Glass bottom boat tour, Cairns: Green Island snorkelling cruise
A day trip to Green Island is the best way to enjoy a glass bottom boat tour in Cairns. The Green Island snorkelling cruise includes a free glass bottom boat tour.
Can I do a glass bottom boat tour in Cairns?
It is possible to do a glass bottom boat tour from Cairns, although the cruise doesn’t take place in Cairns itself. The Quicksilver Group’s Green Island day trip includes a glass bottom boat tour over the reef as part of the price.
To just book the tour and skip the explanation, head this way.
What is Green Island?
Green Island is a resort island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park World Heritage Area. It is a coral cay near Cairns, and is notable for being the only Great Barrier Reef cay to have rainforest on it.
It is possible to stay at the Green Island Resort, but most people will visit Green Island on a day tour from Cairns.
Save time queuing – Book these Cairns attractions in advance
- From the air: Outer Reef helicopter flight | Sunrise hot air balloon ride | Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
- At night: Sunset dinner cruise | Pub and club tour | Aquarium by Twilight experience.
- For wildlife: Birdworld Kuranda | Kuranda Koala Gardens | Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome | Cairns Aquarium | Rainforestation Nature Park
- For culture: Cairns Museum tickets | Street art walking tour | City and surrounds highlights bus tour.
- For thrills: AJ Hackett giant jungle swing | High speed jet boat tour | Barron Gorge white water rafting | Mulgrave River tubing.
Green Island from Cairns
There is no Green Island ferry as such. The transfers to the resort are essentially the same as the day tour boat from Cairns. Most people aboard will be heading over to Green Island for a few hours of snorkelling, rainforest exploration and beach time.
For many, however, the lure of these Green Island day tours comes in what’s included within the deal.
Green Island snorkelling
The Green Island day tour is more than just a fast catamaran transfer. Snorkelling equipment is included within the $132 package price, as is the use of the island’s day visitor facilities and pool.
Snorkelling at Green Island is good but not exceptional. If you want the best Great Barrier Reef snorkelling, choose an Outer Reef snorkelling tour that stops at more than one location. The Down Under Dive trip is an excellent choice for this.
Find your ideal Great Barrier Reef tours by location
Great Barrier Reef tours run from numerous destinations along the Queensland coast. Different tours cater to different tastes – some make sure they go to the best snorkelling spots, others build in beach time and some throw in extra such as underwater observatories and glass bottom boat tours.
Use the following links to start picking the best Great Barrier Reef tour options where you’re going on holiday.
- The best Great Barrier Reef tours in… 1770 | Airlie Beach | Bundaberg | Cairns | Cape Tribulation | Mackay | Magnetic Island | Mission Beach | Palm Cove | Port Douglas | Townsville.
Glass bottom boat, Cairns
Perhaps most interestingly – especially for those who want to see the Great Barrier Reef without snorkelling – is that the Green Island day tour includes a glass bottom boat ride within the price.
If you want to see fish and coral in Cairns without getting in the water, this Green Island glass bottom boat tour is probably your best bet. Book here.
All prices are correct at the time of writing but subject to change in the future.
Trip-booster! 8 great day trips from Cairns to power-up your holiday
- Kuranda combo package – take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up and the Skyrail cable car down.
- Green Island tours with beach time, glass bottom boat and snorkelling. (Or pick a Fitzroy Island trip instead).
- Moore Reef day tour – with underwater observatory, snorkelling gear, glass bottom boat & semi-submersible cruises.
- Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with snorkelling stops at two excellent spots on the Reef.
- Cape Tribulation rainforest day tour – with Mossman Gorge Aboriginal cultural experience and Daintree River crocodile-watching cruise.
- Atherton Tableland waterfalls and rainforest tour – including wildlife-spotting and a swim in a volcanic lake.
- Outback 4WD tour – visiting Chillagoe Caves, Aboriginal rock art and Granite Gorge.
More Cairns action
Other things to do in Cairns include visiting the Cairns Aquarium or Cairns Botanic Gardens, a Hastings Reef yacht cruise and bungy jump at Skypark Cairns.
Nearby, you can also visit Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, Paronella Park and Josephine Falls.
More Queensland travel
Go snorkelling at Arthur Bay and Florence Bay on Magnetic Island.
Stop at Coomba Falls on the Toowoomba to Kingaroy drive.
How long is the drive from Tin Can Bay to Rainbow Beach?
How long is the Goondiwindi to Coonabarabran drive?