Nine ways to experience the Great Barrier Reef

You don’t need to be an expert diver, gung-ho snorkeller or even a confident swimmer to explore the extraordinary treasures of Queensland’s colourful coral realm.

Of course, you can plunge down into the Great Barrier Reef, but you can also fly or sail above it. You can gaze up at its rich ecosystems from underwater observatories or submerge yourself in it on board a submersible. You can even sleep within it on a private island retreat or reef pontoon.

To get the most out of your visit to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, have a chat with Audley Travel. Their expert travel consultants know all about the region. As well as taking care of your flights, car hire, transfers and accommodation, they can also recommend and arrange some incredible and unusual reef experiences to make your trip a truly memorable one. Here are just a few ways that you can experience the many and varied wonders of the Great Barrier Reef.

Get a bird’s eye view

The extraordinary reef system is famously visible from space – it’s 1,400 miles long, the distance from London to Sicily – but you don’t need to go quite that far to admire its ethereal beauty from above. Hop aboard a helicopter to swoop out across the piercing blue Coral Sea from Tropical North Queensland’s gorgeous coastline.

As you hover above the undulating green and blue water, you’ll see the sweeping patterns of the coral beds, little cays and lush tropical islands – and realise just how enormous the protected marine park is. Scenic seaplane flights are a lovely excursion too, whisking you above spectacles such as the Heart Reef – a natural heart-shaped coral formation in the Whitsundays – and landing on the water for a quick snorkel. And you can take a high-speed catamaran out to Heart Pontoon where there are dining options, activities such as semi-submersibles and underwater observatories, and decks just for relaxing.

Spot the Great Eight

Dive or snorkel beneath the waves to discover the beautiful reef system and its diverse inhabitants. You can head off on boat trips to the outer reefs from some of the main resorts or swim out to snorkel above fringing reefs straight from the islands and cays. On the reef, you'll see all the unforgettable Great Barrier Reef faces, including the Great Eight: clownfish, sharks, manta rays, Maori wrasse, potato cods, giant clams, turtles and whales. You can also swim with minke whales in Tropical North Queensland and with manta rays in the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Charter a yacht or stay aboard a dive boat

Do you never want the adventure to end? Charter a private yacht (with crew) to tour the reef at your own pace. Sleeping on board, you’ll have limitless opportunities to gaze at its beauty and dive into it whenever you fancy. “Liveaboard” dive expeditions are also a fantastic way to get up close (and often) to the underwater kingdom.

Divers Den has overnight trips for divers and snorkellers. Departing from Cairns on OceanQuest, guests can dive up to five times a day around superb sites on the Outer Great Barrier Reef.

Take a tour with a Master Reef guide

If you’re wanting to learn from the best in the business who know all things reef speak, make sure you book a tour with a Master Reef guide. Master Reef Guides are recognised as the world’s leading reef guides, interpreters, and storytellers. Their role is to share the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef through engaging, entertaining, and educational experiences.  They operate from high standard tourism operators such as UK expat James Unsworth, who is a skipper and Eco Manager with award-winning ecotourism operator, Ocean Rafting, in Queensland’s Whitsundays. James spends his days educating and entertaining visitors in a destination renowned as the Great Barrier Reef’s playground and Australia’s number one sailing mecca, boasting no less than 74 palm-fringed islands.   

Ogle from an underwater observatory

If you’d rather keep your distance from the marine life, or aren’t water confident, there are plenty of ways you can admire the habitat without getting wet. The Living Reef on Daydream Island in the Whitsundays is one.

The man-made reef system, which wraps around the resort’s main building, is home to more than 100 species of local marine creatures. You can watch the colourful fish, small sharks, rays, and starfish do their thing from an underwater observatory. Or you can go in, if you wish, to wade among baby rays or to join guided snorkel tours.

Sail away the days

For boat lovers who like to feel the wind in their hair and taste the ocean spray, a sailing adventure might be one of the most unique ways to experience the reef. The Whitsunday Islands are considered one of the safest sailing grounds in the world, making them the ideal backdrop for both rookie sailors and those wanting to expand their experience before heading to more open waters. A great option for booking a boat is with Sunsail Whitsunday School of Sailing, or choose to up the ante with a voyage on a luxury Lagoon 500 catamaran to the Low Isles with Sailaway Port Douglas, and expect an unforgettable afternoon of snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef as well as superb sunset skies.

Go on a glass-bottom boat

Another good option for non-swimmers and children wanting to spot the colourful creatures and coral below is a guided glass-bottom boat tour. Cairns, Mission Beach and Port Douglas all have dedicated glass-bottom boat tours, as do many of the island resorts.

Some even do night-time tours where ultraviolet lights let you see the coral polyps as they come alive. Many dive boats also carry glass-bottomed dinghies as an option for passengers who don’t want to take the plunge.

Cast away to an island retreat

Witness some of nature's most breathtaking spectacles by snorkelling over exquisite coral reefs on one of the marine park's smaller uninhabited islands.

Stay on little coral cays Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island in the southernmost part of the reef and you could see migrating humpback whales, rare seabirds and endangered sea turtles lumbering ashore to lay their eggs by moonlight. Mountainous Fitzroy Island, meanwhile, is the place to go for rainforest hikes as well as to snorkel above fringing reef formations straight from white-sand beaches.

Sleep on the reef

If you’re looking for something totally different, how about camping 40 nautical miles out to sea? The Reefsleep Experience takes groups of up to 30 people to spend the day and night on a permanently moored platform on the edge of Hardy Reef. Once the day-trippers have departed, so-called Reefsleepers have the place to themselves.

Cruise Whitsundays operates Reefsuites at Reefworld, Australia's first underwater accommodation. Every night, guests can watch a sunset over the Coral Sea from this unique accommodation (which has 12 double ReefSleep pods on deck). 

Further south, Lady Musgrave HQ is a three-level pontoon featuring an underwater observatory and accommodation of queen-sized glamping tents on the upper deck and 20 bunks down below for people to wake up and catch an amazing view of the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Guests will also be able to take part in diving and snorkelling experiences along with reef data collection programmes.