Green Island Exploration: Tropical Paradise on the Great Barrier Reef with City Transfers
4.5
14 Ratings
Green Island Cruise - Day Tour (Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise)

Embark on a journey from Cairns to Green Island, a tropical haven located in the Great Barrier Reef. Choose between a four or five-hour stay at Green Island, providing ample opportunity to snorkel, scuba dive, explore the reef through a glass-bottom boat, or observe coral through a semi-submersible submarine.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Green Island Cruise - Day Tour (Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise) - Explore the reef surrounding the island via glass bottom boat or snorkelling.
  • Green Island - Walk along the beach or boardwalks through the rainforest.
  • Great Barrier Reef - Only 45 minutes from Cairns, this is a great place to view the amazing marine life such as turtles, fish, reef sharks and stingrays.
What's Included
  • Glass-bottom boat tour or snorkeling gear
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off included
  • Air-conditioned catamaran transfers to Green Island
  • Optional buffet lunch
  • Optional semi-submersible tour
  • Environmental Management Charge included
  • Morning tea and coffee provided
What's Not Included
  • Optional activities. (Can be booked locally, subject to availability. Payable locally. Introductory Scuba Dive AU$152, Seawalker Helmut Dive AU$165, Semi-submersible Coral Viewing Tour AU$20)
  • Food and drinks (available to purchase)
Additional Information
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • If selecting hotel pickup or drop-off, please advise hotel details at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessibility is available but limited. Passengers must have some mobility and/or the presence of a carer who can assist them.
Location
Green Island Cruise - Day Tour (Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise)
Reef Fleet Terminal, 1, Reef Fleet Terminal, 1 Spence St
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(14 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Eremenow
Oct 13, 2024
Such a fantastic day - definitely no doubts about repeating the experience! - Have been to other islands and parts of the reef. All have been excellent. However, this company and their trip was exceptional and the best so far. Plenty of staff - all very helpful. Free tea and coffee and a very cool, comfortable cabin if you don't want to be out in the sun for the transfer. So many people on the return trip were smiling and laughing having had a great day. Highlight was the optional ocean safari, where you take a small launch from the main catamaran to the edge of the reef to snorkel and the accompanying qualified marine biologist takes you around the various corals talking about and showing various marine life. Slightly choppy that day which actually really added to the excitement! Lovely, clear, water - we saw turtles, 'dorys', nemos etc etc. The island itself is nice too and there are large areas to paddle, swim and snorkel. Nice to have shops on the island, although some things were more expensive than they should be - with a ferry so frequent, there's no excuse - just some basic profiteering going on (nothing to do with this company mind you, just consider bringing your own snacks and water). My only improvement feedback to Big Cat is to have a couple of more extreme prescription masks on-board. I'm as blind as a bat with a -6/-7 prescription and they only had -5.5. The other companies we've used in the past all have masks to -8. (Very easy to fix and won't affect most people.) Overall, we'll be back and will repeat the exact trip - loved it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jacob_k
Jul 29, 2024
Great full day trip to Green Island - Thomas is a great bus driver! Big Cat Green Island staff is wonderful. I would highly recommend booking with them.
Review provided by Viator
Karen_d
Jul 7, 2024
Great day out to Green Island very well organised - The glass bottom boat seeing the coral and tropical fish up close ! The Buffet lunch was excellent also .. a great day out to Green Island ! Helpful staff on board highly recommend
Review provided by Viator
Nathalie_m
Jun 26, 2024
Awesome time - The snorkling at Green Island is far superior to other locations we went, and there's no need to go far to get to the good places. The semi-submersible is worth doing because of the clarity and abundance of fish to see. The transfer was easy and on time. Great experience all-around.
Review provided by Viator
Kristy_b
Apr 4, 2024
Lovely Family Day Out - We had a lovely family day out. The weather was amazing so the ocean was clear. We spent hours snorkelling seeing lots of fish, plants and other sea life, sadly no turtles. The crew were friendly and helpful and the buffet lunch was delicious, a nice variety of cold and warm dishes. We would do this day trip again!
Review provided by Viator
Litjen_t
Oct 3, 2024
Good for a day, some elements better than others. - Service was attentive hand some crew member's were brusquement while others were every friendly. The semi submersible was disappointing, at least when we went out. Lunch was good enough. Green Islands is small land even with snorkeling, a day is just enough.
Review provided by Viator
Michel_a
Aug 25, 2024
Not as colorfull as expected - Not the wow factor seeing the reef but instructif.enjoy the crock and turtale show and seeing a turtale on the jetty working back to the cat
Review provided by Viator
Jason_b
Oct 16, 2023
A full day of surprises - Amazing to swim with a turtle and see the giant clam shells. Slight mix up with the booking department not telling the boat we had lunch included but all sorted in the end.
Review provided by Viator
Nancy_s
Oct 6, 2024
Mixed bag in a stunning setting - This is a tough review to write. The natural beauty of Cairns and the islands of the barrier reef are stunning and I was glad to get out on the water. This island has a nice little nature walk and some aboriginal history. However, the day was full of challenges. I was sent a voucher by Viator that stated I was to be picked up at the Cairns Plaza Hotel at 9am. However, as I read the details of the itinerary, I sensed that the boat actually left the dock at 9. I called the tour operator to verify and was told that they don’t do pick ups and I had to get to the dock on my own. I explained at length using the hotel phone but was told no. The hotel reception witnessed the call. Luckily it was early enough and the distance was reasonably walkable. I went to my room to pick up my things and got a call from the hotel reception saying the tour operator had called back to say they were in error and would pick me up at 8:15. However, at the hotel around the corner. Not terrible Again, I was lucky it was early enough to get to the pick up. I was told my boarding pass would be e-mailed to me but they listed the wrong address, so I knew I wouldn’t receive it. Upon arriving at the dock I had to wait about 15 minutes at reception to get a boarding pass in print. I just didn’t feel like the tour operator did much to alleviate the problems and expedite the boarding pass. I was very stressed that I might miss the boat. In the end I made the trip and enjoyed what I previously described. It is a busy boat so somewhat hectic
Review provided by Viator
Karey_s
Jun 23, 2024
Fair snorkeling tour - We had a good time at Green Island, but this wasn't the highest quality trip. You're essentially handed snorkle gear and told a general area to go snorkle on your own. The designated areas did have some great corals, fishes, etc., but they were fairly crowded. The semi-sub tour was cool, but I don't think the value of the trip matched what we paid. I'd probably research other options.
Review provided by Viator
From $102
up to 9 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).