We are planning a business trip in late May to Sidney and were planning on flying up to dive in the Great Barrier Reef. Since this is a huge area, does anyone have any experience, or suggestions about which dive shops/excursions to check out? We just completed our OW certification, so won't be looking for deep dives.

Thank you for any help with this.

how long are you looking to dive for ? a few days on a live-a-board or just a few daytrips from the mainland ?

could i also rock the proverbial boat and suggest that there are better places to dive than the barrier reef ?

also check out www.diveoz.com.au for sites, discussions etc...

safe diving

Last summer I got my certification from Reef Dive, a medium sized operation based in Airlie Beach, Queensland. Most dive operators in this town are fairly inexpensive, relative to other places in Oz, since they cater to the backpacking crowd (myself included).
Fortunately, with such a good exchange rate, Americans pretty much double their money when travelling through Australia.
If you stay in Airlie Beach, you'll be diving in the Whitsunday Islands area. Expect near 100 ft visibility, warm air temps, 78 degree water temps, and a variety of marine life including sea turtles, rays, and dolphins.
Another popular place to dive from is Cairns. You can catch a direct flight from Sydney to Cairns.
Regardless of where you decide to dive from, a live-aboard package deal is the way to go. That way, you get the most diving in the least amount of time. Hope this helps.

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave (edited 06-04-2001).]