Course overview

Discover the Great Barrier Reef after sunset with the SSI Night Diving specialty in Cairns, where overnight liveaboards let you dive the reef as it shifts to its nocturnal rhythm. Through the required night dives you learn light use, after-dark navigation and how to spot crustaceans, hunting reef sharks and cuttlefish at outer sites like Flynn and Milln Reef. It reveals a completely different side of reef diving.

What you’ll learn

• Plan and conduct safe night dives with a buddy
• Use a primary and backup light and communicate with light signals
• Navigate and stay oriented underwater after dark
• Manage entries, exits and buoyancy in reduced visibility
• Identify nocturnal reef life and after-dark behaviour

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior) or 15
• SSI Open Water Diver or a qualifying entry-level certification
• Comfort with basic navigation and buoyancy control
• Diver medical clearance signed where any health condition applies

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Night theory and night dive

   Complete the SSI night-diving digital academics and make your night training dive from a liveaboard, practising light handling and signals at an outer reef site such as Flynn Reef.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Cairns.

Frequently asked questions