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5 Stars for this awesome day tour which combines the best of Cairns’ outer Great Barrier Reef, with some quality time swimming and exploring at a gorgeous tropical island. This is our review of Sunlover’s Reef and Fitzroy Island day tour. You spend the morning enjoying everything their Moore Reef pontoon has to offer. The coral gardens have excellent coral cover and colour and are just a short swim from the pontoon. A wide range of hard and soft corals, with anemones and giant clams. You can snorkel by yourself or opt in to a guided snorkel tour. There’s lots of activities included in the tour price, which we will review below, and make sure you take at least one turn on the waterslide – it’s so much fun! Lunch is on the beautiful Fitzroy Island and afterwards, there’s a few hours for swimming, snorkelling and exploring. This is an 8.5 hour day tour which departs Cairns at 8am and returns at 4.30pm, we did it yesterday (Saturday 2 November 2024) and it was awesome, so let’s slide right into the details.
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Seawalker helmet diving at Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon gets you up close to beautiful sea fans and soft corals. For non-swimmers this is an amazing opportunity to experience the Great Barrier Reef.
This is an awesome full day tour combining some of the best of Cairns’ outer Great Barrier Reef, with time at the always stunning Fitzroy Island. There’s lots of inclusions making it great value for money. The inclusions are: boat transfers to and from Cairns, to the pontoon and Fitzroy Island, snorkelling equipment for the whole day, glass bottom boat tours and semi submersible tours at the pontoon, with the chance to visit the underwater observatory and take a ride on the waterslide. There’s a buffet lunch at Zephyr’s Restaurant on Fitzroy Island and time to swim, snorkel and explore. There’s also a range of optional extras you might like to add to your day, including a guided snorkel tour on Moore Reef, Seawalker helmet dive under the pontoon and scenic helicopter flight, range of guided walks on Fitzroy Island, kayak hire and/or tour and the turtle talk presentation, at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.
“We’ve never done this tour before, and I’m so glad we now have – as we rate it highly and would definitely recommend it to people wanting to combine the reef with an island experience. The whole day flowed nicely and never felt rushed. The coral gardens at Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon are in excellent condition, with almost 100% coral cover, a diverse array of corals with vibrant colours. Meanwhile underneath the pontoon, there’s an abundance of sea fans and soft corals, perfect for an awesome souvenir photo for those opting in for the Seawalker helmet diving experience. Fitzroy Island is pretty as a postcard (if you’re following our blogs, we just spent a weekend there recently) and there was time to walk over to Nudey Beach for a snorkel and swim. The crew were great, the boat was comfortable and we give the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tours 5 stars.” – Julie Johnston
We’ve personally experienced nearly every tour we offer and have extensive knowledge of the Cairns region, with a special focus on snorkeling and diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Best of all, our advice is completely free! Why not take advantage of our expert travel and package recommendations?
This tour has an early start with check-in from 7am, boarding from 7.15am and an 8am departure from Cairns, which sees you arrive at their Moore Reef pontoon around 9.30am. On the way out you complete any necessary activity paperwork and briefings, which in our instance included Seawalker Helmet Diving, and the marine biologist provides a talk about the Great Barrier Reef. When we arrived at the pontoon, there was time for a quick slide before Ethan and I headed over to the dive deck, to get ready for the Seawalker helmet dive. The crew help you put on weight belts, before escorting you down some stairs into the water beneath the pontoon. There’s a platform here and they help you into the helmet, before you ‘walk’ down some stairs to another platform which is 3.5m underneath the pontoon. What awaits is a wonderland of red sea fans and gorgeous soft corals, it’s stunning! Under the water you are supported and assisted by scuba divers, to reassure you and make you comfortable. An underwater photographer gets some photos (definitely get these, they will make for a great souvenir of your time on the Great Barrier Reef!) and you will see lots of fish, including trevally and snapper. You are underwater for around 20 minutes, before the divers guide you back to the pontoon. This activity is an optional extra to the tour price and can be enjoyed by anyone aged 12 years old and over. Please note some medical conditions will preclude you from participating, including asthma and epilepsy. Please review their medical checklist prior to booking the Seawalker helmet diving activity.
While we did Seawalker, Richard joined the glass bottom boat tour (which is included in the tour price) and said it was awesome. “The tide when we visited allowed us to go over the reef top and coral bommies. The water was really clear and we saw lots of different types of corals, including staghorn, leather corals, elephant ears, cabbage corals and spaghetti corals. The highlight of the glass bottom boat tour was seeing the very healthy reef, a school of blue green chromis streaming around the reef, and the commentary which was informative, engaging and interesting.” – said Richard. Once we completed these activities, we spent some time snorkelling together, slipping down the waterslide and relaxing on the sundeck – it was bliss. Our time at the pontoon ended at 11.15am, when we boarded the boat and made our way over to Fitzroy Island.
We arrived at Fitzroy Island just after 12pm for a buffet lunch at Zephyrs Restaurant, which provided views over the blue waters of Welcome Bay. It was a hot and cold buffet lunch featuring a range of salads, cold meats and cheese, bread rolls, steamed fish, a pasta dish, vegetarian bake, cold prawns and fresh fruits. The crew had let us know to be back at the boat by 3.15pm, so after lunch we explored the Secret Garden walk and went to the beautiful Nudey Beach – has been named Australia’s Best Beach before – for around an hour of swimming and snorkelling. The walks were shaded, on pathways which wound through the rainforest. Nudey Beach is very pretty. When we were snorkelling we found a boulder with soft corals and a few fish just off the beach, some stingrays ‘hiding’ under the rocks and saw a swimming feather star – which I have never seen before! – so that was awesome.
Fitzroy Island itself is a stunning tropical island, with sandy and coral beaches, green rainforest mountains and blue, blue waters. In addition to the buffet lunch and snorkelling equipment, Sunlover offers its guests a range of optional extra activities which includes a guided Nature Walk or Rainforest Tour, Kayak Hire or guided Kayak Tour and the Turtle Talk Presentation at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. We did not do any of the optional extra activities – because we spent the weekend at Fitzroy Island a few weeks ago and have already done these activities – but if you have not, then we do recommend them. For more information please see our Things To Do At Fitzroy Island post and our Fitzroy Island snorkelling review. We arrived back to the boat on time, grabbed an ice-cream on board (can highly recommend the boysenberry and the chocolate!!) and sat back to enjoy the cruise back to Cairns, which pulled into the Reef Fleet Terminal at 4.30pm.
I thought the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour was a really good experience, because there were lots of fun activities and we were always on the move and doing things. My pontoon time started with the waterslide – I’ve done it before and I love it lots – then I tried the Seawalker helmet dive. They gave us shoes to wear and we walked under the pontoon, where they helped us to put the helmet on. The helmet was heavy for me. Under the pontoon I saw some really big giant trevally, which was really cool, lots of sea fans and soft corals. Afterwards we snorkelled and there were amazing corals, with lots of corals and some anemonefish. After that we went to Fitzroy for lunch. I had ham rolls and a Coke. Then we walked over to Nudey Beach and I saw a baby stingray and a swimming feather star. I give this day a 9 out of 10 (would have been a 10 out of 10 if I could have scuba dived).
Yes, the Sunlover Reef Island day tour is definitely worth it! A lot of inclusions and the chance to see and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef and Fitzroy Island all in one day, is amazing. There’s plenty of time to be in and out of the water and you can still tailor your day to suit your interests, from the inclusions to the optional extras. We had a great time on this tour.
Yes, you definitely have enough time on the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour to do everything. We had 2 hours at the Moore Reef pontoon and 2 hours at Fitzroy Island. The pace was not rushed.
Yes, the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour is family friendly. We travelled as a family and there were other families on the boat and tour with us. This tour is also suitable for children of all ages. If you have little children, then they can splash in the sea at the pontoon’s enclosed ocean pool, and have fish swimming around them. They can also participate in the glass bottom boat and semi submersible tours and visit the underwater observatory. Older children can do all of that, plus go snorkelling on the reef, try the Seawalker helmet dive (if they are aged 12 years and over) and enjoy the pontoon’s waterslide. Kids of all ages will enjoy Fitzroy Island.
Yes, kids will enjoy the Sunlover Reef Island day tour. There’s lots for them to see and do. On the pontoon they can snorkel, take a glass bottom tour, semi submersible tour, visit the underwater observatory and ride the waterslide. If they are aged 12 years old and over, they can try the Seawalker helmet dive. On the island they can swim and snorkel and enjoy island walks, with the option for kayaking.
No, you can’t scuba dive on the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour. There probably isn’t enough time to include this as an option, but you can of course snorkel and enjoy all of the other free and optional extra activities highlighted in this review.
The Seawalker helmet dive takes you 3.5m under the Sunlover pontoon on Moore Reef. Here you can ‘walk’ along a submerged platform which is festooned with sea fans and soft corals. The dive crew are in the water with and beside you, for your comfort and peace of mind. You will see lots of Great Barrier Reef fish, many of which will come right up to your helmet. You are under the water for around 20 minutes and there is an underwater photographer, who will get some amazing photos which you might choose to buy (additional cost – but amazing souvenir!). The helmet can be a little ‘heavy’ on your shoulders and there is a bit of noise inside the helmet, of the air pressure), but those people who can not swim or dive – this presents an amazing opportunity to get close to the reef, corals and fish.
Yes, I think the Seawalker helmet dive is definitely worth it, especially if you can’t swim or dive. It provides the chance to explore the underwater world, albeit on a submerged platform under the pontoon, where you are surrounded by sea fans and soft corals. It’s like a magical marine garden and fish buzz around you and come right up to your helmet. Having the option to buy underwater photographs is awesome too, as they make an amazing souvenir of your time on the Great Barrier Reef.
The snorkelling on the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour was excellent. At the Moore Reef pontoon the coral gardens have excellent coral cover, diversity and colour. We saw staghorn corals, cabbage corals and leather corals, anemones, giant clams, sea fans and soft corals. We snorkelled unguided, but there is the option to book a guided snorkel tour at additional cost, and we saw blue green chromis, black and orange anemonefish, moon wrasse, six bar wrasse, scissor tail sergeant fish, trevally, parrotfish and more.
The snorkelling at Fitzroy Island is not as good as on the Moore Reef pontoon – as you would expect, this is the island component of the day tour – but it still offers the chance to see more corals and fish. We snorkelled at Nudey Beach and saw blue spotted stingrays, a swimming feather star, triggerfish, butterflyfish and some chromis. You can also snorkel under the jetty and in Welcome Bay, for more on this check out our Fitzroy Island snokelling review.
There’s lots you can do on Fitzroy Island, from island walks to swimming and snorkelling off the beach, kayaking and visiting the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. You have 2 hours on the island with this tour, which is enough for a small walk and swimming / snorkelling. For more information check out our Things To Do At Fitzroy Island review.
Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon has 3 levels and a waterslide. The main level has tables and chairs, changing rooms, an enclosed ocean pool for little children, submerged platforms where you can access the water for snorkelling and a dive deck. This is where the glass bottom boat and semi submersible tours depart from. The lower ‘deck’ is underwater and includes the underwater observatory and submerged platform for the Seawalker helmet diving. The top deck has sun lounges and bean bags and the waterslide into the sea.
Yes, the Sunlover Reef Island Day Tour is suitable for non-swimmers, offering a range of activities which enable you to experience and learn more about the Great Barrier Reef, before spending the afternoon on a tropical island. Activities included in the tour price for non-swimmers are: glass bottom boat tours, semi submersible tours, the underwater observatory, enclosed ocean pool. Optional extras are the Seawalker helmet dive and guided island reef and nature walks, as well as the Turtle Talk at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on Fitzroy Island.
The Sunlover Reef Island day tour is suitable for people of all ages and abilities, including families with young children and older children, non-swimmers and older guests. When we travelled the guests included a range of families, couples and solo travellers. It’s a big day – 8.5 hour tour – with lots of inclusions providing value for money. Having a professional photographer on board (including underwater) gives you the option to purchase amazing souvenir photos of your time on the Great Barrier Reef (photos cost extra, but make great souvenirs). Check-in commences from 7am and closes at 7.30am for an 8am departure. You have 2 hours at the Moore Reef pontoon on Cairns’ outer Great Barrier Reef, a buffet lunch at Fitzroy Island with 2 hours for swimming, snorkeling, exploring and enjoying. You return to Cairns around 4.30pm.
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