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Want to do it all in one epic day? Then the Sunlover Great Barrier Reef and Fitzroy Island day tour is the one for you. Departing to and from Cairns, this tour includes 2 hours at the outer Great Barrier Reef – on Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon – plus 2 hours at Fitzroy Island and a range of inclusions. We’re talking snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef and from the beaches at Fitzroy Island, glass bottom boat tour, underwater observatory, waterslide at the reef, tea, coffee and a premium hot and cold buffet lunch. Transfers are on a comfortable air conditioned catamaran, with daily departures from Cairns Marlin Marina.
In addition to all the inclusions, there’s the optional extras of a guided snorkel tour at Moore Reef, seawalker helmet diving, scenic helicopter flight, kayak hire, and guided walks and turtle talks.
We’ve been on all the tours we book. As a couple, as a family with a baby, then with a young child and now pre-teen. We’ve taken non-swimming friends and older relatives to the reef. So, we have first-hand experience and can help you make the right choice for your Cairns Reef Tour. Chat with us or send us an enquiry and we’ll get back to you.
Get In Touch Chat With UsThis Sunlover Cruises day tour ticks a lot of boxes for those seeking a reef and island experience. It includes 2 hours at their Moore Reef pontoon, which has an underwater observatory, enclosed ocean pool for non-swimmers and young children, a super fun waterslide, glass bottom boat and semi submersible tours, as well as snorkelling from the pontoon. It also includes 2 hours at Fitzroy Island, where you’ll enjoy a hot and cold buffet lunch at the resort’s restaurant with time to relax on the beach and soak in the ambience of this beautiful tropical island. There’s lots of inclusions and some optional extras too, so you can make the most of every minute.
On this tour you can snorkel from Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon and the beaches at Fitzroy Island. At the pontoon, there is a platform lowered into the water providing easy access and a comfortable place to put on your fins and snorkel. The reef is a short swim from the pontoon and has lots of hard and soft corals, with an abundance of Great Barrier Reef marine life. All snorkelling equipment is provided and included in the tour price, as are flotation devices including buoyancy vests. For your peace of mind, there is a lifeguard monitoring the snorkel area at Moore Reef. At Fitzroy Island, water access is from the beach, so you can snorkel to depths meeting your confidence and comfort levels.
Sunlover Cruises runs glass bottom boat tours, from their Moore Reef pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef. These tours are guided, allowing you to learn more about the reef and the specific corals and fish you are looking at. The glass bottom boat tours depart to and from the pontoon and are included in your Sunlover Cruises’ Reef & Fitzroy Island Day Tour price. You do not need to pre-book your participation. Times will be advised during your journey from Cairns to the reef.
You can choose to take a semi submersible tour, while you are at the Moore Reef pontoon. The semi submersible is moored alongside the pontoon, with easy access. Its interior is air conditioned and the tour is guided, so you will learn more about the corals and fish you are seeing. The semi submersible tour is included in your Sunlover Cruises’ Reef & Fitzroy Island Day Tour. You do not need to pre-book. Times will be advised during your journey from Cairns to the reef.
You can choose to take a 10 minute scenic helicopter flight during your Sunlover Cruises’ Reef & Fitzroy Island Day Tour. The flight takes off from a heli platform, which is located a short tender ride from the pontoon, on Moore Reef. The scenic heli flights are run by Nautilus Aviation, a respected Cairns aviation company. The price for the scenic helicopter flight is in addition to the tour price, and includes tender transfers, to and from the pontoon to the helicopter platform.
Seawalker Helmet Dive is another optional extra on the Sunlover Cruises’ Reef & Fitzroy Island Day Tour. This experience could better be described as a helmet ‘walk’, as you are actually walking along an underwater platform with guide rails, rather than ‘diving’ and swimming around the reef. The helmet is a modern day version of the old pearl diving helmets and have a constant air supply from the surface. You are guided on your seawalker helmet diving tour by some of Sunlover’s dive instructors, who are with you the whole time, ensuring your safety and comfort and an underwater photographer will get some great images of you. The minimum age to participate is 12 years old.
There’s no previous experience necessary – and you can enjoy this tour, even if you can’t swim – you won’t even get your hair wet. This is an optional extra and charged in addition to the day tour price.
The Sunlover Reef Cruises’ outer reef pontoon is the only of its kind to have a waterslide, from the pontoon into the sea. This 30m spiral waterslide is perfect for kids and fun loving adults. The waterslide is supervised by life guards, to ensure safe operation. You have unlimited access to the waterslide, during your time on the Moore Reef pontoon. This is a really fun addition to the reef activities, making the pontoon a popular choice with families. Use of the waterslide is included in the Sunlover ticket price.
The Sunlover Cruises Cairns Reef & Fitzroy Island day tour departs Cairns every day. Check in commences from 7am with boarding to follow, and an 8am departure from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef. You will need to collect your tickets from the Sunlover desk, inside the Reef Fleet Terminal, prior to boarding. The boat returns to Cairns at 4.30pm. Snorkelling equipment, morning and afternoon tea and a hot and cold buffet lunch is provided and included in the tour price. You should take a towel, sunglasses, hat, change of clothes and sunblock for the day, as well as cash or credit cards to make any beverage purchases. Tea, coffee and cold water is supplied and included.
Check in at the Sunlover Cruises Desk, located inside the Reef Fleet Terminal. You will be provided with your boarding passes. Check in closes at 7.30am.
The Sunlover Cruises catamaran departs Cairns, and begins its journey to the outer Great Barrier Reef, and Moore Reef pontoon. Snorkel equipment briefings will be provided during the trip to the reef.
Arrive at the Moore Reef pontoon. Here you have two hours to enjoy the activities, which includes snorkelling, swimming, glass bottom boat and semi submersible tours. You can enjoy the waterslide and visit the underwater observatory as many times as you like. There is the option to include extra activities, which are addition to the day tour price, and include a guided snorkel tour, seawalker helmet dive and scenic helicopter flight.
Board the Sunlover Cruises catamaran and begin your 45 minute transfer to beautiful Fitzroy Island. You can choose to sit in the air conditioned interiors, or exterior sun decks.
Arrive at Fitzroy Island and make your way to the Resort, which is located immediately opposite the end of the jetty. Proceed to Zephyrs Restaurant where you’ll enjoy a hot and cold buffet lunch featuring a range of meats, salads, prawns, breads and more. Table seating, with amazing views over Fitzroy Island’s Welcome Bay. Lunch is available between 12.30pm – 1.30pm.
After lunch, you have 2 hours to enjoy and explore Fitzroy Island. This gives you time to snorkel off the beach and/or walk over to visit Nudey Beach (which was named Australia’s best beach in 2018) for a swim and postcard views. You may also like to participate in some optional extra activities, which includes guided walks and turtle talks, or kayak hire. These are all in addition to the day tour price. Please Note – you do not have time to do the Lighthouse Track or Summit Circuit walks on Fitzroy Island.
Board the Sunlover Cruises catamaran and begin the 45 minute transfer back to Cairns. During the trip you can choose to sit in the air conditioned interiors or the on the exterior sun decks.
Arrive back into Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal.
So much! You have 2 hours at the outer reef pontoon, with unlimited snorkelling, turns on the water slide and visits to the underwater observatory, as well as glass bottom boat tours and semi submersible tours. Upgrade with optional extras being a guided snorkel tour, seawalker helmet dive and scenic helicopter ride. Then 2 hours at Fitzroy Island with unlimited snorkelling from the beach and self-guided beach walks. Again you can upgrade with some optional extras, including guided beach walks and turtle talks and/or kayak hire. It’s big day and provides great value for money.
There’s no right or wrong answer here. Is 2 hours enough time, in the context of trying to do a reef and island tour in the same day, ‘yes’. You do get time to enjoy the island views, relaxed vibe and snorkelling from the beach. However, Fitzroy Island offers a range of walking tracks – including the Lighthouse Track and Summit Circuit – which offer amazing views, and cannot be completed in the allocated tour time at Fitzroy Island. Also, we highly recommend visiting the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre at Fitzroy Island, and you won’t have time to do this either. Honestly, Fitzroy Island deserves a separate day tour – and you can do this with Sunlover’s Cairns Fitzroy Island day tour.
It depends on your time and budget. They are both such different destinations, offering completely different experiences, both of which really deliver that ‘Great Barrier Reef’ experience you may be looking for. If you are short on time – then yes – do this tour and do them both. If you have more time, we suggest doing the reef and island as separate day tours, and Sunlover Cruises offer these tours.
Snorkelling at Fitzroy Island is off the beach, and usually the ‘main beach’ which is what you see either side of the jetty, as you disembark the boat. This beach is comprised of coral rubble, so we strongly recommend having reef shoes and/or thongs to wear. You can snorkel anywhere along this beach, but we highly recommend the headlands at either end for corals and fish. We do not recommend snorkelling at Nudey Beach, there is not too much coral over there, but this is a sandy beach and great for relaxing on.
The snorkelling from Sunlover’s Moore Reef pontoon is excellent. The reef is only a short swim from the pontoon and pending tides, rises up very close to the water’s surface. There’s good coral cover and if you snorkel to the right of the platform (away from the water slide), there’s lots of anemonefish to be found. If you are not confident in the open water, there are buoyancy vests and flotation devices available for your use. You can also choose to book a guided snorkel tour, where you will learn more about the fish and marine life you are seeing. This is an optional extra cost to the Sunlover Cruises Reef & Fitzroy Island day tour price.
No. You do not have time to participate in scuba diving at the Moore Reef pontoon, in conjunction with the Sunlover Cruises Reef & Fitzroy Island day tour. Similarly, you can not scuba dive from Fitzroy Island either. If you want to scuba dive on the reef, then there are lots of Cairns diving day tours to choose from (but this not one of them).
Yes – this tour provides non-swimmers with lots of ways to experience and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. At the Moore Reef pontoon you can enjoy glass bottom boat tours, semi submersible tours and visit the underwater observatory. You may also like to take it up a notch with a scenic helicopter flight (this is an optional extra from the day tour price). At Fitzroy Island you can stroll along the beach and enjoys views from the jetty, you may also like to book some of the guided walks and/or turtle talk (which are in addition to the tour price).
Yes – this tour is suitable for families and little kids. On the pontoon little kids can sit safely in the enclosed ocean pool (with an adult) and enjoy glass bottom boat and semi submersible tours. They can also see the reef from the underwater observatory. At Fitzroy Island little kits can splash in the shallows or enjoy island walks with Mum and Dad.
Yes, the Sunlover Cruises pontoon has a glass bottom boat and tours are included in your tour price. It also has a semi submersible and tours on this are also included in the tour price.
Lunch on the Sunlover Cruises Reef & Fitzroy Island day tour is provided at Zephyrs Restaurant, which is a part of the Fitzroy Island Resort. The restaurant has table and chair seating, with views over Fitzroy Island’s Welcome Bay. The tour price includes a hot and cold buffet lunch, which features a range salads, prawns, chicken and cold meats, breads and more.
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