Is the ride out to the Great Barrier Reef a very choppy one

Took this trip 2 years ago and the ride to the platform was delightful. Take a Bonine before you leave and you will be fine, even if you are not used to some movement on the boat ride out. Will help with some of the activities off the platform as well. Don't miss this great event on a great trip!

We went a few years ago and it was extremely rocky. So many people were sick and the crew was obviously well prepared for this, so I guess it happens quite often. One couple took a helicopter ride back to shore because it was so bad. I would say about 1/3 of the passengers were queasy with some of those being outright sick. When we saw the reef, most of it was brown with a few neon colors here and there. The turtles were wonderful to see, but, and I’m very, very sorry to say this, we had a more enjoyable time snorkeling in the Bahamas with the wonderful fish there. If you have medication, take it. The ginger pills weren’t strong enough to counteract the seas on our trip. Once you get to the reef, it’s fine. The platform is stable enough to make you feel better. There was no way we were going to miss the reef no matter how dead it is now. I suppose though, in the pretty near future, people will stop going.

When I went (Oct 2016), it was smooth. Unfortunately, it was the lowlight of the trip for me. The part of the reef we saw was mostly white and dead. Snorkeling to see coral and fish is much better in Cozumel.

We went on the Australian Spotlight tour in 2017 and had no problems. It was calm and beautiful and we were very lucky with the weather. I took these underwater photos while snorkeling at the reef. You can buy an underwater camera while aboard the boat for about $20 or so for maybe 20 pictures if I remember correctly. It is so worth it. As you can see, I was able to take some pictures of scuba divers too. I snorkeled for about 25 minutes, went up to the floating deck for lunch, and then went right back in the water for a half hour. I've wanted to do this for many years and it was fabulous!