You may visit three broadly defined regions of the Great Barrier Reef to dive. They are:

Ribbon Reefs. It is the Shallow reefs of this region that are easily accessed. It is one of the most popular and suitable diving locations. You will find a great number of liveaboard dive vessels offering 4 to 7 night trips to this region. A total of 10 reefs form a chain from Cairns to Cook Town. Dive spots are of shallow reef systems varying in depths from 9 to 30m. They are suitable for novice to experienced divers.

Northern Coral Sea. The Coral Sea boasts a collection of spectacular walls, splendid reefs and atolls covering over 100,000 sq km. A series of mountain tops that rise from the ocean bed more than 1 km below are actually the reefs. If you want to endure the lengthy sea crossing to the coral sea, you will encounter spectacular diving amongst incredibly spectacular reefs dominated by gigantic sponges and large coral formations. The Coral Sea marine life and coral formations are similar to the Great Barrier Reef, and the divers are usually impressed by the size of the reef animals.

Osprey reef here is one of the most stunning dive spots in the world. It offers a varied range of shark life all year round and untouched soft coral unlike anything you have ever seen before.

Southern Great Barrier Reef. Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island are located in this region. Here on the Heron Island you can swim straight off the beach to an endless garden of coral where the waters are accurately teeming with magnificently colored fish and marine life.

Lady Elliot Island located 80 kilometers north east of Bundaberg. And you can easily access it with daily flights that land at the island’s own airstrip. This beautiful coral cay that formed over 3000 years is home to 57 species of birds, nesting sea turtles and a stunning underwater world of coral formations and diverse marine life.