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Green Island Day Trip from Cairns: Snorkel & Glass-Bottom Boat

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.50 (14 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/10

Duration8h

GroupUp to 9

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

A catamaran pulls away from Cairns toward turquoise water and coral gardens

You cruise from Cairns to Green Island on a modern catamaran, then spend four to five hours choosing between snorkeling, a glass-bottom boat tour, or a semi-submersible submarine ride to see turtles, sharks and coral. Lunch and morning tea are included, as are hotel transfers from the Northern Beaches and the reef tax. The boat departs in the morning and returns in the afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Green Island and Great Barrier Reef

Cruise from Cairns to Green Island
Walk through the rainforest and beach
Snorkel or take glass bottom boat tour
View marine life including turtles and sharks

The Experience

The boat leaves the pier in the morning, and within 45 minutes you're anchored at Green Island, a patch of sand and rainforest sitting right on the Great Barrier Reef. The water is so clear you can see down before you even get in. You get to choose how you spend the next four or five hours: snorkel with gear provided, take a glass-bottom boat tour to watch turtles and sharks without getting wet, or ride the semi-submersible submarine down to see the coral and fish from a cabin window. Most people do more than one.

The snorkeling is straightforward — the reef starts at the edge of the beach, and the guide points out where the turtles usually hang. If you go the glass-bottom route instead, you sit in a boat with a hull of windows and watch the marine life move past: stingrays, groupers, the occasional reef shark. The semi-submersible goes deeper and moves slower, so you see more detail. Between water time, there's a rainforest walk on the island itself, or you can just sit on the beach and let the day happen. Lunch is a buffet served on the island, and the boat crew keeps the coffee and tea coming all morning.

The catamaran back to Cairns leaves in the afternoon, and the whole day includes hotel pickup from the Northern Beaches area and the environmental reef tax — nothing else to arrange or pay on the day. The boat is air-conditioned, which matters because the sun out there is direct. If you're traveling with small kids, there are prams available and infant seats on the boat, and the crew is used to families. Wheelchairs can board, though the pontoon and the reef itself have limits, so let the operator know when you book if you'll need assistance.

What’s included

Return cruise to Green Island on a modern air-conditioned catamaran.
choice of snorkeling gear for the day or glass-bottom boat tour (or both).
semi-submersible submarine tour if selected.
buffet lunch if selected.
morning tea and coffee.
hotel transfers from Northern Beaches accommodation.
Environmental Management Charge (Reef Tax).

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availableInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want to see the Great Barrier Reef without arranging your own boat, gear or transport from Cairns — the catamaran, the reef tax, lunch and hotel pickup are all locked in, leaving you to decide only whether you'd rather snorkel or stay dry.