Gift experiences, Brisbane: 13 birthday activities worth booking

Top gift experiences in Brisbane, Queensland, include wine-blending workshops, island snorkelling tours and abseiling lessons.

If you’re looking for a gift experience in Brisbane, Queensland, there are plenty of options that might make an ideal birthday or Christmas present. That applies to local Brisbane residents as well as overseas tourists who happen to be in Brisbane on a loved one’s birthday.

Part of the beauty of booking a Brisbane gift experience is that you don’t need to cart the present around with you – it’s all confirmed over email. But picking the right gift experience requires a little bit of sorting the genuinely worthwhile from the bog standard.

All prices listed below were correct at the time of writing.

Gift experiences, Brisbane: Winery tours and wine workshops

One option worth considering as a present is a wine tour to the Scenic Rim region in the Gold Coast hinterland. A full day tour, including tastings at wineries around Tamborine Mountain, comes with Brisbane hotel pick-up and a two course lunch.

These Brisbane wine tours cost from $179. BOOK NOW.

Alternatively, you can opt for a more educational wine experience. The City Winery runs special wine-blending workshops where you can learn about different varietals. You also get to blend your own bottle of wine, which you can then take away with you as an extra gift.

These Brisbane wine workshops cost from $139. BOOK NOW.

Gift experiences, Brisbane: Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island

Moreton Island near Brisbane, Australia — Moreton Island in Queensland is home to 15 shipwrecks. This makes a Moreton Island shipwreck snorkelling tour a great day trip from Brisbane. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

A day trip to Moreton Island gives the sort of experience you feel you should have to go much further up the coast for. The beaches are lovely, but this island is all about the activities.

There are several that can be packaged up along with the ferry transfer. If you want a dolphin presentation and quad bike tour over the sand dunes, that costs from $149. BOOK NOW.

But the two most distinctive experiences on Moreton Island are snorkelling between the 15 shipwrecks and feeding the wild dolphins by the jetty at the Tangalooma Resort.

A Moreton Island day tour including shipwreck snorkelling costs from $209. BOOK NOW.

Alternatively, you can try a day trip to North Stradbroke Island as a birthday gift experience in Brisbane. There aren’t as many activities on offer here, but the guided coastal walks, lakes and koala-spotting are still hugely enjoyable.

A one day North Stradbroke Island tour from Brisbane costs from $119. BOOK NOW.

Brisbane gift experiences: Abseiling and kayaking

If getting active is your loved one’s thing, then there are adventurous birthday experiences available by the Brisbane River. One option is an introductory abseiling session at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. Instructors teach you the basics and get you kitted out before you make your way down the 20 metre cliffs.

This Brisbane abseiling experience costs from $65. BOOK NOW.

Slightly more sedate is kayaking down the Brisbane River. You can do a guided river kayaking tour for from $65. BOOK NOW.

But the kayaking feels a bit more special when lit up at night. Brisbane night kayaking tours cost from $99. BOOK NOW.

Brisbane gift experiences: Rock climbing and Story Bridge

The Kangaroo Point Cliffs aren’t just for abseiling down. Rock-climbers love climbing up them, too. Even if you’ve never been rock-climbing before, you can have a go at it on a guided introductory session.

Kangaroo Point rock-climbing lessons cost from $79. BOOK NOW.

There’s a climb of a different kind available on the Story Bridge over the Brisbane River. The Story Bridge Adventure Climb sees participants clipped on with harnesses to the bridge, then walking across the top, 80 metres above the river.

Story Bridge climbing experiences cost from $129. BOOK NOW.

All prices are correct at the time of writing but subject to change in the future.

Climbing the Story Bridge in Brisbane, Queensland — Climb the Story Bridge in Brisbane with Story Bridge Adventure Climb. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

More Brisbane gift experiences

Other Brisbane gift experiences worth considering include…

A five hour whale-watching cruise, including lunch, for from $140. BOOK NOW.

A best-of-Brisbane food tour with coffee and wine tastings, for from $255. BOOK NOW.

A digital photography workshop, for from $99. BOOK NOW.