Planning your visit

Visiting the Marine Park with a permitted tourism operator is a great way to experience the Reef and ensure you are following best practice. Consider choosing a high standard tourism operator who makes it a priority to care for the Reef.

Here are some tourist activities to enjoy:

• Aircraft or helicopter tours — go on a flight of a lifetime. Some tours also fly to pontoons and larger vessels or even land on the water.
• Bareboats (self-sail) — control your own destiny and self-sail a bareboat! Bareboats are un-crewed vessels more than six metres, motorised, or with sail.
• Beach hire — prefer island beaches? Look for beach hire equipment such as kayaks and paddleboards.
• Cruise ships — thousands of passengers are experiencing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef on cruise ships.
• Day tours — most tourists visit on a day tour — whether it be on large high speed catamarans to outer reef pontoons, or smaller sailing and cruising vessels.
• Diving and fishing charters — if you like to be in amongst the environment you can choose a diving or fishing adventure.
• Long range roving tours — long range rovers offer customised charter. Groups are small and the trips can cover long distances and provide you with the experience you want.
• Motorised water sports — for fun and adrenalin based activities you can parasail or jet ski. Tours and hire are available at island resorts and popular beach towns along the coast.
• Passenger ferries — Passenger ferries are generally available to access tropical islands.
• Superyachts — Explore the Reef in style! Find out all you need to know about superyachts.
• Whale watching and swimming with whales — view these magnificent creatures on their winter journey to the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

Know the rules for the popular areas and specific locations you visit and remember to make sure you conduct your  activities responsibly.

For those conducting a permitted activity (for example, a tourism operator or a researcher) you will find relevant information under Access and use by location.  Also refer to your permit and relevant legislation for more information on what is required when you access and operate in the Marine Park.

Plans of management apply to all users and complement Marine Park zoning by addressing issues specific to an area, species or community in greater detail.

Plans of Management protect and conserve Marine Park values at a regional scale and allow for a range of experiences and types of use while still allowing the iconic area to be enjoyed.

These plans closely manage access (vessel length and group sizes), types of tourism operations, frequency of visits, private mooring facilities, activities such as motorised water sports, aircraft landing areas and anchorages.

There are four plans of management currently in the Marine Park:

• Cairns Area Plan of Management

• Hinchinbrook Plan of Management
• Whitsundays Plan of Management
• Shoalwater Bay (Dugong) Plan of Management

Site specific management comes in a number of forms to protect the sensitive values and balance multiple uses at a localised level.

• Far Northern
• Cairns/Cooktown
• Townsville/Whitsundays
• Mackay/Capricorn  Management Areas.

Coral reefs and seagrass beds are susceptible to anchor damage. Where moorings are available, please use these in the first instance. Find out more about moorings, including where public moorings and no-anchoring areas are and how to responsibly access and use them.

It’s important to enjoy the Marine Park in a responsible and 'reef friendly' way.  Responsible Reef Practices inform everyone of “best practice” when doing activities such as anchoring and mooring, diving and snorkelling, motorised water sports and many more.