Snorkelling or Glass Bottom Boat at Green Island from Cairns
Description
With the choice of three daily departures from Cairns, this Green Island cruise is perfect for visitors with limited time, offering a half or full day experience (up to 7 hours). You will have the choice of a glass bottom boat coral viewing tour or snorkelling equipment. As a Great Adventures guest, you’ll also be able to enjoy many exclusive inclusions such as the use of the island swimming pool and a self guided eco island walk to discover some of the island’s unique rainforest flora. The island’s well appointed day visitor facilities include a pool bar, plus restaurant and retail outlets. A delicious range of lunch and snacks can be purchased from the island’s food and refreshment outlets. Advanced Ecotourism Certification.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Green Island is a beautiful 6000 year old coral cay. It's the only coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef with a rainforest! You will have a choice of snorkel equipment to snorkel from the white sandy beaches or to stay dry and see the island's reef from the glass bottom boat. Enjoy a walk through the lush rainforest.
Explore the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling or hop on board a Glass Bottom Boat Tour
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Snorkelling can be a strenuous activity. We recommend informing crew of any medical conditions
Reviews(317)
Appalling miscommunication of boat's arrival back into Cairns caused us to pull out of trip. Refund process is dismissive
This was a nice experience, not outstanding. It is very family-friendly, low key, with a range of available activities. The glass-bottom boat ride was about 15 minutes and there wasn't a lot to see in the green, mostly murky water (we also had poor weather). Technically, I was able to snorkel in The Heat Barrier Reef, but only in very shallow, restricted waters near Green Island. There were some colorful tropical fish and one awesome sea turtle, but not much in the way of the beautiful bright coral associated with the reef.
The trip was more then expected, time to do as we choose, snorkeling was clear and there are turtles and sharks in the area, lots of fish and blue starfish.
Thank you for sharing your day with us and future travellers. Safe travels!
Great experiemce.. only the Emerald restaurant on Green Island the staff were rude and terrible with service. We actually wanted to hangback and have a few drinks but the person there said that they needed the table for paying guests. We ordered meals for the family so unsure why they wanted us out.
Thank you for sharing your feedback on your recent experience with us at Green Island. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the overall experience, however we’re sorry to hear about your experience at the Emerald Restaurant on Green Island. This is not the standard of service we aim to provide, particularly when guests are enjoying their time on the island after dining. Your comments will be passed on to the relevant team so it can be reviewed and addressed appropriately. We appreciate you taking the time to let us know, and hope to welcome you again for a smoother experience in the future.
We had a fantastic day trip to Green Island. The boat ride took around 40 minutes, and once we arrived we grabbed our snorkel gear and hired a couple of beach chairs before heading into the water. We also hired a GoPro to video our in and out water experience. The snorkeling was excellent—we were lucky enough to see a turtle, and the marine life was abundant both in and out of the water. While the coral wasn’t the best we’ve seen, the wildlife more than made up for it. The island is small but has all the facilities you need for a relaxing day. We travelled with our kids (aged 10 and 11), and they had just an amazing time. We’d definitely come back and would happily recommend it to other families.
Thank you for sharing your experience on your Green Island day trip with Great Adventures. We’re really pleased to hear you and your family had such a great day, and that the kids especially enjoyed it. It’s wonderful that you were able to make the most of the snorkelling, hire equipment, and capture your experience on the GoPro. Seeing a turtle is always a special moment, and we’re glad the marine life both in and out of the water helped make the day memorable. We appreciate your honest feedback on the coral as well, and are happy the overall experience still delivered a relaxing family day out.
Seeing the coral and fish from the glass bottom boat was great. Green Island is not much of a place. The food outlets are a bit grungy. So we were glad to finally make the return journey back to Cairns. I would not do this again.
Note that you have to go to the tour office to get the actual tickets ahead of the boat time. The boat was fast and comfortable. The staff was very friendly. Green island was great and had super snorkeling. There are restaurants and food options available. They had public shower area to rinse off. Bathrooms on island.
Easy flat walking tracks great day out boat ride was good glass bottom.boat was just amazing something you must do
I chose to go on the flat bottom boat. It lasted only half an hour and the rest of the time I spent walking on the forest boardwalk. I think the tour is better value for those who snorkel.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear you felt the experience offered limited value. The glass bottom boat tour is designed as a guided reef viewing experience, typically around 30 minutes, allowing guests to view key coral and marine highlights with commentary from the crew. Many guests choose to combine this with snorkelling or time on the island’s rainforest boardwalk to make the most of their visit. We do appreciate that guests have different expectations and preferences depending on how they choose to spend their time on Green Island. For those who snorkel, there is certainly more time spent in the water; however, the glass bottom boat and island walks are designed to provide a more relaxed, above-water way to experience the reef environment. Thank you again for your feedback—it is appreciated and will be shared with our team as we continue to review how we present our inclusions and guest experience.
Great way to see the Great Barrier Reef underwater life and Green Island. Good mix of guided and self-guided options available.
Jane, thank you for the 5-star review and for sharing your day with us!
