Great Barrier Reef

I was in Cairns for 2 weeks the beginning of March. Since my husband is not a diver, I planned to use the day trip operators for about 4 to 5
nonconsecutive days of diving.The trip to get out to the GBR is about 60-90 mins long. Since the boats are large, I was concerned that it would be uncomfortable, crowded and not as good a dive experience as you would find on a smaller craft. WRONG! While there were about 60 people on board, most were snorklers and kept separate ( except for registration, breakfast and lunch) from the divers, which numbered around 4-8 on any given day. The operator 'Tusa' was wonderful. The boats were very spacious and you were always able to move freely around, whether you wanted sun or shade. Tubs of sunscreen were all around. The food was terrific and plentiful. And the staff was friendly, professional and helpful. Since I was diving with them a few days, they always asked me which reef we had been to, so the captain did not go there again. One one dive, I was in a group of 3 other divers- a father and his 2 young adult daughters, one of whom was very novice and had some difficulties in her descent, etc, etc. For the second and third dive, the divemaster informed me that he would take care of this group and sent me with another divemaster- one on one- to another part of the reef on a dinghy. We were able to take our time looking at all sorts of macro stuff. She knew where a pygmy seahorse had been spotted and we got to that spot and finally after about 10-15 minutes, found it! So I cannot say enough good stuff about Tusa if you want to dive the GBR and have to do a day trip. I may have been lucky with it being the slow season but it was a wonderfull time. And of course, they don't call it the Great Barrier reef for nothing. The reef life was great, reefs colorful, lots of white tip reef sharks, occasional black tip. But the Cairns area itself has so much available to do: Daintree Rainforest excursions, The Sky Rail and Sky Train, Kuranda, numerous zoos, Crystal Cascades, Paranella Park to mention a few. And Port Douglas, a short, scenic ride up the coast is a nice town to visit and has a great outdoor market on Sundays- not to be missed! I stayed in Trinity Beach in a self contained apartment. TB is a quiet family oriented town 15 minutes from town and a good spot to get anywhere. I don't recommend staying at the northern beaches if you want nightlife, clubs, etc. Stay in Cairns town if you do.