Australia's Ultimate Dive Tour

ABOUT THE DIVE SITES The Coral Sea, home to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, boasts 5 of the World's Top 100 Dive Sites - as voted by readers of scuba travel magazine. The 4 that we will visit over 6 days of diving are:
Cod Hole a 10 - 22 meter dive site famous for its 'big fish' experience with friendly and almost tame giant potato cod, maori wrasse and red emperor.
The Pixie Pinnacle is a coral pinnacle rising up over 30 meters from the ocean bed to 1 meter below the ocean surface, only 7 meters in width this small dive site is home to an amazing array of coral formations and huge variety of fish.
Osprey Reef offers fantastic pelagic action with shark feeding on all dive trips, kneel on the ocean bed 20 meters below the surface and watch in awe as white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, silvertips and hammerheads feed above you. Osprey is also home to countless species of tuna, mackerel, octopus, nautilus, crabs and shrimps.
Yongala Wreck this is the World's number 1 dive site. The S.S. Yongala sank in a cyclone on the 23rd March 1911 and remained undiscovered for almost 50 years. The wreck now lies 14-28 metres underwater, and is home to a huge array of marine life including rays, sharks, turtles, groupers, clown fish, sea snakes and much more.
If a diving holiday is what you want, it does not get any better than the Coral Sea.

THE DIVE TRIPS To see all of the very best Australian Dive sites you will complete 2 dive trips in one 9-day dive tour. Your diving holiday begins in Cairns with a 5 day / 4 night live aboard dive expedition to the Cod Hole and Coral Sea. You will have the opportunity to complete up to 16 dives through out the trip - visiting the Cod Hole, Osprey Reef, Pixie Pinnacle and the Ribbon reefs. Also included in this trip is a low level scenic from Lizard Island to Cairns - this will reduce the time spent sailing by boat and maximise your dive time. Your second dive trip will depart from Alva Beach - 330 kilometres south of Cairns. The Yongala wreck is only a 30-minute cruise from the shores of Alva Beach aboard the 'Yongala Express.' Here you will share the Yongala experience with a maximum of 11 other people, completing 2 fully guided dives of the wreck.

9 Days, 18 dives, 4 Of The Worlds Top 100 Dive Sites

TOTAL COST: $POA.
The package is based on 4.5 star accommodation in Cairns, twin share private club accommodation aboard the 5 day / 4 night Coral Sea dive trip with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions and twin share accommodation Alva beach.
This is a suggested itinerary and can be altered to suit customer requirements; accommodation aboard the boat and in Cairns can be both upgraded and down graded as required.

DAY 1 CAIRNS ARRIVAL Your tour begins with a hotel transfer from the Cairns International Airport to your 4.5 star hotel complete with ocean views and located on the Cairns Esplanade only 2 blocks from the city centre. Your hotel boasts a resort style walk-in pool with spa and waterfall, first class restaurant with Esplanade views and day spa with 3 treatment rooms.

DAY 2 CORAL SEA DIVE EXPEDITION Depart on 5 day / 4 night live aboard Coral Sea dive expedition.

DAY 3 CORAL SEA DIVE EXPEDITION Dive Pixie Pinnacle and Cod Hole.

DAY 4 CORAL SEA DIVE EXPEDITION Dive Osprey Reef and North Horn.

DAY 5 CORAL SEA DIVE EXPEDITION Dive Rapid Horn and False Entrance.

DAY 6 CORAL SEA DIVE EXPEDITION - CAIRNS Arrive Lizard Island. Return to Cairns via a low level scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef. Arrive back in Cairns mid afternoon with transfer back to your Cairns hotel for a well-earned rest.

DAY 7 CAIRNS - ALVA BEACH Today there is an opportunity for a sleep in before you are transfered to the Cairns Airport around noon. Here we will board your private aircraft and fly direct to Ayr. The flight will take approximately one hour, and there is an optional ungrade to a low level scenic over the Great Barrier Reef and Rainforest. Upon arrival at Ayr, you will be meet by the friendly crew of Yongala Express and transferred to the 'Divers Lodge' at Alva beach.

DAY 8 YONGALA WRECK Depart on Yongala Express for two fully guided dives of the World' number one dive site the Yongala Wreck. Arrive back to Alva beach for a beach BBQ dinner and another night's accommodation at the 'Diver's Lodge.'

DAY 9 ALVA BEACH - CAIRNS Today we will meet you at the Ayr Airport at approximately 3pm for the return flight to Cairns. Your arrival in Cairns completes your Ultimate Australian Dive Tour and we can transfer you direct to the Airport's International Terminal, or alternatively we can transfer you any Cairns hotel.

Daintree Air Services can arrange accommodation before and after the tour if required. We can also assist with arranging any additional tours of the Cairns area. This tour can also be completed in reverse.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Diving and Flying
Australia has strict rules concerning the combination of diving and flying to ensure passenger safety. The Great Barrier Reef Islands Tour described above ensures a minimum of 24 hours between all diving and flying activites.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION: To complete these dive trips you must hold an Open Water Dive Certificate with at least 6 dives recorded in your logbook. Snorkeller's are welcome aboard the Coral Sea expedition.

DEPARTS: Tour commences every Wednesday with a minimum of 2 passengers all year round. Tour may be commenced on Monday's and Thursday's with minor trip alterations.

INCLUDED: 5 days / 4 nights live aboard dive trip to the Coral Sea, Yongala Express 1 day dive trip, all meals whilst on the boats, all dive equipment, towels and linen, reef environmental management charges, fuel levy's, return flights Cairns - Ayr, 2 nights accommodation in 4.5 star Cairns hotel, 2 nights accommodation Alva beach and all ground transfers.

BRING ALONG: Dive certification card, log book, hat, sunglasses, sun cream, warm jumper/ pull over, no more then 50kg of luggage.

NOT INCLUDED: Items of a personal nature such as meals at the hotels, wine and or alcoholic beverages and camera hire.