Experienced divers only
Is it worth the trip?
74Good out of 100 for your dates
2 days tie for best
Mon 2 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 27°C
Tue 3 · 74 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.5 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 27°C
Wed 4 · 75 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.5 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 27°C
Thu 5 · 75 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.5 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 73 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sat 7 · 74 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.6 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 74 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.5 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 27°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 181, good
- Mon 273, good
- Tue 374, good
- Wed 475, good
- Thu 575, good
- Fri 673, good
- Sat 774, good
- Sun 874, good
- Mon 974, good
- Tue 1072, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 12 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Experienced / deepexperienced divers only
- Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
- Faces Eswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. Scored for experienced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 81, good | 0.7 m | 10 kn | 14kn | 27°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 73, good | 0.7 m | 8 kn | 10kn | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 74, good | 0.5 m | 6 kn | 9kn | 27°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 75, good | 0.5 m | 4 kn | 7kn | 27°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 75, good | 0.5 m | 6 kn | 9kn | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 73, good | 0.7 m | 8 kn | 11kn | 27°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 74, good | 0.6 m | 8 kn | 12kn | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 74, good | 0.5 m | 7 kn | 11kn | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 74, good | 0.5 m | 10 kn | 13kn | 28°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 72, good | 0.7 m | 11 kn | 16kn | 27°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 02:16 −0.1 mLow 07:55 −0.6 mHigh 15:34 +1.0 mLow 22:48 −0.6 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:09 +0.1 mLow 09:32 −0.6 mHigh 16:33 +1.1 mLow 23:26 −0.7 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:11 +0.3 mLow 10:43 −0.7 mHigh 17:20 +1.1 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 experienced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
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
Pixie Gardens on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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 Pixie Gardens
A reef dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from a boat. It suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 25°C in July, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). No town nearby. Nearest beds: Port Douglas, 175 km. Nearest airport: Cooktown Airport (CTN), 78 km. Within 5 km we also list 3 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 12 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits experienced divers only, 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 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 9 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep and Oct (about 10 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to CNS, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX and BNE, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$884–US$1,840 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Total | about 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 175 km away
No town nearby
Nearest beds: Port Douglas, 175 km. Nearest airport: Cooktown Airport (CTN), 78 km.
See places to stay near Port Douglas, 175 km away · Booking.comDistances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.
Getting there: about 35h 20m
About 35h 20m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CNS, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Brisbane International Airport (BNE), then 4h 05m by road
Flights MDW → CNS on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Pixie Gardens · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Pixie Gardens · 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 20 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.