Michaelmas Cay Sailing Tour: Luxury Catamaran Experience with Snorkeling and Diving

Embark on a luxury catamaran sailing tour to Michaelmas Cay, a stunning sand cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkel, dive, and explore the vibrant coral gardens and encounter Green Sea Turtles and Blue-Spotted rays. Indulge in delicious meals and enjoy complimentary bubbles while immersing yourself in this unforgettable experience.

Duration: 8 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Ocean Spirit Cruises - Arrive to the Reef Fleet Terminal from 07:30am and check-in at the Ocean Spirit counter. Obtain your boarding passes and be directed to the vessel boarding area at the marina.
    Boarding commences from 08:00am. Enjoy Muffins and Focaccia on your journey to Michaelmas Cay. Complimentary Tea & Coffee served prior to departure….
What's Included
  • Ecological presentations by qualified marine biologists
  • Lunch
  • Use of snorkel equipment and lyra suit
  • Roundtrip cruise from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay
  • Coral viewing in air-conditioned semi-submersible
  • Environmental Management Charge
  • Morning and afternoon tea
What's Not Included
  • Drinks, unless specified
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

Depart from Cairns on a high-end sailing catamaran headed for Michaelmas Cay, an idyllic sandy cay in the Great Barrier Reef. The cay is surrounded by a distinct fringing reef featuring stunning coral gardens inhabited by vibrant fish, curious Green Sea Turtles, and Blue-Spotted rays. It also serves as a crucial bird sanctuary for migratory seabirds….

Location
1 Spence St
Spence Street
Important: Please check-in & collect your boarding pass at the Ocean Spirit counter inside the Reef Fleet Terminal at 7.30am. Boarding commences 8:00am, vessel departs 8:30am.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(131 Ratings)
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Darenpurvey
Oct 2, 2024
A great experience on the reef - I had relatives visiting from the UK & as part of our trip to Palm Cove they had requested to go out onto the reef, after much research I chose Ocean Spirit and was so glad that I did! We had a great day, the ability to snorkel from the beach was one thing that attracted me and it certainly enhanced the experience for those of us who are not strong swimmers, the coral was plentiful & there were also lots of colourful fish to see whilst still being able to stand up! Being the only vessel there made it more special. The food was good quality & the crew on board were all great fun & knowledgeable, I would highly recommend the trip
Review provided by Tripadvisor
334karenp
Aug 30, 2024
Lovely trip to a lovely place - Had an amazing time on the boat and snorkeling glad we cancelled to do some other trip and went on this boat small group staff were really friendly lunch was lovely.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anne_b
Aug 28, 2024
Do not miss! - The snorkelling with wild clams, turtles and the reef was amazing but the semi-sub tour was even better. The biologists (we had Luiza and a great guy whose name I am embarrassed not to remember) are friendly and knowledgeable and eager to share why the reef and cay are unique, but all the staff are friendly and helpful. I recommend the life jacket for snorkeling even if you’re a good swimmer - you want to be out there the whole time and you’re going to be much less tired with it, so you’ll see more. There’s smaller groups on this tour, which really helps you to see fish etc as you don’t have four hundred people scaring them off.
Review provided by Viator
Warren_w
Jun 9, 2024
A wonderful experience - Fantastic hospitality. Great service around snorkelling and semi -submersible. E cell ent food and drinks. A wonderful experience we hope to do again.
Review provided by Viator
Issymoneyc
Apr 10, 2024
Honestly amazing- best day!! - Honestly couldn’t imagine a better day on the Great Barrier Reef. The marine biology talk was so lovely and then going to see the coral in person. The staff made it so relaxing and not daunting at all. Especially because I struggle sometimes with snorkelling.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hweetee_w
Mar 23, 2024
Amazing team - Ocean spirits crews were very friendly. I love how they organise the whole trip and be flexible if needed. I and my son truly enjoyed the entire trip and the food provided on the cruise. The staffs are absolutely amazing! We highly recommend this to family with kids or elderly.
Review provided by Viator
Sunita_n
Mar 5, 2024
Incredible experience - Great experience, very friendly staff . Good food . I did snorkeling tour with the biologist which was the most amazing experience to see the corals . Must do if you are here in reef for the first time. Will do it again and again .
Review provided by Viator
95ks95
Mar 3, 2024
Very nice snorkel experience. - Ocean Spirit was well organized and nicely handled. Takes 2 hours from Cairns to arrive but a pleasant trip over with stuff to listen to. Nice equipment, staff was friendly and helpful. Snorkeling was very nice. Reef isn't too deep in fact only 2 feet under in spots but you can easy snorkel around whereever you wanted Plenty of areas to go, lots to see. Visability was pretty good -- not excellent -- but pretty good. Say shark, eel, stingray, and a few friendly small jellyfish. Wish we knew the jellyfish in the area were not the ones you need to worry about -- I would have been friendlier to them :) You get tendered into shore where you put on your gear and head out. The dives cost money - even the trial dives - that was not well communicated up front. Many in our group did the submarine thing and said it was just OK. I'm glad that I went back to snorkel even more. I'm sure the outer reef is even better but we really did enjoy our experience. 8 hour tour. Plenty of snacks -- good lunch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J6333oyrusselld
Aug 18, 2024
Limited range of prescription masks. - Travelled on the 18 August. Unfortunately, there were engine problems so the return boat trip to the reef took 5.5 hours (instead of 4 hours) and our time at the reef was cut short to under 3 hours. Given the limited time at the reef it would've been nice if they had organised more frequent shuttles from the boat to the beach. That didn't happen. My biggest gripe was that I had specifically checked beforehand about prescription masks. I am very short sighted with -6.5 prescription. I specifically asked before booking if they would have prescription masks close to this range and was told that they did. However, when I arrived on the boat, the closest prescription masks were -5 and -8. I couldn't see the coral and fish very clearly due to this issue. If you say you have prescription masks, you need to follow through and have them. If I had known beforehand that they didn't have anything close to my prescription (when I specifically asked), I would've never booked with them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mariedc5196ij
Mar 11, 2024
Overpriced and disappointing - Overpriced for value received. Staff sporadically present and not customer friendly. We were left on our own and we were not the only couple who had this opinion. A recommendation: send your staff to see how zigzag staff does it on their Whitsunday snorkel tour on the Great Barrier Reef ! Zigzag team sure demonstrates enthusiasm, devotion and careful attention to all …. We got totally the opposite with Ocean Spirit team and were very disappointed as we did not have our money’s worth We do not recommend this tour with Ocean Spirit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $171
up to 9 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).