Half Day Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Tour
Overview
Available languages
5 hours
Mobile ticket
Pure Snorkelling offers a half day tip to the Great Barrier Reef. It is the fastest boat in Cairns allowing you to spend more time snorkelling and less time travelling. Newly launched in Cairns by two established operators, Pure Snorkelling offers experienced local knowledge coupled with a fast modern vessell taking you to one of the best Great Barrier Reef locations chosen from a selection of over 15!
Pure Snorkelling is also the only boat to offer a Marine Life Presentation before you get in the water! Join our Marine Biologists at 1030am before your trip to learn about our unique eco system!
Additional Info
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Not Recommended for children under the age of 6 years of age
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Brace yourself for the thrill of a lifetime as this speed machine rockets you to the best reefs in record time, so you can dive into the action faster than ever before. Pure Snorkelling's half-day snorkel adventure maximizes your experience with more snorkelling and less travel time. Join our expert snorkel artisans, made up of Marine Biologists and Marine Interpreters, on a crowd-free adventure. With 15 exclusive outer reef moorings to choose from to suit the conditions of the day, get ready to discover the reef like never before.
What‘s Included
Perscription Masks
Free Marine Bio Presentation before Departure!
Snacks
All Fees and Taxes
Wet Suits or Sun Suits (seasonal)
Mask & Fins
Hotel return transfers
Options
Half Day Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Tour
Reviews
204 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
What a great experience!
dorinairinelnita,,Dec 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a great experience! Everyone involved in this trip was outstanding, the boat was excellent, we could spend all the time taken on our way to the reef, on the top, under the sun. The crew was so experienced and shared lots of details and useful information. The snorkeling gear was great and we enjoyed the time.in the water at maximum. Really recommend this tour for the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling, they are great!
Pure Snorkelling
Andy C,,Dec 14, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Highly motivated, knowledgeable and enthusiastic crew, extremely well organised, just made the snorkelling experience so much more.
Memorable trip to the Reef
32gayea,,Dec 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00First class trip to the Great Barrier Reef. The crew were excellent at organising and explaining everything to make sure we enjoyed ourselves st the same time enduring we were safe. A big shout out to Seb for helping and guiding us safely around the reef.
Excellent trip snorkelling at barrier reef
WendyMcL13,,Dec 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a bucket list trip for us & it didn’t disappoint. We took our son & his girlfriend with us and we all had a fabulous time. Every member of staff was excellent, I probably don’t remember every name but special shout outs to Cam & Sev who were in the water with us as well as in the boat. The trip is well organised. Before leaving there is a complimentary briefing on what you might see which was worth attending. We missed the first 10 mins due to collecting one of us from the airport. The staff check out flipper size & goggles & if you normally wear glasses they hv masks with prescription lenses so you can still see clearly. There are a couple toilets on board where you can also change. There is a small hand held shower head at back of boat if you want a rinse off after snorkelling. They have free sunscreen on board if you forget yours. Soft drinks available to purchase on each leg of journey then a snack (scones) served on way back where you could purchase lager or pale ale only after finishing in the water. The stinger suits are obligatory at this time of year but you will want to get them off as soon as you get back on the boat or you will get cold quicker. You may need some help peeling off the suits from your shoulders. Approximately 1 1/2 hour trip out to the reef and similar back again. We could’ve stayed in the water longer but we managed about 50 minutes. Our son & his girlfriend stayed to the last & managed to see a ray. Cam found loads of cool stuff to show us & we took loads of photos on the underwater camera we hired from them. Cam was also able to dive deeper to take close ups and short video for us with the camera. If people can free dive they can do this for themselves. You can sit inside or out on the top deck as the boat travels each way. We got told in plenty of time when to get changed when approaching the reef. We saw so many different types of coral, anemones, clown fish, a sea cucumber. Once back on board we saw a turtle in the water a few metres away. We took enormous numbers of photos & a few videos which they downloaded to our iPhones for us. Beautiful to see. I hadn’t snorkelled for 40 years but it doesn’t take long to get used to again. They do hv anti sea sick tablets available. I didn’t get sea sick but the salt water caused nausea on return to the boat. Fortunately they have sick bags which can then be thrown in the onboard bin. There is parking a short walk away where you can pay to park for however long your trip is. Toilets available in the building near the experience check in.
Wonderful day at the reef
Mark C,,Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Super clean boat. Lovely crew KiKi, Seb, Cam and Captain Jared who had great passion for the reef and its inhabitants. Enjoyed the presentation beforehand. Thoroughly recommend and planning to return. ❤️
Most Memorable Day
RozfromOz,,Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had the most memorable day with Pure Snorkelling. The equipment is all in perfect condition. The Crew are all amazing and are so passionate about the reef and what they do. They made sure the day was perfect in every way and were always there to help.
10/10 experience
Dumbonious,,Nov 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Awesome experience! Thank you Capt Jared, Bailey, Sofie, Cam, and Justin for a fantastic trip to the reef. We booked last minute and I am so glad that we found this company. The boat was brand new and the crew made the experience awesome. Highly recommend this company. A half day is a great amount of time since you get 2 dedicated hours of snorkeling. Other companies that we’ve gone with before take time for lunch, changing locations etc but this is just pure reef time. Don’t hesitate. Book with this company!
Awesome trip to the reef
Anthony B,,Nov 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The trip to the reef was extremely well planned and the crew were energetic, knowledgeable and fun. It was a wonderful day out and I absolutely recommend Pure Snorkelling as an awesome option to see the reef.
First Snorkelling experience
Ed B,,Nov 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was my first proper snorkelling experience and it will be hard to top it. The crew were Incredibly friendly. The experience was super informative and a great day out at exclusive reef spots.
Wonderful experience
Joel G,,Nov 24, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00We absolutely loved it. Everything was well planned and boat and equipment in great shape. One thing I would suggest other people do is rent the underwater camera or take one capable. We bought a plastic bag there that worked but was hard to use. Also I would have paid for a underwater picture of us taken by them something they didn't offer.
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