Dive centres · 2026 guide
A liveaboard gets you to reefs day boats cannot reach and lets you dive four or five times a day, including at night. Most Australian liveaboards run from Cairns to the outer Great Barrier Reef, the Ribbon Reefs and the Coral Sea's Osprey Reef.
Coral Sea trips usually need Advanced certification and recent logged dives — check each operator's requirements.
1
Cairns, Queensland
A PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre operating since 1983, pairing a Cairns training centre with two deep heated pools with three-day outer reef liveaboard trips.
Listed by PADI as a 5 Star Career Development Centre; operating since 1983 and part of the Quicksilver Group.
The training centre has six air-conditioned classrooms and two heated diver-training pools about four metres deep.
2
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns' longest-established dive company (founded 1974), a PADI Career Development Centre and Eco Centre running day trips and the OceanQuest reef-based liveaboard.
Founded in 1974; Cairns' first PADI 5 Star centre (1988), first 5 Star IDC (1998) and first Career Development Centre (1999).
Awarded PADI Eco Centre status in early 2024.
3
Cairns, Queensland
A Cairns liveaboard running three-, four- and seven-night trips to the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef, with 11 ensuite cabins.
Runs 3, 4 and 7-night expeditions to the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef; trips board at Wharf Street in front of the Cairns cruise terminal.
The 7-night trip departs Thursdays with up to 26 dives and requires Advanced certification, 20 ocean dives and five dives in the last 12 months.
4Cairns, Queensland
A 35-metre catamaran moored on the outer reef off Cairns as a floating hotel, with stays from one night and beginner-to-advanced dive courses on board.
A 35-metre catamaran operating as a floating hotel on the reef, with stays from one night to extended trips.
Offers beginner and advanced dive courses; the tourism listing names Scuba Schools International among its accreditations.
5
Cairns, Queensland
An 18-metre sailing ketch taking up to 12 guests on overnight Cairns reef trips, with all dives guided and one of the few introductory night-dive licences.
An 18-metre steel ketch carrying a maximum of 12 guests on two-day, one-night trips.
Uses around 25 to 28 moorings across nine reefs, including Flynn and Milln; all dives are guided, at about four guests per guide.
6Cairns, Queensland
A Cairns liveaboard operator running the Spoilsport on three- to seven-night expeditions to the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
Operates the liveaboard Spoilsport on 3, 4 and 7-night expeditions from Cairns.
The 3-night Fly Dive Cod Hole trip departs Mondays with a low-level flight to Lizard Island and around 12 dives.
7Ningaloo & Exmouth, Western Australia
A multi-day sailing and diving operation on Ningaloo Reef, offering a liveaboard-style format.
8Cairns, Queensland
A Cairns liveaboard operation running multi-day Great Barrier Reef itineraries.
Centres are ordered by how much of what they offer we could confirm from a primary source — training agencies, boats, courses, gas fills, servicing — plus published contact details and photos. It is a documentation ranking, not a review score, and nobody pays to be listed.
No. Listings and order come from our research only. Businesses can ask us to correct their details, but not to change their position.
It is generated from the directory's latest research, checked in 2026. Conditions, operators and seasons change — confirm details with the operator before you book.