Cruise up Melbourne's famous Yarra River and enjoy the sights of Melbourne's scenic gardens, parklands and famous sporting arenas. This one-hour sightseeing cruise is a wonderful chance to view the scenic river gardens and Herring Island. Beverages & Snacks available to purchase
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 8.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 841 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
River Gardens Melbourne Sightseeing Cruise lasts about 1 hour.
Prices start at $32 per person for this Melbourne experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, with 7 departures a day between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
Children aged 3–12 pay from $17, adults from $32. Infants go free.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is Berth No 2, Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct Landing. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 15 participants.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 3.6 out of 5 across 220 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Melbourne River Cruises.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
I chose the cruise in the middle of a long day of sightseeing. After much walking, it was nice to have a rest period with views and coffee to reset the day to continue with much walking. The crew was nicely engaging, and I enjoyed just relaxing and viewing. It help that I picked a sunny day.
It was a nice and sunny day a perfect cruise day! Highly recommend
Thank you for your lovely review Weena! ☀️🚢 We’re so glad you had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy your River Gardens cruise. It’s wonderful to hear you’d highly recommend the experience! 🌿✨ We hope to welcome you aboard again soon!
Its a boat you sit you look and they tell you about the attractions, there is a bar on board for drinks and snacks, the ticket lady captain and first mate were very friendly
Don’t waste your money. Booked the tour directly with the agency on the river. Was told to be there 10 prior to the booking time, boat was 30 mins late and dropped us off 15 mins early, so only a 45 min tour. The “guides” on the boat let their friends on for free, gave them beer and talked with them the entire time. The commentary is pre-recorded. The scenery was nothing… a few sports stadiums you can barely see over the trees, graffiti bridges and “gardens” that are practically dead. Definitely got duped… waste of time and money.
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re very sorry to hear that your experience fell short of expectations. We apologise for the delayed departure and shorter cruise duration, as well as the concerns you raised regarding the onboard service and experience. We take this feedback seriously and will share it with our team for review. 🙏🚢
Nice leisurely cruise up river, learnt a bit of history about Melbourne. Enjoyed the day
Thank you for the lovely review! 🚢 We’re so glad you enjoyed the leisurely cruise and learning a little more about Melbourne’s history along the way. 🌿 It’s wonderful to hear you had a great day with us and hope to welcome you back soon!🏙️
Bad. Uncomfortable seating. Opened sliding windows very windy . Bad attitude. From staff Never again
Wonderful and friendly staff and very helpful when you need them the most they know what they doing and our had wonderful time
This is so boring you hardly see anything Not worth the time or money Chairs are uncomfortable and the “gardens are very hard to see from the river
Experience was good but need a message displayed on the ferry for crowd to stay silent and enjoy the serenity. Irritating family made lots of loud noise disturbed all on-board
This was a lovely, relaxing cruise. We took the 4pm cruise and saw a beautiful sunset over the Melbourne CBD. The meeting point for the cruise was easy to find and close to other tourist attractions. We really enjoyed the cruise.
Thank you for your lovely review LeaForb! We’re delighted you enjoyed the relaxing cruise and the beautiful sunset over Melbourne CBD! 🌇🚢 It’s great to hear the meeting point was convenient and that you had such a positive experience. We hope to welcome you aboard again soon! ✨
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Gardens Melbourne Sightseeing Cruise | 1 hour | 3.6 (220) | $32 | |
 Spirit of Melbourne Dinner Cruise on the Yarra River | 3 hours | 4.5 (1,528) | $149 | View |
 Highlights of Melbourne Cruise | 2 hours | 3.8 (776) | $54 | View |
 Melbourne: City Highlights Express Cruise | 50 min | 4.1 (43) | $25 | View |
 Great Ocean Road Small-Group Eco Tour from Melbourne | 14 hours | 4.9 (7,049) | $113 | View |
 Yarra Valley Wine Tour w Exclusive Gin, Cider & Chocolate Tasting | 8 hours | 5.0 (5,595) | $89 | View |
 Melbourne: Yarra Valley Wine, Gin, Whisky and Chocolate Tour | 8 hours | 5.0 (5,217) | $91 | View |