the next step is to enhance your scuba skills with the PADI Advanced Open Water Program. They offer regular Advanced Open Water diver courses from Cairns on their overnight vessel OceanQuest.
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There are no formal classroom sessions with this PADI course, and no exam! The only academic work required is to read the relevant chapters in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Manual and complete the knowledge reviews at the end of each chapter.

Then the fun begins! You will need a minimum of two days to complete your PADI Advanced Open Water Course on the Great Barrier Reef. Join them on board their overnight vessel OceanQuest for one or two nights or hop on two day trips on SeaQuest and return a certified Advanced diver!

Your 5 training adventure dives include two core dives in Deep and Underwater Navigation. The remaining three adventure dives will be a selection of Night Dive, Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, Fish ID, Underwater Naturalist and Boat Diver.

Spend two days tackling the theory and pool training at our five-star PADI Dive Centre, then head to the outer reef for a four-day three-night stay on our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest.

During your course you’ll pack in as many as 15 dives (including two at night). Explore the Great Barrier Reef and see everything from colourful corals, anemones, Nemos, sharks, rays, turtles and nudibranchs at our outer reef dive sites, while you gain skills and experience as a scuba diver.

By the end of your six-day dive course you’ll have not only your PADI Open Water Diver certification but also your PADI Advanced Open Water certification. This means you’ll be qualified to explore depths of up to 30m!

In between dives, relax in comfort on board OceanQuest. Soak up the sun and the views on deck, fuel up for your next dive with tasty meals prepared by our onboard chef and sleep soundly in your air-conditioned cabin with full en-suite.

You’ll complete the academic part of the PADI Open Water Diver course through online learning in your own time, and in your own language (available languages listed below).

Sign up on the PADI website and make your way through the course material. This includes interactive presentations, video, audio, graphics and reading, along with short quizzes to gauge your progress. The eLearning portion takes around 12-15 hours to complete.

Once you’ve finished your online PADI course, you can book your practical training at the Great Barrier Reef with then. This will include one day in the covered, heated pool at their five star PADI dive centre, and either two day trips or an overnight trip on the Great Barrier Reef.

Please note that due to all the in-water skills lessons being completed in one day, participants need to expect a full day in the water (8 hours minimum). This may not be suitable for slower-paced learners, or people who need frequent breaks from physical activity. If a slower pace is needed, they recommend the 4 Day Open Water Course.

Add to your dive qualifications with a PADI Rescue Diver certification through our five-star PADI Dive Centre in Cairns, gateway to the world famous Great Barrier Reef.

As a PADI Rescue Diver you’ll learn to prevent and manage incidents, sharpen your observation skills and help others avoid problems, becoming a safer, more confident diver.

The PADI Rescue Diver course is divided into three sections: Knowledge development, Skill development and Practical application. All three sections will be completed under the professional supervision and guidance of your Divers Den PADI Instructor.

Once you’ve developed your Rescue Diver knowledge at our training centre, it’s time to set off on a two-day one-night experience on our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest. Here you’ll be expertly guided through the practical scenarios out in the open water of the Great Barrier Reef.

If you don’t have a valid First Aid/CPR certificate, you can begin the PADI-endorsed Emergency First Response (EFR) course on your first day with us. Please contact us for details.