Cairns & the Tropical North
Top activities in Cairns & the Tropical North

Green Island Day Trip from Cairns

Cairns City, Australia

From USD 69.32

Select Date and Travellers

Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Cairns & the Tropical North Tours
All Cairns & the Tropical North Tours
Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out
Private and Luxury
Unique Experiences
  • 8 hours (approx.)
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Explore the Great Barrier Reef and a lush island rain forest on this full-day catamaran tour to Green Island from Cairns. Create your own perfect day on this protected coral cay with a variety of activities including snorkeling, scuba diving, Seawalking, nature walks, and tours on a glass-bottom boat. Upgrade to include a delicious buffet lunch on board the catamaran and/or a ride in a semi-submarine. It’s a fantastic way to discover the underwater wonders of the world’s most famous reef!
  • Explore the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest on a Green Island day trip
  • Variety of activities including glass-bottom boat tours, semi-submarine coral viewing tours, scuba diving, and snorkeling
  • Buffet lunch option available
  • Choice of early or late morning departures

Why Travellers Choose This Tour

This customizable tour includes a choice of departure time, pickup, lunch, and activities.

What's Included

  • Cruise transfers to and from Green Island by modern air-conditioned catamaran
  • Morning tea / coffee (served on 9am full day only)
  • Buffet lunch (if option selected)
  • Choice of a glass-bottom boat tour or use of snorkeling gear for the day (if option selected)
  • Semi-submersible tour (if option is selected)
  • Environmental Management Charge (Reef Tax)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Optional activities. (Can be booked locally, subject to availability. Payable locally. Introductory Scuba Dive AU$152, Seawalker Helmut Dive AU$165, Semi-submersible Coral Viewing Tour AU$20)
  • Food and drinks (available to purchase)
  • Flotation vests and lycra suits are available for hire

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • 1 Spence St
    1 Spence St, Cairns City QLD 4870, Australia

    Please proceed directly to the vessel located at Marlin Wharf, 1 Spence St, Cairns, check-in will be directly on the vessel. Check in is at 8.30am, the boat will depart at 9am sharp.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Ticket redemption point

1 Spence St, Cairns City QLD 4870, Australia

What To Expect

One of Australia’s protected Marine National Parks, the low-lying coral cay of Green Island is situated 15 miles (27 kilometers) off the coast of Cairns and provides an excellent base for exploring the Great Barrier Reef. Choose from two different morning departure times to suit your sightseeing schedule, and climb aboard a luxurious air-conditioned catamaran for the cruise to the island.

Once you step ashore, choose from a wide variety of activities to design your perfect day (additional expenses may apply). Snorkel straight from the beach to swim among tropical fish and coral gardens, embark on a scuba diving tour or try the unique Seawalking experience, where a helmet allows you to breathe underwater while surrounded by swimming marine life. If you prefer not to get wet, you can still get a great view of the giant clams, sea turtles, and tropical fish below the surface with a tour on a glass-bottom boat or upgrade to ride on a semi-submarine.

If you choose the lunch option at booking, enjoy a delicious buffet meal aboard the catamaran midday. (See Itinerary below for a sample lunch menu.) Grab a drink at any time from the fully licensed onboard bar (own expense). 

At Green Island Resort, feel free to use the facilities including showers, restrooms and changing rooms to stay comfortable throughout the day. You can also hire beach chairs, umbrellas, canoes, sailboards and surf skis from the resort and take advantage of several walking tracks to explore the island’s tropical rain forest landscape. 

After your time soaking up the island paradise, relax on the return catamaran cruise to Cairns.

Green Island Cruise - Day Tour (Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise)

Explore the Great Barrier Reef island either with a glass bottom boat tour or snorkelling equipment.

6 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Green Island

Walk through the rainforest or enjoy exploring the coral gardens the the beach.

6 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessibility is available but limited. Passengers must have some mobility and/or the presence of a carer who can assist them.
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travellers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

See more

Traveller Tips

Only two outside showers were available to rinse off the sand .
There’s plenty of fishes (fishing is not allowed in GBR) and I even saw a turtle and a shark.
Reviews
4.0
756 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travellers.
Showing 1-10 of 756 reviews
Well worth doing
Frazer_W, Mar 2023
If in Cairns going out to explore the Great Barrier Reef is a must, and this is a great option to do so.
Really enjoyed...
Jeanne_B, Mar 2023
Really enjoyed semisubmersible . We also did glass bottom boat which was fun. The food was also quite goid
Amazing experience
Rahul_N, Mar 2023
Amazing experience.. I have done it twice before but would love to keep coming back as we discover new things on each trip
Enjoyable trip.
Sangeetha_P, Feb 2023
Well organized trip despite rainy weather. Efficient crew and a prompt customer service made this experience very enjoyable.
Too close for comfort!
Penny_P, Feb 2023
I enjoyed the glass bottom boat and walking onto the island, the buffet was good, but when I asked for a glass of Chardonnay wine, I was given a glass of sparkling wine. The semi submersible I was not able to sit comfortably next to the other lady who asked to be near the stairs(see photo) as my Fanny is a touch wider than the space her hat was taking up, so I did not get to see anything.
The island was...
Fati_T, Feb 2023
The island was beautifully set up, we enjoyed all the activities. The friendly staff on the ferry, aswell as on Green Island itself made the experience one that our family will treasure for years to come ❤️. Thank you so much!
Wet season didn’t stop great day out with Big Cat
Robert_E, Jan 2023
Being with family and even though it was the start of the monsoon trough staff made our experience memorable. When you are wet from snorkelling you cannot get anymore wet so everyone just got on and enjoyed ourselves
Amazingly beautiful place.
Chantelle_M, Jan 2023
Snorkeling the GBR was is absolutely amazing but the semisubmarine was definitely a highlight and a must do for anyone visiting. You will see a lot Of different marine life like different fish species, reef sharks, stingrays and turtles. Staff on the vessel were very friendly and informative.
Highly disappointed
GAYLE_S, Dec 2022
Place was warn down and in need of a little TLC. The cafe ran out of half of the menu by the time we got there. Food is far too over priced for what it is. Not enough places to find a feed considering the amount of tourists that visit........too long to wait for even a coffee so you end up going without. Both gift shops and it's merchandise are very poor.
3
YukFan_P, Dec 2022
Glass boat experience, beautiful nature of the great reefs, good service on boat, good weather on the day
A great way to visit the Great Barrier Reef
Peter_B, Oct 2022
Shorter boat trip than most tours. Good snorkling equipment. Great snorkling. Good facilities on the Island.
Great way to experience the reef
David_M, Oct 2022
Glass bottom boat tour of reef was informative and memorable. Great way to see the coral ABC the marine life.
Snorkel green island
Paula_G, Sept 2022
You do the snorkel by yourself so for me it’s positive, you have all the time you want. Got the chance to swim with some turtles and many kinds of fish, it was incredible!!!! Also the island is amazingly beautiful and you have a lot of hours to walk around it and chill on the beach. Thanks!
Great day trip
Valerie_C, Aug 2022
Brilliant trip with Big Cat Green Island cruises and nice smooth crossings. Lovely little island and beach. Managed to spot a reef shark, two turtles, sting rays and loads of fish through the windows of the semi submersible. Grandson was so excited! Had to change the date of our booking which was no problem at all for the admin staff. Great day out.
Some good, some not so.
Michelle_F, Aug 2022
Boat was a little late for pick up, which can happen, but there was no communication as to when it would arrive and no apology either. The ride to and back from Green Island was incredibly choppy that day and no forewarning people would get wet in certain seats. Several people were ill. Once off the Reef Rocket, the wind was pretty bad. If you are going to wear a hat make sure you have one that can tie under your chin because you most definitely will lose it. My husband lost his baseball cap, luckily it was caught by one of the crew but I saw a few more fly off into the water from the pier. Lunch was good, staff friendly and the glass bottom boat was a good choice to see the coral and fish. The boat operator was both entertaining and knowledgeable. Unfortunately the submersible wasn’t a very good choice and I didn’t like it. It’s far too small, claustrophobic, some children were scared and I don’t blame them at all. If anything happened and we had to evacuate, I could see some would not be able to quickly get to safety.
Worth every penny
Greg_C, Aug 2022
Do this, it's great. The company run the island and it's boats but they seem to be eco based and not so much profit based, few dollars for Tea and Coffee, everyone so helpful and truly a wonderous experience
A fantastic day. Worth...
Norman_C, Aug 2022
A fantastic day. Worth every cent of the cost. Snorkeling, Glass bottom boat, and semi submersible not to be missed. Crew on board were brilliant. Added bonus, whale watching on the return journey as a humpback whale began breaching near the boat. Extra half hour to get in but priceless.
Lovely day out
Cindy_R, Aug 2022
Had a day to spend before I left so this was ideal - boat was ready - snorkel gear handed out without fuss - which all fit beautifully! White sandy beach - rainforest walk - perfect coffee at the resort Such a lovely day out ! Snorkelled all day - visited the crocodile enclosure and even though I missed the buffet it would have been scrumptious! Highly recommend
Fabulous
Janine_M, July 2022
Walking on the beach and the glass bottom boat loved it, the food was great just loved the reef and the rain Forrest together
Excellent trip
Peony_D, July 2022
The trip was excellent the staff were very helpful and informative. Loved the semi sub and the glass boat tour. Couldn’t fault anything would definitely do this again. It was good value for money.
...

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