What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Highly recommended for scuba diving

  davido714,,Jan 31, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Excellent scuba diving experience. ABC Reef Safaris go to reefs not visited much by other operators, with small groups. I dove for 2 days with them, first day 3 divers including myself, second day 6 divers. Dive masters were excellent, informative, safety focused. The reefs we dove on are in excellent condition. Highly recommended

• ABC is the way to go!!

  DawnD881,,Jan 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Truly a 5-star operation. There are very few small-boat operations on the Great Barrier Reef, and these people do it right. It is a little more expensive than going with a bigger operation but it is SO worth it. Our whole trip was a bit hamstrung by a cyclone that moved in just before our arrival, and of course no boats were going out until it passed. Fortunately, our schedule was a little bit flexible, so we were able to move our dives out a couple of days. ABC's communication was superb - Lizzie in the office answered all the time and was super patient with all my questions. I was a little nervous on Day 1 after receiving a message announcing that we'd be on their brand new, larger boat, since I had specifically booked with ABC for a small-boat experience. However, my fears were put to rest when I saw it and the number of people on board - lots of space, quite luxurious, and (I think) only 12 passengers, with only 4 of us diving and the rest snorkeling. That meant we had Zoe all to ourselves as a divemaster, who was awesome. Super safety-conscious and very knowledgeable marine biologist, very thorough safety briefing and excellent in the water. Due to the cyclone passing by, visibility was pretty bad (for the GBR) but she pointed out some good stuff and made sure we were all within sight at all times. On Day 2, we were indeed on the smaller / original boat, which was also quite nice. There were only 3 divers on that day, and we again had Zoe as a DM. Visibility was a little better and we finally saw a shark and turtles! On Day 2 I realized we were missing a snorkel and Lizzie and Jay literally delivered it to the door of the restaurant where we were getting drinks that evening (the Tin Shed, try it!), and also asked my opinion of the differences between the two boats. My thoughts: you can't really go wrong with either. The larger boat (Voyager) is faster, has tons of space, 2 bathrooms, showers, 2 ladders (one super wide!) to get back on the boats from the water, and a compressor system to refill tanks. It's a little more comfortable inside the main cabin with lots of seating and tables. It goes out of the main Superyacht harbor, which is convenient for after diving as the brewery, ice cream place, and shopping & other restaurants are all right there. It is a little more limited in what sites you can go to, though. The smaller boat (Independence) is a little slower, and goes out of a harbor that was quite a bit farther away from the main drag where we were staying, and as we didn't have a car, it was a hike carrying dive gear. The cabin is smaller, of course - I never even actually went in there, though a couple of folks did to get some AC. The outside space is quite comfortable with tables and benches, and there is a bathroom and hose shower on board. I really liked this boat - it just seemed more like the dive boats I'm used to and was comfortable for me. I'm used to 6 people max including the DM, roll off the side-type boats, so even doing a giant stride was a bit novel! This boat is also able to get to some of the more remote, less-visited dive sites, which was my hope from the get-go, so that was great. Easy entry to and exit from the water. The whole crew on both boats was great, from the Skippers to the mates to the divemasters. Super friendly and accommodating, with great food on both boats and the option to have a beer after the dives. Would definitely use ABC again if we come back!

• Amazing experience

  F5271ILnikis,,Jan 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Absolutely amazing tour. We were swimming with trumpet fish, several turtles, bat fish, sharks, clown fishes, parrot fishes etc… We stopped to watch Delphines too. Excellent staff members. Friendly and very informative guidance.

• Can only be 5 star

  BrianD832,,Jan 27, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Despite not being told of a change of start venue, we were treated to a magnificent day on the Great Barrier Reef - definitely a bucket list tick. Our family of 4 were given our own dive guide who was absolutely superb and very very knowledgeable. We had two snorkel swims and actually swam over a shark as well as seeing many many different species of fish. We were fed after the swim - perhaps the quantity of food was slightly small. Highly recommended

• The new boat is amazing - and a great crew!

  kmdhb,,Jan 25, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had a wonderful experience with ABC Reef Safaris. We were visiting during the rainy season and the weather wasn’t great. But ABC made sure we had a good trip. We were on their new Voyager boat. It was really nice. With max 24 guests (we had 18?) everyone had a nice area to relax in for the 1.5 hour ride out to the reef. We were thankful for the spacious cabin as it was raining intermittently. The crew were a bunch of marine biologists/experienced divers/snorklers. They were super friendly. They served way more food than I was expecting - appetizers on the way out and a huge lunch after. Drinks were available for purchase, but it’s all cashless and they just bill you later. Stinger suits provided. We stopped at 2 snorkel spots and were in the water for maybe 1-1.5 hours. It was pretty choppy and I was nervous at first. Each guide only has 5 or 6 people. My guide swam back and got me a life jacket, which made me feel so much safer and comfortable. She wasn’t going to let me miss the experience. I would highly recommend a reef trip with ABC.

• Amazing, intimate Outer Reef snorkeling tour

  573megany,,Jan 23, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  My husband and I had an amazing experience on the Outer Reef Snorkeling tour with ABC Reef Safaris. The boat was beautiful & clean and the staff were friendly & knowledgeable. Such an intimate experience, with only 3 people in our snorkeling group and 14 guests total aboard. Not another boat was in site as we took in the natural beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. Thank you to Lizzie, Jay, & our wonderful reef guide Mabel! We will treasure these memories for a lifetime!

• The best Outer Reef tour in Port Douglas!

  B9816JOmattl,,Jan 23, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  From the very start, this Great Barrier Reef snorkel tour with ABC Reefs was exceptional. Pickup with Jay was seamless and set the tone for an stress-free, perfectly organized morning. The tour itself was small and personal, which made the experience feel intimate, yet the brand-new boat added a touch of luxury that made the day feel extra special. Every staff member on board was friendly, professional, and incredibly knowledgeable, but our snorkel guide Mabel truly stole the show. As a marine biologist, her passion for the reef is unmistakable. She brought the underwater world to life with her expertise, enthusiasm, and genuine desire to help us appreciate just how special and fragile this ecosystem is. You could feel how much she loves what she does and that made the experience unforgettable. I would recommend this tour without hesitation to anyone visiting the area. It was the perfect blend of comfort, education, and awe-inspiring natural beauty. These are memories we’ll cherish for a lifetime.

• Superlative snorkel experience on Great Barrier Reef

  Shadowcreek1,,Jan 22, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had the best time with the team of Gallagher, Geoff, Zoe and Mabel for our day trip snorkeling! In choosing a trip for our limited time in the Great Barrier Reed, we wanted to make sure we had a small group, curated experience but with very reputable, known folks. Despite our hotel pushing the big boat options (calypso, sailaway etc), we opted for smaller tour not even knowing that ABC has a brand new, beautiful luxury 20m boat (capacity of 60). I want to say that ABC absolutely lives up to its 1000 reviews of 5 stars—on the day we went, there were only 11 guests (4 divers and 7 snorkelers) for a crew of 4 on such a big boat. I think other tour companies would have cancelled the trip —which would have totally screwed us given our tight timing. Instead, we were extraordinarily well taken care of, in spacious surroundings - both outdoors for those who wanted and a very large and comfortable air conditioned cabin, as large as a living room. We had such good care from extensive guidance and care from Mabel (a marine biologist) who led our snorkeling at both sites- she was so great/caring in every detail on not just what there was to see but most importantly, safety and comfort of all of us. The sites were amazing — sheer variety/depth/length/breadth of the reef and the multitude of wildlife is breathtaking— more than our experiences even in the Maldives, Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos and Indonesia. We saw multiple small sharks, rays, a turtle, blue starfish and so many fish including an anglerfish! It was spectacular and noticeably different between the sites. Lastly, I would note that even beforehand, they were super-communicative (a real pleasure when you are trying to book a trip last minute from New York)—Lizzie was so great in this regard, making things so easy and straightforward for us. All in all, a great experience and so glad we went with ABC!

• Wonderful diving trip

  janicemI3927VR,,Jan 22, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Excellent trip to the Great Barrier Reef for diving with ABC Reef Safaris. The boat was luxurious and spotless, the food was delicious and most of all the diver master ,Zoe, knew her stuff and led us on 2 wonderful dives through a perfect garden of corals and fish. Highly recommended.

• Amazing day

  Roving57372,,Jan 21, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was the best part of my Australian vacation so far we loved are day so much we seen sharks lots of fish including Nemo and the boat and food was great and the crew was so nice and really told us alot about the different kinds of fish and coral we seen me and my sister loved are diver instructor that stayed with us and my 10 year old got to hold a jellyfish she had the best day and if we are ever back in port Douglas we would book this all over again

  

  

  

  

  

  
• Load more reviews