Green Island Ferry | Glass Bottom Boat & Snorkeling Options
Green Island is a beautiful 6000 year old coral cay located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, just 27km offshore from Cairns, and one of the most popular destinations on the Great Barrier Reef for visitors coming to Far North Queensland.
The Green Island Ferry departs Cairns 3 times daily. Your journey to Great Island takes only 45 minutes.
↻ Duration | Up to 8 Hours
⇨ Instant Confirmation
⎙ Mobile or Printed Tickets
Great Adventures Green Island Ferry includes:
- Return on air-conditioned, fast catamaran
- Up to 7 hours on Green Island
- Morning tea and coffee served until departure from Cairns
- Use of Island swimming pool exclusive for Great Adventures guests
Green Island Ferry Family Pricing
We offer special rates for families on all Green Island Ferry & Day Tour experiences.
- Infants (3 Years & Under) travel free
- Children (4 - 14 years) Half Price
- Family (2 Adults & 2 Children) 1 Child travels free
Family pricing may change slightly depending on the tour options you choose. Please check the booking form for up to date family pricing for your group.
Cairns to Green Island Departures
- 8.30am (Check-in at 8.00am)
- 10.30am (Check-in at 10.00am)
- 12.30am (Check-in at 12.00pm)
Green Island to Cairns Departures
- 12.00pm (Boarding at 11.30am)
- 2.30pm (Boarding at 2.00pm)
- 4.30pm (Boarding at 4.00pm)
Green Island Activities
For a small island, there are so many activities and things to do on Green Island. These include snorkelling, swimming, and scuba diving, parasailing or exploring the island further with a self-guided island walk.
If you are unable to swim or have small children, you can view the reef by glass bottom boat or semi submarine. If you want a less active day, perhaps visit the Marineland Melanesia which is home to Cassius the world’s largest Crocodile in captivity. Shopping is also an option at the island resort shop and boutiques, or spoil yourself at, Oiled, the Green Island Massage centre.
Being so easily accessible, Green Island is one of the most popular destinations on the Great Barrier Reef for visitors coming to Cairns and Far North Queensland. Green Island and the surrounding coral reef are a protected World Heritage Site, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Buoyancy vests, lycra suits and prescription masks are available for hire from the dive shop.
Optional Extras (available when booking)
Boat Snorkel Trip | $54 Adult | $38 Child
The boat snorkel trip gives you the opportunity to experience much more of Green Island’s amazing marine life. After a short 5-7 minutes trip offshore, you will be at one of our four beautiful dive and snorkel sites, about 1.5km from Green Island. Be ready to snorkel amongst colourful marine life and coral gardens, as our lifeguard supervises and directs you to the best areas of the site. (buoyancy vests included)
Introductory Diving | $142 Per Person
Scuba diving is the best way to see the reef and no experience is necessary to take a fully supervised introductory dive. Our professional and experienced PADI instructors will guide you through every aspect of your dive, allowing you to have a relaxed, enjoyable experience.
After your introductory dive briefing which takes about 30 minutes, you’ll gear-up and then start your dive experience in the island swimming pool for a skills practice session with your instructor.
Now you are ready for your dive adventure! You’ll head down to the beach where you will board our dive tender for a short boat ride, about 7 minutes offshore, to experience scuba diving at one of our four Green Island dive sites.
Certified Diving | $126 Per Person
If you already have a dive certification, we will provide you with all your scuba gear, and an experienced dive guide to ensure maximum enjoyment, safety and to guide you to the best sites.
Green Island Boardwalk
The Green Island Boardwalk is a leisurely 1.3km return taking less than an hour. The boardwalk access takes you through the national park forest to the south-east beach. A self-guided island walk brochure is available from the information centre for visitors to explore Green Island at their own pace.
A map available from the information centre will point you in the right direction to start your self-guided Eco Walk. This trail guides you to numbered locations that explore the history of the island and informative facts about some of the 126 native species of plant life on Green Island.
The walk has been voted one of Queensland’s top bushwalks in the state giving people the opportunity to spot some of the 28 species of forest birds and 35 species of seabirds that live on the Island. The Eco walk takes less than one hour and the map is available in six different languages.
What's for lunch?
Lunch is not included in the ferry packages but there are four outlets on the island where you can purchase lunch.
Alternatively there are picnic tables on the island and you are welcome to bring your own picnic lunch.
Cafe style lunch at Canopy Grill
A la carte dining at Emeralds Restaurant
Lite Bites or Reflections Pool Bar for snacks or drinks
Reviews
Pricing of food and drinks was expensive I thought we had a kids chicken nuggets and chips and it was $19
We had a lovely trip over to Green Island. We drove and parked in Cairns. Staff on boat were great. Green Island is a nice place to visit. We did the glass bottom boat, and walked around the Island. We found that maybe for us the time on the island was a bit long. Also where we bought lunch, understandable long busy day. But staff were not overly enjoying there job or that day and customers were at the brunt, even though we smiled, said thank you and enjoy the rest of your day. But maybe we just picked a bad day
Really enjoyed my day, it was relaxing and fun. The next time I want a day trip to unwind, would definitely consider another visit to Green Island.
Thanks
Enjoyed the ride to & from Green Island. The glass bottom boat guide was excellent. Unfortunately, tide was too low for swimming so stuck to pool. Overall, according to expectations.
The only issue was the birds and the mess they left, not that its anyones fault but it was the only thing that let the island down, I thought anyway.
We had a fabulous day on our Travstar trip to Green Island. The boat trip, glass bottom boat, snorkeling, rainforest walk, everything was just wonderful. Enjoyed by grandkid, grandma & parents alike. Highly recommended.
The Great Adventures Green Island Ferry departs Cairns 3 times daily | Your journey to Great Island takes only 45 minutes | Check in to the Reef Fleet Terminal to obtain your boarding pass | Boarding is 30 minutes prior to departure time.
