The Great Barrier Reef is on so many backpackers bucket lists and when you visit, you’ll see why – spoiler alert – it’s EPIC! There are loads of trips to choose from and many different ways of seeing all that the reef has to offer – we’re talking catamarans, sailing boats, speed boats and even a helicopter ride to see it from above.
It 100% has to be on your Aussie bucket list – if it’s not, what are you playing at! It’s an epic spot, it’s one of the seven wanders of the world and it’s incredibly easy to access and we’re gonna tell you how…
Spending a day at the GBR is a guaranteed day of full on mermaid fun – when you visit you will see exactly what we mean. The place is out of this world.
If you’re already a pro at diving or just love a good ol’ snorkel and want to check out the reef, we’re going to tell you exactly how to go about doing that, what the boats are like and how the whole thing works.
Grab your fins and snorkel and let’s gooooooo…
Click images to see more.
What are the boats like?
There are many different boat trips that you can hop on to see the reef.
But, if you wanna know what the boats are like, keep reading…
As an example, we’re going to be referring to the Passions of Paradise tour, because it’s the best rated 3 day 2 night live aboard option and we can provide the 10% RatPack discount to this.
The boat is a 25 metre high performance catamaran that sails you from Cairns to two difference outer reef locations. All the equipment you need is on board (snorkels, fins, masks etc). It has an upper deck and netted deck trampoline, ideal for chilling out before dives. There is also a hot lunch, fruit and morning and afternoon tea provided – epic stuff!
Let's talk about scuba diving!
It goes without saying, the underwater world of the GBR is beautiful. A once in a lifetime experience.
So, if you’re keen to do a dive – rather than just a snorkel – we can hook you up with that no problem.
So long as you book in advance (drop us a message on WhatsApp when you’re ready), we can get you a dive at a special backpacker rate of $45.
The team on board provide all the equipment and tuition – an intro dive will give you 20 – 30 mins to discover the reef & you’ll go to a maximum depth of 10 metres! You do not need any prior experience!
The deets
- You can do an intro dive without ANY experience
- If you are a complete beginner and the crew on board will give you all instructions you need including instruction, safety briefing and train you up about all the equipment.
- All equipment needed is included on the boat.
- An instructor will be with you on the dive.
- There is also an under water photographer to snap up some epic shots, leaving you hands free and not having to worry about snapping the shots.
Ready to check out the reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is like NO other and should be right up there on your bucketlist for your Aussie trip… Don’t leave it til you get to Cairns to book this epic experience, we recommend getting this one locked in around a week before you want to try a dive as there is limited availability at that epic discounted backpacker rate…
- We can book you a dive at a special backpacker rate of $45
- Fancy getting your PADI Open Water certificate? We can help you choose the right course for you and of course get you a sick discount!
- Not keen on diving? NO worries! There are also epic options for snorkelling which you can check out here
- What are your other options for checking out the Reef? Read our blog post here for some epic tips and tricks from the crew..
About the Author: Sammy
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Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
