Top Snorkelling Spots On The Great Barrier Reef

With its unique location set amongst the pristine Great Barrier Reef, Orpheus Island has boundless opportunities to explore the island and surrounds and many once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Snorkelling is one of the best ways to see the immense beauty of the Great Barrier Reef that lies just beneath the water. Here are our top 4 spots where you can don a snorkel, snap on your fins and get up close and personal with the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.

Snorkel the stunning reef.

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Orpheus Island

At Orpheus Island, we are lucky enough to have some of the world’s best snorkelling right at our doorstep. In addition to our crop of giant clams, Orpheus has some of the most colourful coral outcrops (known as bommies) on the entire Great Barrier Reef, along with more than 1,000 species of reef fish, 340 varieties of hard corals and one of the region’s largest collections of soft corals.

Lady Elliot Island

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Lady Elliot Island

Located off the coast of Bundaberg, Lady Elliot Island is right at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Lady Elliot Island is known as ‘the home of the manta ray’ so the odds of spotting one of these gentle giants is pretty much a given.

Sandy Cay

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Ribbon Reefs

Ribbon Reef is a shallow atoll surrounded by pristine blue water. The reef itself contains a number of amazing locations for the leisurely snorkeller, including popular spots like the Clam Gardens, Pixie Pinnacle, Steve’s Bommie, Dynamite Pass, Lighthouse Bommie and the Temple of the Doom. While it’s such an amazing location to go snorkelling, being more remote and situated on the outer reef, this part of the Great Barrier Reef is not visited as often as some other parts and is therefore in absolutely pristine condition.

Marine life abounds on Ribbon Reef and you might even be lucky enough to spot a friendly Minkie Whale while snorkelling or diving in the area. Also expect to see stingrays, reef sharks, schools of trevally and multitudes of colourful reef fish. If your desire is to go shark spotting, then you’ll really want to explore the Temple of the Doom. There’s nothing quite like snorkelling coral garden reefs, so a visit to Clam Gardens is an absolute must.

The calm waters of Orpheus Island.

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Agincourt Reef

For the more experienced snorkelers, Agincourt reef is the perfect outer reef snorkelling spot. The reef is comprised of 16 different dive sites and offers incredible underwater experiences for snorkelers. Agincourt reef is just a short boat ride from Cairns and is the ultimate snorkelling spot for experienced snorkelers and scuba divers.

Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Bramble Bommie

The Bramble Bommie is a snorkelling and dive location that is a favourite for dive instructors. In this region of the Great Barrier Reef, visitors will be treated with some of the clearest blue water and the most spectacular, colourful coral reef in the entire area.

At a depth of 25 metres, where the bommie meets the sandy sea floor, the pinnacle starts at just 5 metres below the water’s surface, making it easy to view from the surface for snorkellers or when freediving.

The Bramble Bommie, with its healthy coral, attracts multitudes of sea life. Snorkellers and divers often find themselves surrounded by schools of fish and you might even be lucky enough to spot a white tip reef shark. Brightly coloured tropical fish abound at Bramble Bommie and it’s one of the best Great Barrier Reef snorkelling locations around.

Explore Bramble Bommie

Great Barrier Reef Snorkelling Spots: Fantome Island

Part of the Palm Island group, Fantome Island is located a mere 20 minutes from Orpheus Island and its amazing resort. Fantome Island’s shallow bay and pellucid water make it an idyllic location for snorkelling. Surrounded by a white sand bottom, the coral gardens in the bay are truly a snorkeller’s paradise.

The coral is unique in this location as it’s mostly made up of hard corals, such as plates, staghorns and boulders. The deepest part of the bay is just 10 metres, so perfect for freedivers as well. Fantome Island is also commonly used for scuba diving lessons and refresher courses.

Of course, no coral reef snorkelling experience would quite be complete unless you can feast your eyes on some of the local undersea wildlife. Expect to come into close contact with parrot fish, angelfish, large bat fish and also damsel fish. White tip reef sharks are known to inhabit the area, along with stingrays and even turtles. If you hope to spot a majestic manta ray, be sure to book your trip during the winter months when manta rays are most prevalent.

Discover Fantome Island

Book Your Stay At One Of The Top Top Snorkelling Spots On The Great Barrier Reef

Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef is like nothing you will have experienced before. Orpheus Island lodge is the ultimate luxury accommodation where you can stay close to home and explore the fringing reefs, or book an excursion and check out one of the other beautiful neighbouring reefs. For more information and to make an enquiry for your next holiday, please click below.

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