Trip Overview
This trip will discover the untouched beauty of Lord Howe Island’s underwater world while enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of the island.
The exclusive group of 12–15 passionate divers will have an unforgettable adventure to the pristine waters of Lord Howe Island.
The island is known for its crystal-clear reefs, abundant marine life, and dramatic volcanic landscapes.
Balls Pyramid – Bucket List Dive
Highlights include diving around the iconic Ball’s Pyramid, the world’s tallest sea stack, and diving with the curious Galapagos Sharks (also known as whaler sharks). Monolithic Pinnacle 551m high.
Endless schools of pelagic fish, Large fanning coral, sharks, rays, Violet Sweep, Rainbow Runners and Amberjack, to Marlin, Dolphin, Turtles and Wahoo. This is an additional add-on as outlined in the cost below. This is around a 7-8 hour day for double dives to this bucket list location.
Dates
21-28 April 2027 – this trip is SOLD OUT (please click on ‘Book Now’ to join the waiting list)
Duration
7 nights/9 days
Package Cost
Standard Room Dive Package $5950 AUD – pp. sleeps 2 pax: 1 queen & twin bed
Solo-Standard Room Dive Package $7,295 AUD – pp. sleeps 1 pax: 1 queen bed
Superior Room Dive Package $6,150 AUD – pp. sleeps 2 pax: 1 queen & twin bed
Solo-Superior Room Dive Package $7,450 AUD – pp. sleeps 1 pax: 1 queen bed
Additional “Add-On” Ball’s Pyramid Double Dive – $300 AUD (add via booking page – click on book now)
Note: All costs are in AUD for this trip.
Itinerary
International flight arrival at Sydney (airport code: SYD), you might need to stay the night/early morning in Sydney, depending on your flight times.
- Day 1 (Tues 20): International flights into Sydney
- Day 2 (Wed 21): Internal flight to Lord Howe Island
- Days 3-8 (Thurs 22, Fri 23, Sat 24, Sun 25, Mon 26 & Tues 27): Scuba Diving & Snorkel Charters
- Day 9 (Wed 28): Depart for internal flight & international flights from Sydney
Price Includes
- Return airfares ex Sydney with Skytrans (incl. 20 kg luggage)
- Return airport transfers on the island
- 7 nights’ accommodation in a garden-view room with a balcony
- 1 x dinner on arrival
- 10 guided dives (ALL gear & nitrox included) – you might want to bring your own mask, fins, wetsuit.
- Exclusive charter of dive boat
- Morning tea on dive/boat trip days
- Practical photography advice
- Presentation on the marine species by a marine biologist
Exclusions
- International flight
- Gratuities
- Travel Insurance: click here to learn more about the preferred plan
- Beverages/Alcohol
- Meals, except for the dinner on arrival (rooms are self-contained)
- Bike hire
How to secure your booking
$800 AUD deposit to secure your spot
Second payment due Sept 22, 2026
Remaining balance due on Jan 22, 2027
We will be in touch via email for your payment and provide an invoice with the details below. To check on available spaces to secure your spot, email: amanda@amandadelaforce.com
The Island of Lord Howe Island
World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island is just 11km long and 2.8km at its widest. The island is part of New South Wales and lies approximately 600km north-east of Sydney and south-east of Brisbane, and at the same latitude as Port Macquarie.
Walking and cycling are the main modes of transport. Well-signposted walking tracks criss-cross the island, ranging from easy strolls to breathtaking cliff-top guided treks. The pace is always relaxed, with a limited number of visitors.
Lord Howe’s crystal clear lagoon, bordered by the world’s most southern coral reef, is home to over 500 species of fish and 90 species of coral.
The island’s forest has 240 native plant species, half of which are found nowhere else in the world, and while 32 species of birds breed on the island, 203 different species have been recorded visiting.
Climate
The climate is sub-tropical with maximum temperatures rarely exceeding 26°C (79 F) in summer and rarely falling beneath 14°C (57 F) in winter. Given we will be there in April, it is still considered summer time.
Requirements for Participation
Reasonably confident scuba diving & snorkeling skills, you must be able to swim at least 200 metres unaided in open water. Guests are required to be physically able to get up a small boat ladder on their own. There will also be some walking around the island, so you will need to be able to do that to enjoy all the island has to offer. Please complete a dive medical if you are unsure or let your guide know as we will be on an offshore island (away from the mainland).
Accommodation
Sommerset Apartments: Somerset’s central, level location on the island allows easy walking and biking to nearby shops, restaurants. We are minutes from popular Ned’s Beach, where you can hand-feed the fish, swim, or snorkel. Just as close is our beautiful reef-fringed lagoon, where you can swim in the crystal-clear water and relax on the white sandy beach.
The units are nestled in subtropical palm groves, vibrant with splashes of colour from Hawaiian hibiscus and fragrant frangipani flowers. The grounds are well designed, with paths leading through the palms and gardens, offering a sense of seclusion and tropical charm. Perfectly situated between Ned’s Beach and the lagoon, allowing easy walking and biking to nearby shops, restaurants, and tour operators. Self-catering units include kitchen facilities, beach towels, backpacks, and much more. BBQ facilities are available onsite.
Somerset Apartments feature kitchen facilities – there is a shop to buy groceries for breakfast or dinner the nights we don’t eat out together. Each unit has an ensuite bathroom, a separate bedroom and living area for space and privacy, and a covered verandah with tables and chairs for entertaining and relaxing.
Flights
Lord Howe Island is 700km northeast of Sydney. SmartLynx Australia offers regular flights from Sydney.
International flights:
Travelers from the USA will need to book flights to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). Several airlines, including Qantas and United, offer flights from various US cities to Sydney. Some flight options are provided below:
-
Non-Stop Flights
Operated by: Qantas, American Airlines (seasonal)
Route: Direct flight from select U.S. cities (e.g., Los Angeles LAX, Dallas-Fort Worth DFW, San Francisco SFO) to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD)
Duration: Approximately 14–15 hours (LAX to SYD) -
One-Stop Flights via Major Hubs. Common routes include:
From Los Angeles (LAX)
Route: LAX → Sydney (non-stop)
Alternate route: LAX → (via) Dallas-Fort Worth or San Francisco → Sydney
From New York (JFK or EWR)
Route Options: JFK/EWR → Los Angeles or Dallas → Sydney
JFK/EWR → via Pacific hubs like Honolulu (HNL) or Vancouver (YVR) → Sydney
From Chicago (ORD)
Route: ORD → Los Angeles or Dallas → Sydney
Domestic Flight
Once in Sydney, they can take a flight with SmartLynx Australia to Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH). These flights take about two hours.
If you want to book these flights on the same day as travel to or from Lord Howe Island, I recommend doing so with Qantas since the SmartLynx Australia flights will depart from Sydney Airport’s Qantas Domestic Terminal 3, meaning you won’t need to change terminals between flights. You will need to collect your bags and recheck in for your next flight.
Domestic Baggage Allowance
From Sydney
Checked baggage – 2 pieces up to a total of 20kg per person permitted
Carry-on bag – Up to 6kg per person
Bookings, Payment, Cancellation Policy and Force Majeure in relation to the Tour
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd. highly recommends you purchase travel and dive insurance as soon as possible after confirming your travel plans. We recommend Dive Assure, or DAN, for diving insurance. Dive Assure offers dive and travel insurance, both annual and short-term (per trip). You can purchase it here.
- Evidence of adequate travel and dive insurance must be provided prior to departure.
- Bookings made more than 100 days out from the start of a trip require a deposit of $800.00 AUD per passenger.
- All deposits are non-refundable.
- Bookings made less than 100 days out from tour commencement require payment in full to secure your booking.
- Payment in full is required 100 days out from the start of the trip. We will email you a final payment reminder. No refunds will be given within 100 days of the start of any trip, under any circumstances.
- If you cancel your spot more than 100 days before the start of a trip and we/you are able to resell or fill the spot, a trip credit for your remaining balance (minus a $300 AUD service fee deducted) will be issued for use on another Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd. trip within 2 years of the cancellation.
- If you cancel your spot less than 99 days prior to the start of a trip, no refund or credit will be issued for deposits that have been paid.
- If our In-Country Providers cancel or if a Force Majeure Event occurs, meaning any act of God, war, terrorism, fire, flood or any other extreme weather conditions, loss of power, epidemics or pandemics, industrial disputes, slow-downs or other strike activities, riots or civil disturbances, acts of government, semi government or other authorities, inability to obtain any necessary license or consent and delays caused by sub-contractors, suppliers or other third parties (including telecommunications carriers), material shortages or other disruption to the trip beyond our control, Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd. shall not be held responsible for matters outside of our control or any failure to deliver the trip.
- The affiliated and established company, such as Dive Lord Howe, holds the relevant insurance and maintains responsibility for the dive and snorkel insurance policies and procedures. As such, when in the water diving, snorkeling, or swimming, you are diving under the affiliated company’s policies and procedures and must adhere to either the captain, dive instructor, or divemaster’s instructions.
- Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd. takes no responsibility for loss, damage, or injury arising from any shortfall, error, or omission in the information passed to the customer during the course of the sale or subsequent delivery of the product. The company takes no responsibility nor can be held liable for loss, damage, or injury that occurs on a supplier’s or service provider’s premises or transport, or between two such premises.
- Participation in any of the activities involves certain risks, which may result in injury or death. This warning does not purport to describe or disclose all the risks associated with participation in the activities. There are a wide range of inherent risks when engaging in sports, particularly underwater sports; for example, with diving, there is the risk of decompression sickness, embolism, or other hyperbaric injuries that require treatment in a recompression chamber. Open-water scuba diving trips may be conducted at sites that are remote, either by time or distance, from emergency services or recompression facilities. Scuba diving, snorkeling, and tours will involve uncontrolled encounters with wild animals, which bears the risk of stings, bites, and, at the extreme end, more serious injury and death. Participants should be responsible and aware of animal behaviors and their own interactions, and they should engage in these activities entirely at their own risk.
- We will not be liable to you in respect of any personal injury (including, without limitation, serious injury or death) that you may suffer or sustain directly or indirectly as a result of attending the trip or participating in the activities. Nor will we be liable to you in respect of any other losses arising as a result of any such personal injury (including, without limitation, loss of profit or earnings or other consequential losses). We will not be liable to you in respect of any of your personal property that is lost, stolen, or damaged before, during, or after a trip.
- Please ensure you understand our cancellation policy prior to providing any deposits and agree to the booking and trip. By placing a booking with Amanda Delaforce Photography and Travel Pty Ltd., this implies that you accept these booking terms and conditions and cancellation policy.
Trading as “Amanda Delaforce Travel and Photography Pty Ltd.”
