Green Island Tour | Save $58.00 Family

Green Island Tour - Great Barrier Reef Tour Cairns 

***Always Pre Book For The School Holidays*** Save $58.00 on our Green Island Tour on the Great Barrier Reef Tour Deal from Cairns, 2nd Child Travels Free! 

Take the ferry to the most popular island on the Great Barrier Reef, Green Island for a day of snorkelling, scuba diving, seawalker helmet diving, scenic helicopter flights and much more.

Full Day Green Island Tours:

Our full day island tours offer 2 ferry tours per day at 8.30am and 10.30am from Cairns Marlin Marina for a short 45 minute boat ride to the island allowing 5 to 7 hours of snorkelling, scuba diving and just relaxing on its glorious beaches.

Half Day Green Island Tours:

Our half-day reef trips depart at  8.30am, 10.30am and 1.00pm to the tropically enchanted Green Island, an idyllic and lush coral cay on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, situated off the divine tropical coast of Tropical Far North Queensland allowing guests to spend a blissful 2 to 3 hours enjoying its ambience. 

Green Island & Outer Great Barrier Reef Combo Package Tour Deals

The best combo package tour deal in Cairn is a combination of a visit to Green Island for 2 hours and visiting the outer Great Barrier Reef for 3 hours allowing you to see the real Great Barrier Reef in just one day. This is the best value Green Island tour in Cairns and if travelling with a family you can also access out famous family discount deals.  

Coach transfers from Cairns and Cairns Northern Beaches can also be arranged for your day on Green Island. 

Our company owns the Green Island lease so we are able to offer our guests a lot more privileges and activities at better prices on the island. 

Green Island is reputed to be the most popular island National Park within Australia's Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area as there are so many things to do and things to see for visitors.

The beautiful coral cay of the island is a protected Marine National Park, topped with emerald rainforest and surrounded by white sandy beaches and magnificent coral reefs that beg to be explored.

Visitors to the island can choose to explore all its shops and restaurants or upgrade to some of the other reef activities such as introductory scuba diving, Seawalker helmet dives on the ocean floor or enjoy a guided snorkelling tour to the outer edge of the Green Island Reef.

Visitors can view the vast array of marine life and corals by participating in snorkeling, glass bottom boat or guided coral viewing tours.  

For those less adventure bound, simply walking around the island or laying around and relaxing on the island and soaking in the sights and sounds is also highly recommended!

Things To Do On Green Island

Activities offered include snorkelling, glass bottom boat coral viewing tours, scuba diving, Seawalker helmet diving, scenic helicopter flights, massages, water sports equipment, shopping and dining, a visit to Marineland Melanesia and time to ourself to explore Green Island or simply relax on the white sandy beach.

Our friendly crew will help you to organise your activities to make the most of your time on Green Island.

The Beautiful Coral Cay of Green Island

The beautiful coral cay of Green Island is a protected Marine National Park, topped with emerald rainforest and surrounded by white sandy beaches and magnificent coral reefs that beg to be explored.

Visitors to Green Island can choose to explore the island and its facilities, scuba dive, Seawalker helmet walk on the ocean floor or enjoy a guided snorkeling trip to the outer edge of the Green Island Reef.

Visitors can view the vast array of marine life and corals by participating in snorkeling, glass bottom boat or a guided snorkel tour on the outer reef. 

For those less adventure bound, simply walking around the island or laying around and relaxing on the island and soaking in the sights and sounds is also highly recommended!

The Cairns Green Island Reef Cruise

The tropical paradise that is Green Island is located 15 nautical miles (27 kilometers) off Cairns city. As a passenger you will cruise to the island aboard the fastest and most modern fleet of boats for our full day tours, and our half day tours.

Our fleet of Green Island boats are air-conditioned wide bodied catamarans with spacious, luxurious cabins and decks to enjoy Queensland's warm, tropical climate.

Our crew will have you on Green Island in under 45 minutes after departure. Whichever half day or full day reef tour option you choose, your time spent at Green Island will be the ultimate island getaway.

Full Day or Half Day Great Barrier Reef Tours

Whether you want to stay for a full day or merely spend a half day tour on Green Island, our half day and full day Green Island Reef tours will have a cruise departure time to suit you.

Green Island Reef Cruises offers a range of packages where you can choose to include the activities you want to do, or you can take it easy and relax on the idyllic sandy beach.

Do as little or as much as you please. Green Island Reef tours are fun for the whole family, as there is so much to see and do for all ages in the one day.

What is there to see on Green Island?

Even if you are not a swimmer you can still see the Great Barrier Reef up close. The choice of enjoyable activities on and around Green island include snorkeling, exploring aboard the glass bottom boat, introductory and certified scuba diving, trips aboard the semi-submersible coral viewing tour, Marineland Melanesia where you see the largest crocodile in captivity and sometimes rescued Green Sea Turtles, browsing through Green Island Resort shops, beach hire activities such as canoeing or surf skiing, and so much more.

As you travel to Green Island you will be presented with an informative snorkeling demonstration and presentation on how you can make the most of your time at Green Island.

The licensed bar offers refreshments all day long, and a buffet lunch, a la carte restaurant and snack bars are located on the island for meals and in between snacks and beverages for those who have chosen the full day option.

Green Island also offers a range of fun, affordable activities including cruises,  scuba diving, snorkeling, wind surfing, glass bottom boat, reef scuba dives, kayaking, bird watching.

Visitors may choose to visit some of the shops for access to further activities, such as 'Beach Hire' for hiring lounge chairs, umbrellas, volleyballs, canoes, surf skis and windsurfing skis.

Great Barrier Reef Glass Bottom Boat Tours

A favourite among Great Barrier Reef tour enthusiasts is the glass bottom boat coral viewing tour with fish feeding and commentary.

This commentated reef tour shows passengers how truly diverse the Great Barrier Reef coral gardens really are, along with how they interact with the wonderful array of sea life.

Things get exciting in the water when the fish feeding begins from the side of the glass bottom boat. The glass bottom boat carries up to 35 passengers, and lasts 30 minutes.

Great for the kids and the whole family and again let's those non-swimmers enjoy the delights of the Great Barrier Reef

Snorkelling Tours

Snorkelling and swimming in the clear cool sapphire blue island waters, at your leisure from the sheltered, sandy beach, or choose instead to go on a supervised snorkeling trip.

The supervised snorkelling trip takes those wishing to snorkel to the wonders of the outer edge of Green Island Reef for a trip that treats participants to an extraordinary panorama of marine life.

We highly recommend you take this guided snorkel tour if you want to see some spectacular coral as the reef around Green Island is very shallow and coral thrives in deeper colder water.

Scuba Diving- Seawalker Helmet Diving

Scuba diving is available for both accredited and first time introductory scuba divers. Scuba divers are taken to the spectacular outer edge of gorgeous Green Island reef for their unforgettable diving experience.

Those wanting to experience the wild side of diving can opt to go Seawalker Helmet Diving - an innovative way of seeing the reef! The Seawalker is ideal for both swimmers and non-swimmers between the ages of 10 and 70.

Helmet divers walk along a pre-determined track at the bottom of the reef, coming face to face with the Great Barrier Reef's coral and fish life. This is where you willl meet Gavin the very famous photo bombing Parrot fish. 

Helmet divers receive a 10 minute briefing before beginning their hands-on journey under the sea! This activity must be pre-booked and a medical questionaire completed before diving.

Green Island Day Use Facilities

As we own the lease to Green Island our tour passengers have the privilege of the use of the island swimming pool and locker facilities. 

Picnics and day-use areas are provided on the island for visitors, which include much needed facilities such as toilets, showers, telephones and food.

The northern side of the island has a patrolled swimming area where visitors can immerse themselves safely in the glistening ocean.

Green Island also has short and easy walking tracks through the National Park, the most popular of which being the 1.3km boardwalk that takes hikers from the jetty and resort area of the island through the rainforest to the south-east beach, which usually takes between 20-50 minutes to complete on a return trek.

There are self-guided walk brochures offered at the Green Island Resort information counter that allow visitors to explore Green Island at their own pace.

This convenience makes the island a popular destination for half day or full day reef trippers from Cairns and North Queensland.

Full day tours depart at 8.30am and 10.30am, allowing 5 to 7  hours on Green Island. Half day trips leave either in the morning or in the afternoon, departing at either 8.30am, 10.30am or 1pm, and allow visitors to Green Island for 2-3 hours enjoying this magical island paradise.

Coach transfers from Cairns and Cairns Northern Beaches hotels can also be arranged for this option.

All full day and half day Great Barrier Reef tours must be booked at least 48 hours in advance of your travel date, and all tours are operated in English unless otherwise specified.

Reef cruises operate daily from Cairns, in Tropical North Queensland, with a choice of optional extras that also should also be pre-booked especially during peak periods of travel like the school holidays.

What to Bring

Passengers are advised to bring along sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, a towel, swimming costumes, credit cards or driver's licenses (for deposits on snorkeling gear), and cash for drinks and snacks. Sunscreen and souvenirs can all be conveniently purchased from onboard the boats themselves.

Environmentally Friendly Reef Cruise

We are Australia's most awarded marine tour operator and we have made a large effort to be highly environmentally-conscious, and have built our boats engines accordingly.

In further efforts to remain eco-friendly, we regularly undertake comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions audits as part of the Australian Government's Green house Challenge Plus program and the Tourism Tropical North Queensland Planet Safe partnership program.

Green Island beaches have in the past won two awards in the annual Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge, "Cleanest Beach" and "Resource Recovery Award", ensuring all visitors are treated to pristine beaches, water and reef.

Green Island Ecology

Green Island has been one of Cairns' primary tourist attractions for nearly fifty years. Originally named "Dabuukji " by the local Aboriginal people, Green Island was formed by waves of sand deposits, coral and other debris moving onto coral foundations approximately 6,000 years ago.

Seeds and spores carried from the mainland by the wind and birds have fertilized the island and enabled the unique growth of plant life.

The rainforest on Green Island supports a diverse group of birds and insects.

Green Island is home to 126 native plant species, a myriad of birdlife. The surrounding coral reef is surrounded by mesmerizing towers of kaleidoscopic coral gardens.

The outer edge of Green Island reef is home to multitudes of corals and marine life, including giant clams, fish, turtles, starfish, stingrays, sea anemones, eels, sponges, sea urchins and other reef life.

Green and hawksbill turtles can also be seen offshore.

You can rest assured that your visit to Green Island will be filled with memorable experiences with the local wildlife as you get a chance to observe them up close in their natural habitat.

Today there is a rich diversity of vegetation on Green Island that includes beach and dry coastal plants, the most diverse of all the coral cays in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The island is covered in tropical vine forest that is supported by both rainwater and a small freshwater lens that is located beneath the island itself. In some places, the canopy of the island's rainforest can reach up to 25 metres in height!

The small coral cay island is approximately 15 hectares in size and has a circumference measuring roughly 1.5 kilometers.

The edges of the island are a combination of compacted coral and elegant sandy coral beaches. The island's interior is predominantly rainforest, and has plenty of space for people to escape to.

Green Island Travel Tip: Although the snorkelling off the beach at Green Island is fun you are encouraged to take the guided snorkelling adventure, glass bottom boat to enable you to see the coral and marine life at its best due to the fact that Green Island is a shallow water Island.

Green Island offers a fun full day tour or half day tour to suit the whole family and fold up prams are welcome if you are travelling with little one's.

For an outer Great Barrier Reef tour that combines Green Island and the pontoon see here