Liveaboard Diving in Flynn Reef
What To Expect On A Flynn Reef Liveaboard
Liveaboards to Flynn Reef, one of the Great Barrier Reef's most popular areas, gives divers a little bit of everything, with an abundance of marine life swimming amid a backdrop of an outstanding array of hard and soft corals. Diving here is great all year round, and indeed during all hours of the day - an ideal site to go for a night dive and experience how the reef comes to life in the dark.
The reef is situated around 30 minutes from Cairns in Queensland, which does make it accessible for day trips, however if you are onboard a Flynn Reef liveaboard diving you'll have access to a larger variety of the individual sites that Flynn Reef has on offer, such as Gordon's Mooring, Tennis Court, Tracy's Bommie and Coral Gardens. The water in these areas is glasslike with visibility commonly more than 25 metres, ensuring that you won't miss out on any marine animals quietly passing by. The range of sites at Flynn makes it perfect for both novice and experienced divers, and in the shallower areas the snorkelling is also fabulous, for those wanting to make full use of their surface intervals!
What You Can See
Flynn Reef has arguably the best variety of soft coral species in the Cairns area, together with an equally impressive array of hard corals. At appropriately named Coral Gardens, you'll see all manner of shapes and sizes of staghorn, table, boulder, fan and plate coral. Needless to say this abundance of healthy coral means that the marine life around it is just as diverse, with the full array of reef fish on show. All the main players are here to see, including Angel fish, Butterfly fish, Batfish, Clown fish, Fusiliers and Parrotfish. They'll commonly be joined by swift Grey Reef Sharks, graceful Lionfish, and if you are on the lookout Moray Eels are almost always found lurking in small crevices. Looking out into the blue, it's not uncommon for Dolphins and Whales to turn up for the party aswell!
Most liveaboard crews will plan a night dive here, when alot of the action happens - particularly as this is a great time and place to see sharks and barracuda on the hunt.
Conditions for diving are good all year round, with warm water, great visibility, and only mild currents. A once in a lifetime sight is the annual coral spawning, which is a spectacle not to be missed if you are visiting during November to December.
Getting To Flynn Reef
Most Australian liveaboard diving trips to Flynn Reef last for 3 days/2 nights, which gives you ample time to dive all of the best sites. Day trips from Cairns are possible, but time at the reef will be limited and so in order to make the most of this beautiful reef, an Australia liveaboard departing from Cairns is recommended. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit some of the other reefs in this area.
Located to the North of the Australian state of Queensland, Cairns is the easiest place to jump on a liveaboard bound for the GBR. It has a fantastic international airport, served by a huge number of international airlines, making it easy to fly directly here from overseas. You can of course catch one of the many daily flights from other cities such as Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, if your Australian itinerary involves these places.
On the day of your liveaboard trip, most operators will pick you up from your accommodation, and will also drop you off at the end of the cruise.
Flynn Reef Diving Reviews
- 9.2 Superb
- 8.8 Fabulous
- David P
Canada
Great views of aquatic life.
Diving Flynn Reef in July on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Alison C
Australia
My favourite reef, where we saw turtles and reef sharks
Diving Flynn Reef in June on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Alex D
United States
Flynn Reef was full of life and made for a wonderful dive site.
Diving Flynn Reef in February on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Brad H
United States
Wonderful. I can't say enough about the this portion. It was probably my favorite part of the trip with the visability and marine life.
Diving Flynn Reef in January on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Micheal G
Denmark
Nice visibility, super corals, a lot of life. Not a place for big stuff
Diving Flynn Reef in January on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Nina K
United Kingdom
Amazing - lots of fish action
Diving Flynn Reef in December on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 7.6 Good
- Jeno K
United States
The visibility and corals here were my favorite. We saw a giant turtle during the night dive. In the early morning dive, we saw a school of Parrot Fish.
Diving Flynn Reef in June on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 10.0 Exceptional
- Dylan C
Australia
Was relatively calm, high clarity, warm and a pleasant dive. With lots of fish, a couple turtles, sharks and rays
Diving Flynn Reef in May on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 8.0 Very good
- Glenda J
Australia
Lots of coral, fish and some swim thru.
Diving Flynn Reef in April on the Pro Dive Cairns
- 7.2 Good
- Kara M
United States
we moved to multiple sites on Flynn Reef and each were unique. No other boats nearby which is a selling point for me.
Diving Flynn Reef in March on the Pro Dive Cairns
See all liveaboards from $663 to $4,412 per trip