Ocean Freedom | Great Barrier Reef Day Trip
Cruise to Upolu Cay Reef and the outer edge of Upolu Reef.
Ocean Freedom's 20m luxury cruising catamaran travels at 23 knots, reducing travelling time to the Great Barrier Reef to just one hour, taking a maximum of 75 guests.
Included in your day:
- Coffee & tea, fruit and Danish pastries on boarding
- 6 hours at 2 reef destinations including Upolu Cay Reef & Outer Edge Upolu Reef
- Snorkelling tuition and snorkelling equipment: masks, fins, snorkel, buoyancy snorkel vests, lycra suits /or wet suits
- Adventure Drift Snorkelling tour with Marine Naturalist
- Glass Bottom Boat Tour with informative reef talk
- Large smorgasbord lunch: smoked salmon and prawns / mixed meat platter / chicken platter / 3 salads and assorted breads
- Tropical fruit platter, cheese & crackers served on the cruise home
- $20 EMC levy included in price
Two Destinations
Wonder Wall on Outer edge of Upolu Reef and Upolu Cay Reef. Both of these are located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and provide visitors with remarkable encounters with colourful corals and a diverse array of marine life.
Upolu Cay is a naturally formed coral cay situated 30 kilometres from Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef. Its protected shallow waters make it the perfect location from which to explore the reef, for both snorkellers and scuba divers. As it is a natural pontoon - the cay size and visibility is subject to conditions on the day but the clear shallow blue waters surrounding the cay (whether visible or not) are always there.
On times where conditions and tides are right, we can land guests on the cay. Even if this is not the case on your day of travel, you can swim, snorkel and enjoy these beautiful shallow turquoise waters, every day. Or, if you prefer, spend some quality time sunbathing on the spacious comfortable deck areas, or relax in the air-conditioned comfort of the saloon.
Please note the order of the 2 destinations we visit, will be determined on the day by the skipper. At all times we will work hard to maximise your experience, depending on the conditions.
Delicious Lunch & Snacks Included
Enjoy Danish pastries and fresh fruit on boarding. Lunch is a sumptuous, self serve buffet consisting of Queensland prawns, Tasmanian smoked salmon, roast chicken, mixed meat platter, 3 fresh salad selections and assorted breads. This is served around 11.30am and can be eaten in the air conditioned interior, or on our exterior decks, while we move to the second location for the day.
A tropical fruit platter, cheese and crackers and cake is served on cruise home. Tea and coffee is included and available throughout the day.
Times
Check in at Reef Fleet Terminal from 7.15am at the Ocean Free + Ocean freedom desk.
Board from 7.30am A Finger No. 5 at the Marlin Marina, Cairns for an 8.00am departure.
Ocean Freedom provides guests with 6 hours to dive and snorkel at two amazing locations, with plenty of time to also relax and have lunch. It takes us just over an hour to get to the reef and only 10 minutes travel time between the 2 destinations. You return to Cairns around 4.15pm.
Adventure Drift Snorkel Tour
For the more adventurous, a drift snorkel tour is included in your day. Get in a dinghy to the edge of the wall and learn about the reef as you drift snorkel back to the boat under the guidance of your very capable crew.
Whale Watching
Humpback Whales migrate to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef from July to September and are often seen frolicking in the waves from Ocean Freedom. An unforgettable experience.
Introductory Diving
Scuba Diving Lesson / Tuition
Top quality scuba diving equipment (including Wet / Stinger Suit)
30 minute hand-held, fully guided scuba dive. Maximum 2 divers to one instructor for your first dive
Introductory Diving is for guests who have never dived and wish to try it, no previous experience necessary.
Certified Diving
Detailed Dive Brief on location and procedures
Certified Dive Guide (Dive Master or Instructor)
State of the art diving equipment (Aqualung / Scubapro)
Reviews
It was great for my family. My children (7 and 10) had a great time. The staff were all friendly and taught them how to snorkel. They can swim but are a bit scared. Eventually they were snorkelling and swimming freely. Also the meals were all delicious! Thank you so much!(Arigatou!)
An incredible day-book it!
The staff were all friendly efficient and made a great trip for all.
We had a fabulous time. All the crew were very friendly yet very professional. They got across the serious information in a very user friendly way. We all felt well cared for and the whole experience was unhurried but they had a schedule to stick to. We never felt any crew member was clock watching or bored on the day. Our two girls had an amazing experience on the reef. The food was fabulous and plentiful. Lots of photo opportunities. It was a nice touch at the end of the trip to shake hands with all the crew was we left the wharf. Many happy memories have been created by a great bunch of people, who clearly love their jobs. Thank you and we have already been recommending you to anyone we know travelling. We hope to see you again in the future!
fantastic experience ! really nice staff, really enjoyable
Overall Rating: Excellent
Value for Money: Excellent
Service: Excellent
Quality of Facilities: Excellent
This was our first trip out and remains the highlight of our week in Tropical North Queensland.
At our initial on-board familiarisation we were told that the crew would make our day a 'Day to Remember'. Whatever the crew are 'on', I would have loved some to take home with me. Their enthusiasm for ensuring we had a good time was boundless. They had us 'oldies' doing things we thought that we were incapable of doing years ago, and, all the while, quietly ensuring that we were supervised and never out of our depth. The Great Barrier Reef, by the time we got there after many 'whale-watching' stops, was a great adventure made even more enjoyable by our crew-member, detailed as our snorkelling buddy, who took us to see coral, clown fish and various marine life that we would usually only see on 'docos'. Such was her skill at diving and pointing us to items of interest that she even attracted the attention of a curious sea-snake who came our way for a quick 'look-see' before moving on, much to the relief of those of us who were unaware that they present little or no threat to humans.
The food on-board was great but eating and drinking took a back seat to the location, atmosphere and the inter-action between the crew and a great group of tourists, many of them young Americans over here for a wedding. Ocean Freedom ticks all the boxes but the crew get an additional Gold Star from us, they are the best!
Check in at Reef Fleet Terminal from 7.15am at Ocean Free + Ocean freedom desk. Board from 7.30am A Finger No. 5 at the Marlin Marina, Cairns for an 8.00am departure – coffee, tea and fruit and
Danish pastries on boarding.
