TUSA Dive Review by cjfigg23

So I went to visit Cairns, Australia for a week with non-diving friends. I made it very clear to them that I would be diving The Great Barrier Reef while I was there. So, I basically just found a boat that offered daily boat dives to get on. I didn't coordinate all of this until I was there. So I just happened to choose TUSA Dive. i didn't do any research, just picked a boat that would take me to The Great Barrier Reef and that was in my price range. However, this boat was NICE! It was HUGE! If you need it, they provide gear. They had a shower so that you could rinse off or warm up in between dives. I went in June. IT WAS COLD! Even the snorkelers wore wetsuits! They served a delicious buffet meal. Had plenty of room for you to sit, relax, eat, and watch videos about the Great Barrier.

Now, as I said earlier, i had no buddy. I could've joined a large group of people and followed a guide, but I didn't like that idea. I met a nice guy who travels the world like myself, and we chose to be buddies instead. We didn't want the large group to scare everything away or slow us down. So, you can get a guide if you want, but I chose not to.

The critters I saw here included: turtles, a reef shark, and basically the same reef fish I see on Guam such as: morish idols, puffer fish, damsel fish, batfish, etc. However most of the fish seemed larger in Australia then on Guam. i did 3 dives that day and wasn't super impressed with what I saw, but left with the bragging rights of saying "I dove the Great Barrier Reef".

This was not a dive trip for me. If I get the opportunity to dive Australia again, I will do much more research and pick a place that would have more of what I want to see.

Overall, I had a great experience with TUSA Dive, but I didn't think the diving was extremely impressive. However, I had friend who went on a similar daily dive boat and saw a ton of eagle rays and sharks…She loved it. So, of course every diver should dive The Great Barrier Reef!!!! But, do your homework and find a place that seems like a good fit for you:)