Cairns: Exclusive Green Island & Reef Snorkel Cruise

This was a fantastic trip aboard a sailboat with fewer than 20 people. The crew were fantastic! When we went snorkeling there were two crew with life rings in the water for safety reasons. The food was excellent and again, the crew was awesome.

I don't normally write reviews,but I feel I have to as this experience was by far the best day the entire family had. Kids and adults enjoyed the smaller group experience on the smaller boat. Definitely a more personalised experience. Snorkeling site was great. Fantastic crew, fun and great energy. Couldn’t recommend this highly enough.

What a fantastic, fun, friendly and professional crew - loved the day and intro diving experience with such amazing team! Returning customer, wouldn't hesitate to come back! Thanks to Blair, Maddy and Luke for all your support, care and attention - felt secure and safe!!

We were after an experience which wasn't crowded with tourists and where first-time divers & non-confident swimmers were looked after, and Ocean Free was perfect! Anna, Kelly, Stormy & Matt brought energy, fun and personality - most importantly, they were super kind and made our first dive & snorkling experience unforgettable! We got close to so many types of fish, sharks, turtles, giant clams and corals along the reef - a truly amazing experience, thanks guys!

The BEST thing we’ve ever done !! My partner and I had this on our bucket list and it exceeded our expectations by far. I was nervous about being in the water and I had never snorkelled before but Ollie was fantastic in the water and gave me a 121 introductory lesson in there and took me along whilst I held onto the ring as he pointed out great views under the water. We took it slow and he went at my pace the whole time. The food was excellent, we had snacks al morning and a great buffet lunch then fruit and cake and wine in the afternoon. Sarah and Daniel were also fabulous and our skipper Mike was unreal. Mike also let me feed the giant black fish and Sharks after lunch too (I was the only one who did this!) overall, the most fantastic experience and we couldn’t recommend this highly enough. We loved the personalised experience and would suggest doing this if you can! Take some travel sickness tablets if you are prone to this.

Unforgettable. The crew was super friendly, professional and respectful. This was my very first time snorkeling and I’m terrified of the ocean. I was feeling so comfortable with them that when I realised I was having fun and enjoying swimming around with the most beautiful fish - and even spotted a shark without freaking out 😂. The fact we were a small group was great too, I felt very well assisted! Would come back thousand times if I could.

This was a great trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Green island Australia. Matt the Skipper, Dan, crew,and Sarah the dive instructor were excellent. They provided an excellent trip that was greatly enjoyed by all. One of us dove and the other snorkeled. So we had the chance to see both perspectives of the trip. This would be a wonderful adventure for anyone who wants an experience on the Great Barrier Reef.

Great day out combining sailing on a working ketch, snorkelling, diving and visit to Green Island thanks to skipper Mike and professional and enthusiastic crew. Appeals to those who have some appreciation of yachting and its potential hazards eg bumping heads and tripping dangers, and to those who like a more personalised day out (we had around 20 pax on our day). Snorkelling experience was good but depends on weather and currents. Reef not great where we were but some wonderful fish (trevally) and reef sharks as well as tropical fish. Crew served a fantastic lunch spread. I enjoyed the sailing most of all and was sad to return to port.

We booked this trip for my birthday and I was not disappointed at all. The crew were fantastic from the moment we stepped onboard and nothing was too much trouble. There were pastries and fruit awaiting us onboard which were delicious. Once underway we were able to enjoy the deck space both covered and uncovered. Watch out for the spray outside, it’s great fun but can be cold at 8am! On arrival at the anchor point off Green island, my sons headed off for a dive (unfortunately I was getting over a throat infection so couldn’t join them) and my husband, youngest son and I went snorkelling. It was a bit choppy but with life jackets and wetsuits we were fine. We were lucky enough to encounter reef sharks and a green turtle along with lots of tropical fish and giant clams. After a wonderful lunch, we headed for green island and enjoyed a stroll around the island, an ice cream and some downtime on the beach. The trip home was under sail and was exhilarating with lots of sea spray and some awesome heeling. Wine, fruit and cake was also served. All in all a wonderful day that was worth every penny!

My wife and I were in Cairns for a couple of days and were aboard the Ocean Free boat to the Great Barrier Reef. The boat takes a maximum of 25 plus a team of four crew. They found the sweet spot for the crew to pax ratio. It ensured everyone was well taken care of, and it was never difficult to reach anyone for assistance. You could tell that safety on the boat and the accompanying activities were definitely the most important to the crew. They constantly checked on us, spoke to us, and made us feel at home. Special mention goes to Anna, who took care of my wife and I on our introductory dives. She was patient, explained everything, and never forced us to do anything we did not want. She was encouraging and assuring. Despite me not feeling comfortable doing the dive at the end, as I was unable to get used to the breathing apparatus, she patiently took my wife on a solo dive. My wife echoed the same sentiments, that she took care of her and tried to ensure she enjoyed her time underwater. She knew I must have felt bad from not being able to do the dive, but was encouraging and urged me on throughout the day. My wife did not feel well enough to do the second dive and she was concerned and asked the crew to check on her. Just before we ended the day, she came over to encourage us to give it another go, and to reach out beforehand to ensure she knows and will be on the boat that we will take. These are small but meaningful gestures to show that she cares and money is not all that this company cares about. I think Anna is a great asset to the team and the company is blessed to have such an amazing employee. Just the next day after the trip, we received note from the third party we booked with that Ocean Free has reached out to them to process the refund for the dives that we did not take. I think this is really classy and efficient. Thank you once again to everyone who made our day enjoyable. We will definitely try out best to return to Cairns and go out on another trip with you guys!