Great Barrier Reef

#australia #greatbarrierreef #sharks #biggiestfishever #shangirlahotel #livingonaboat #sleepingonthereef 

Day 1: We arrived into Cairns late afternoon and got a taxi to our hotel The ShangriLa Hotel. The hotel is about 20 mins from the airport and right on the water. There is a paved walking/bike path that takes you all along the waterfroont and it passes different bars and restaurants.

-We spent the rest of the day walking along the water, checking out shops, looking at the water, and stopped at a few different spots to have drinks. 

-We ate at Dundees on the Waterfront and sat on the deck looking at all the beauty around us. The food was fresh and great. We had the fish and steak and both were out of this world.

Day 2: We had a 2 night boat booked to go to the Great Barrier Reef. The boat held around 10 people. It was a very big boat! We each had our own room with a small bathroom. There was air in the rooms so it was very nice and each had a small window. Included in the boat excursion was food, snorkeling, diving, sleeping accomidations, and drink. If you wanted to alcohol that was at your own expenise. They did have beer and with to purchase on board. A smaller boat picked us up and took us to the big boat at the reef. It took a little over an hour to get there but on the way they explained things to us and even fed us snacks. The 2 days cost us around $700.00 for two people.

-Once we arrived mid afternoon we got on the big boat, they expalained everything to us, got us into our room, got settled, and then they had lunch ready for us. Lunch was great they had a chef on board who made great meals. We had big round tables where we sat and met others and made freinds.

-After lunch they let us go out for our first snorkel and wow!!!! The fish that were in there were unreal! We saw sharks, eels and so so much more.

-We spent the rest of the day haning on the boat and talking with friends.

-We had dinner around 7:00 which was fish, a meat, potato and veggies.

-After dinner we did a night dive if you wanted to. These are all optional.

Day 3:

-Woke up early to watch the sunrise and wow was it worth it! You can go on the top deck where the hot tub was and sit in there or just sit on the deck and drink your coffee.

-We spent the rest of the day doing dives, snorkeling, watching the sharks swim around the boat, eating and taking in all of the beauty.

If seeing the Great Barrier reef is on your list to do I highly recommend taking the 2 day boat trip and staying on the boat. Going out there just to snorkel or dive for the day you just do not get the full beauty of it. Spending two nights and days and actually sleeping out on the reef and getting to experience it in so many different ways really lets you appreciate it more.