Great Barrier Reef Tours - Family

The Cairns and Port Douglas islands are fantastic as they offer sandy coral cay beaches that you can just wade into the water and go as deep as you feel comfortable. The boat cruises out to the islands differ between forty five minutes to an hour and forty five minutes based on travelling by fast catamaran across calm water or sailing. These Great Barrier Reef islands are home to gentle sea turtles and dugong (or as known in other parts of the world Manatees) due to the underwater pastures of sea grass surrounding them. Corals and marine life are easy to see not only by snorkelling but also by glass bottom boats and semi-submersible submarine rides which are available directly off the islands. The main day tour boat moors 400 meters away from the island and offers continuous transfers all day long between the boat and the island.

Big Cat Green Island

Green Island is the only Cairns Great Barrier Reef island where the transfer is not necessary as the island has a jetty that connects the boats with the island to enable the guest’s easy access to land. Green Island is a commercialised island, including a luxury five star resort, a small zoo shops, cafes, restaurants and bars as well as a swimming pool and dive centre (all accessible at extra cost). You can circumnavigate Green Island  in approximately forty five minutes. The centre area of the island is filled with beautiful walkways and paths and offers a cool breeze through the shady trees. The island is a very shallow water island therefore great for small children. Take a look at the Green Island half day and full day tour options.

Great Adventures Green Island & Outer Barrier Reef Tour

This is one of the most popular day tours from Cairns as it offers a few hours on Green Island for you to wander around and explore all the things there is to see and do on Green Island and then you are picked up from the island jetty and taken to the outer Barrier Reef for the rest of the day to go snorkelling, scuba diving, or riding around on Scuba Doo. This reef day tour will certainly tick all the boxes for families from the very young to the very old and you will all remember it as one of the most memorable days of your family holidays together.  Staying overnight at Green Island Resort is another great option for families - which you can enjoy the tranquility of the Island when all the day visitors leave in the afternoon.  Day trips out to the Outer Reef Pontoon are available from Green Island Resort too!

Wavedancer Low Isles Port Douglas

It does not matter if you are staying in Cairns or in Port Douglas as the coaches will pick you up from your holiday accommodation and take you to the boat marina for your day tour to Low Isles with Wavedancer this is the perfectly relaxing reef tour to suit a family. Leaving at a respectable time of 10.30 am from the Port Douglas marina you are on your way to a beautiful little tropical island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for the day. Low Isles is very famous for the number of sea turtles that inhabit and nest on these isles and also famous for the maritime history the old light house and research station played in past years. The light house and the research station are still in use and quite often there are scientists from the world over residing here and studying our oceans. The waters around the island are home to a myriad of hard and soft corals which is then home to a wonderful variety of marine life for you to find and explore by snorkelling or joining in on the glass bottom boat tours. Another great thing about this reef tour is that 2^nd child travels free on this one too but please see the terms and conditions.  

Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive

Frankland Islands is just ideal if you are looking for a Cairns Great Barrier Reef deep water island with large bommies of corals directly off of the island that you can just casually swim out too. Frankland island is unique and highly protected by the Great Barrier Marine Reef Park Authority, therefore only allowing one hundred people maximum per day at the island and only one single tour operator with a license to have access to this precious and peaceful coral cay island each day. Like Green Island, Frankland Island does possess lots of shaded area in the middle of the island but furthermore, the day tour operator also offers small tents to the guests, allowing for those who want to lie on the beach but not in the direct sun or to store personal belongings in away from the direct heat. Frankland Island portrays the feeling of being on a deserted island of your dreams. Guided island walks & snorkel tours are available at an extra cost and as they are conducted by a marine biologist they are not to be missed. This island is also very well known as the location that offers a higher chance of swimming with and seeing sea turtles.

Ocean Spirit Cruises Michaelmas Cay

Ocean Spirit Cruises to Michaelmas Cay is one of our most popular more luxury top end family day tours that departs from the Cairns Marlin Marina on a daily basis heading out to a tropical oasis in the middle Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Michaelmas Cay is a unique sand cay where migratory birds rest before their next epic journey around the world and if you are a bird lover this gives you the opportunity to photograph them up nice and close. Guests can wander around twenty five percent of the Sand cay to relax and explore and this can be very beneficial as this does allow for keeping the younger family members all nice and close.

Michaelmas Cay differs in the way that the center of the sand cay island is not filled with rich green forest but is instead simply a coral cay with ground cover for nesting some of it bought in by the birds themselves. Many adore the excitement of this island due to the turquoise waters rolling up the cays edge on all sides of you. On your Michaelmas Cay day trip you can partake in an introductory scuba dive straight from the beach which is a lot more comfortable for a lot of first time intro divers wanting to give it a try. You can even explore the reef in a semi-submersible submarine if you are a non-swimmer. Ocean Spirit Cruises to Michaelmas Cay is the perfect reef day tour for families visiting Cairns and looking for all of the best things to see and do in the region to suit them. And bonus offer on this reef trip the 2^nd child travels free see the terms and conditions.

Passions of Paradise   

Another one of our very favourite day tours for families is Passions Of Paradise true to its name the company and crew responsible for this day tour really are passionate about ensuring their guests have a great day out and that they experience all of the wonderful things there is to see and do on the Great Barrier Reef. Travelling to two reef locations on the one day you will first go to Michaelmas Cay and then onto Paradise Reef.  This great value reef day tour is highly sought after as the boat carries a smaller number of passengers making it a more personalised adventure for the family.

Some of the optional extra things to do are scuba diving and glass bottom boat tours. Your family will really love this tour and so will you as it is great value. Be advised you must book early on this day tour as it is so very popular for not only families but for all guests looking for a high quality less expensive reef trip that goes to some one of the most unique snorkelling locations far away from crowds to see pristine reef systems. 

Fitzroy Island Cairns

If your children are a little older and you are looking for a day on an island where they can go off and do their own thing so you can then relax with the younger members of the family or your partner? Then Fitzroy Island may just be the fun island for you and your family. Teenagers just love the in water trampoline where they can expend some energy and jump and jump until they are sick of jumping and they can then go off on a sea kayaking adventure to circumnavigate the island with a tour leader or they can hire a stand up paddle board (SUP board) and cruise around by themselves. On this island you can also take a glass bottom boat tour. Families can also purchase a discounted activity package that may or may not include lunch or you can buy lunch from the bistro restaurant on the island. There is also a shop for those little extra treats during the day like ice-creams and drinks and of course a bar for the folks.  Or perhaps stay a few nights at Fitzroy Island Resort for an easy family island holiday on the Great Barrier Reef.

These are just some of the fabulous Great Barrier Reef Island tours and for a full comprehensive list have a look at The Tour Specialists for all the activities, day trips and everything to see and do for families in Cairns and Port Douglas in Queensland Australia.  Family friendly accommodation in Cairns or Port Douglas can also be arranged with expert local advice when booking your family day trips. 

Got a large family or group and find that the price is really racking up for your desired reef trip on a regular commercial day tour trip? Why not spend that money on your own personal private boat charter where YOU make the decision of where you are going on the Great Barrier Reef and YOU decide for how long and YOU are the only ones experiencing this utopia with no mass tourist crowds to deal with?

Private charter boats give you your own skipper and crew so you and your family can just sit back, relax and cruise off into the blue yonder of the Coral Sea for a fun packed day for your personally designed Great Barrier Reef excursion.

All private charter boats depart from either the Cairns Marlin Marina, Yorkeys Knob Marina or the Port Douglas Marina and each individually sized boat provides differing options to give the flexibility for your specific private charter requirements.

We have private charter boats for one day hire, overnight charter or extended charters that may combine some game fishing on the reef and even some snorkelling and or scuba diving. They also range from the smaller more stable catamarans that cater for a comfortable 12 guests up to the ultra-luxury multi-million dollar superyachts that caters for only 8 guests to the overnight live aboard boat that is perfect for 26 pampered family members and guests.

You can charter a boat for a full day, half day or even a sunset charter. If you are wishing to take your family on a real Great Barrier Reef adventure we can plan a 3-4-5-6 or 7 day itinerary that may include a flight from North Queensland or the top of the Cape to being you back to Cairns for your departure home after your adventure. We can plan the perfect private charter itinerary for you as we are the local experts in all private charter touring for Cairns and Port Douglas in Queensland Australia.     

Cairns Diving and snorkelling off of the back of the boat is not half as scary as it may sound and in fact it is made very simple with the hydraulic platforms that are submerged as the boat anchors or via ladders on the smaller sailing vessels that come down the back of the boats right into the water allowing for secure, safe and easy entry into the water. Many of these boats offer the best opportunity to see a much great deal of the reef in one day as they visit two or three sites and some to even an island as well. Some of these boats pick their sites daily based on weather, conditions, tides and visibility, allowing for the best reef adventure and experience in the best conditions. Most of the boats that have these roaming permits simply offer snorkelling/diving off the back of the boat and do not generally offer semi -submersible or glass bottom boat tours but are fantastic in the manner that you generally get the most time in the water snorkelling around this underwater paradise we call The Great Barrier Reef.

Please note: These types of reef tours are more suited to those families with older teenage children who love to snorkel and scuba dive. They are not designed and not suited to cater for young families at all. 

Silversonic Agincourt Outer Barrier Reef Tour Port Douglas

Always the first boat to be booked out in the holiday season and peak season is Silversonic popular due to its great reputation and the fact that it has a roaming permit that allows it to choose from a huge variety of locations to visit each day based on the weather, tide, wind, currents and marine activity. The region it visits is called the Agincourt Ribbon Reefs and if you are a keen scuba diver you may have read many articles and seen many videos and documentaries on this amazing part of underwater world on the Great Barrier Reef. Sir David Attenborough and his team say it is one of the most magnificent places they have ever had the privilege to visit and explore.

The other unique thing about this day boat is that it has a Dwarf Minke whale licence that allows its guests to swim 10 persons at a time in the water with these incredibly inquisitive little baleen whales during the month of July to September. This boat is only suited for those families that have children that are teenagers that enjoy snorkelling and scuba diving. Please note this Great Barrier Reef tour does not guarantee swimming with whales as they are wild mammals. All interactions are bassed on the animals approach to the boats. An extra added attraction of the “Ride Control System” that is turned on when the ocean is a bit rough to enable the boat to glide across the waves which is perfect for those guests that may suffer from any seasickness issues   

Ocean Freedom Cairns

Another extremely popular day boat that is more suited to the families with older children is Ocean Freedom. She visits two reef locations in the one day and also offers a glass bottom boat tour and scuba diving of which she is famous for being the go to boat for your very first time introductory dive. This boat has the highest crew ratio to guests of any boat out of Cairns and this enables the crew to spend time with the guests and provide a guaranteed 1 dive master to every 3 guests and on most occasions 1 dive master to every 2 guests and sometimes when things are quiet they can even do 1:1 introductory scuba diving lessons which is great if your teenagers wish to try out diving for the very first time.

Evolution Snorkel, Dive, Helicopter

Leaving from Cairns early in the morning this boat heads out to a location chosen by the skipper on the morning of departure. They look at the weather, currents and tides and then decide the best reefs to visit to ensure great underwater visibility and comfort in any weather conditions. Evolution has a roaming permit so she can go to a large number of locations on the outer Barrier Reef to suit her dedicated snorkelers and scuba divers.  A great reef tour for the teenagers and older family members and for those who would like to upgrade to helicopter flights and private rooms on the yacht with concierge services all day long.