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Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon

Dive site · Australia

Dive

SportChanges the scores

Mon 2 Nov · 6 nights

WhenChanges the scores

From Chicago

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Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

78Good

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility about 15 m, Water 27 °C

Mon 2 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
26°C

Tue 3 · 77 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
26°C

Wed 4 · 76 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
26°C

Thu 5 · 77 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Fri 6 · 79 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
26°C

Sat 7 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
27°C

Sun 8 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 180
  2. Mon 278
  3. Tue 377
  4. Wed 476
  5. Thu 577
  6. Fri 679
  7. Sat 778
  8. Sun 878
  9. Mon 978
  10. Tue 1075

The site in four facts

  • Down to 12 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 27 °C3 mm wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov800.3 m4 kn6kn26°C
Mon 2Nov780.2 mflat5 kn8kn26°C
Tue 3Nov770.2 mflat7 kn11kn26°C
Wed 4Nov760.3 m10 kn13kn26°C
Thu 5Nov770.2 mflat7 kn10kn27°C
Fri 6Nov790.1 mflat1 kn5kn26°C
Sat 7Nov780.2 mflat4 kn7kn27°C
Sun 8Nov780.2 mflat5 kn10kn27°C
Mon 9Nov780.2 mflat6 kn12kn27°C
Tue 10Nov750.4 m11 kn15kn27°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 03:04 +0.0 mLow 08:20 −0.7 mHigh 15:43 +1.2 mLow 22:56 −0.8 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 04:32 +0.2 mLow 09:53 −0.7 mHigh 16:47 +1.2 mLow 23:45 −0.9 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:36 +0.4 mLow 11:09 −0.8 mHigh 17:41 +1.2 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7
  2. Feb6of 7
  3. Mar5of 7
  4. Apr4of 7
  5. May4of 7
  6. Jun5of 7
  7. Jul5of 7
  8. Aug5of 7
  9. Sep5of 7
  10. Oct6of 7
  11. Nov6of 7
  12. Dec6of 7

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon on Google Maps · Directions

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

Dive site

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon

A reef dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 24°C in July, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). No town nearby. Whitsundays, 89 km away, is the nearest town we list; we have not checked places to stay there. Nearest beds: Airlie Beach, 97 km. Nearest airport: Hamilton Island Airport (HTI), 94 km.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 12 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off.

Water about 27°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov (about 15 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,350–US$2,680 each

about US$1,350–US$2,680 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to HTI, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX and BNE, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$884–US$1,840
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$147–US$241
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Totalabout US$1,350–US$2,680

No town nearby, so no stay is in it. Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: nearest beds 97 km away

No town nearby

Whitsundays, 89 km away, is the nearest town we list; we have not checked places to stay there. Nearest beds: Airlie Beach, 97 km. Nearest airport: Hamilton Island Airport (HTI), 94 km.

See places to stay near Airlie Beach, 97 km away · Booking.com

Distances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.

Getting there: about 32h 35m

About 32h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → HTI, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Brisbane International Airport (BNE), then 1h 55m by road

Flights MDW → HTI on your dates · Skyscanner

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dives and courses in Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon · GetYourGuide

Dive centres nearby

No dive centre mapped within 50 km.

Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 15 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.