Just a quick note to back up what Tony had to say about the reefs. The diving (and snorkeling) is fantastic on the Barrier Reef, but it is no where close to shore except way up in the north. North of Port Douglas the reef starts to get near land, but I don't know if water clarity is better up there. Probably not since they get tons of rain north of Cairns. Myself, I did a three day live-aboard dive trip out of Airlie Beach and it was well worth it.
There were lots of dive-sail trips out of that area back in 1995 so I'm sure there are still lots of operators, and there would be some snorkeling trips as well. Once you get to Cairns and north I expect that you could probably get to the reef and back on a day trip.
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