What’s the best way to see the Brisbane River? Cruise, ferry or kayak?

Brisbane River boat tours with the likes of Miramar Cruises are a bit overpriced. Unless you really want the commentary, forget Brisbane river cruises and stick to a ferry. Brisbane River kayaking adventures are also a decent option.

Brisbane is awfully proud of its river. The city’s neighbourhoods are shaped by it, and leisure activities are centred on it.

By international standards, there’s nothing particularly special about the Brisbane River. No-one’s going to be gasping in awe at it. But the city does use the river increasingly well, and being beside it is undeniably pleasant.

9 brilliant Brisbane experiences to book in advance

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary tickets (or entry plus river cruise combo) – hold a koala and see lots of adorable native wildlife.
Brisbane River cruise – see the key sights and learn about the city on the way.
Story Bridge Adventure Climb – walk along the top of Brisbane’s famous bridge, with 360 degree views.
Combine the Southbank Parklands, City Botanic Gardens and Kangaroo Point Cliffs on a fun Segway tour.
Helicopter flight – see the city from a bird’s eye view.
Kayaking tour – choose the night tour to see the city light up, the day tour to enjoy the sunshine.
XXXX brewery tour – see how Australia’s most famous beer is made.
Guided wine flight tasting – get an Aussie wine introductory course.
See Brisbane’s spooky side on a city centre ghost tour.

Brisbane River on Brisbane river cruise — A Brisbane river cruise can be absolutely lovely, but it’s by no means essential. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions.

Brisbane River kayaking tours

But what’s the best way of exploring the river? Well, if you want to go by kayak, the Riverlife Adventure Centre offers kayak hire and $65 kayak tours from Kangaroo Point. The paddling is generally rather lovely, and few people will regret doing it, but there are more impressive places to kayak in Australia. Try kayaking with dolphins in Byron Bay, Sydney Harbour kayak tours or paddling between pelican-lined beaches in the Coorong, for example.

Brisbane River cruises are also available. Miramar Cruises runs trips down to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where you can get a photo holding a koala. These cost $85, but include the entry fee at Lone Pine as well as the 70 minute cruises there and back.

Kookaburra River Queens, meanwhile, runs leisurely paddlewheeler river cruises. These focus on serving a slap up lunch or high tea. Prices start at $55, although that’s for the package that doesn’t include drinks.

The River City Cruises are less glamorous, but they’re also cheaper (from $29). Running for 1.5 hours (or two hours with the sunset cruise). These offer commentary on the sights, such as the City Botanic Gardens, and plenty of photo opportunities.

6 supreme Brisbane day trips that will improve your holiday

Moreton Island day trip – with kayaking, sandboarding and snorkelling or with dolphin-feeding and desert dunes adventure.
Springbrook National Park glowworms and rainforest tour – including Tamborine Skywalk.
Eumundi Markets day trip – Australia’s best markets, plus the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and Noosa.
North Stradbroke Island day tour – with cruise, wildlife spotting and guided walk.
Tamborine Mountain winery tour – with gourmet lunch.
Maialia rainforest walking and wildlife tour – visit lesser-known D’Aguilar National Park.

Brisbane river cruises by ferry

If you’re more than happy to do without the commentary (and Brisbane, whisper it, isn’t an especially riveting place for listening to prepared scripts), then you may as well take a ferry. The history of the city is done far better at the Museum of Brisbane than on a river cruise, anyway.

The ferries go under a pointlessly confusing variety of names, including CityCat and CityHopper, but ferry timetables and prices can be found on the Translink site. They cover key spots such as Kangaroo Point and Southbank, home to Brisbane’s artificial beach.

Brisbane CityCat to Eat Street Northshore

If the main purpose is seeing the river, then plump for one of the longer journeys and aim for something specific at the end. Eat Street Northshore, a vast collection of food and drink stalls inside shipping containers, is perfect for this. It’s the most fun place to eat in Brisbane, and it’s a 250 metre walk from the Northshore Hamilton ferry terminal.

That can be reached in 40 minutes on a CityCat ferry from public art-filled central Brisbane. That’ll cost as little as $3.37 if you use the Go card payment system.

You can also see the river from above on the Story Bridge Adventure Climb next to the Story Bridge Hotel.