• Cairns sailing tours to the outer reef and Green Island. Snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef without the crowds at an exclusive mooring in deep water off Green Island  
• Journey to Pinnacle Reef off Green Island aboard a sail boat & motorised yacht. You can even help hoist the sails! 
• Personalised Cairns snorkelling and diving tour with a maximum of only 25 guests and the only Cairns sailing tour to offer reef and island destinations
• Take a tender ride to the beach and wander along pristine beaches and enjoy self-guided rainforest walks on tropical Green Island

Enjoy a fun-filled, family-friendly day of adventure and discovery on this unique, small group (max. 25 people) sailing tour from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island, with loads of in-water and island activities on offer. Snorkelling straight off the beach, scuba dive, and more.

What to Expect

If you wish to really see the best of the Great Barrier Reef off Green Island, then this is the best reef tour by far. With only 25 people onboard we have the most personalised Green Island tour that is so full of fun and adventure you will want to book it again.  With loads of in-water and Green island activities on offer, this Great Barrier Reef tour from Cairns is perfect for snorkellers, first-time scuba divers, and certified scuba divers alike.

Features and Highlights

SAILING TO THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

• Board a 16m (52 ft) motor sailing yacht from Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal and head to Pinnacle Reef, just off Green Island. With a maximum of 25 guests, you'll enjoy a spacious and comfortable journey. Start your day with tea, coffee, fresh fruit, and Danish pastries. After a safety briefing, set sail and even help hoist the sails if you wish.

SNORKELLING AT PINNACLE REEF

• Moor at the exclusive Pinnacle Reef, known for its excellent coral coverage and vibrant marine life. After fitting with top-quality equipment, spend the morning snorkelling or scuba diving in the clear waters. Discover colourful coral gardens, schools of spangled emperors, yellow-tailed fusiliers, parrot fish, and giant trevally. You might even swim with a cruising turtle. Continue snorkelling or diving in the afternoon if you wish.

EXPLORE GREEN ISLAND

• Spend an hour or the whole afternoon exploring Green Island. A motorized tender will take you from Pinnacle Reef over to Green island, with regular transfers throughout the day. This unique tropical island features a mixture of coastal scrub and rainforest, housing over 120 species of plants and various migrating birds. Enjoy the beautiful beaches, look for turtles and stingrays, and soak up the tropical vibes.

SELF-GUIDED GREEN ISLAND ECO WALK

• Take a self-guided eco walk around Green Island using a series of boardwalks with informative signs. Discover rare birdlife such as Silvereye, Ruddy Turnstone, and Torres Strait Pigeon, and unique plants like the Beauty Leaf and carnivorous Octopus Plant.

TASTY TREATS AND LUNCH

• Stay hydrated and energized with bottled water, soft drinks, beer, wine, and a variety of delicious food options. Start with Danish pastries and fruit along with freshly made tea and coffee. For lunch, enjoy a large smorgasbord of prawns, smoked salmon, chicken drumsticks, mixed meat platters, vegetarian and green salads, and assorted breads. Later in the day, you'll be offered fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, and cake with a complimentary glass of wine. After all in-water activities you may purchase alcoholic beverages.

INTRODUCTION TO SCUBA DIVING (OPTIONAL EXTRA)

• Experience the Great Barrier Reef and the reef off Green Island with an introductory scuba dive. No prior experience is necessary. After a safety briefing and some basic underwater skills, you'll embark on a 30-minute guided dive. With a 1:2 instructor-to-diver ratio, you'll receive personal attention throughout your dive.

CERTIFIED SCUBA DIVING (OPTIONAL EXTRA)

• Explore Pinnacle Reef, one of the Great Barrier Reef’s best-kept secrets, with a certified dive. The site offers colourful corals, bommies, and plentiful marine life including sea cucumbers, coral trout, Maori wrasse, and turtles. Detailed dive briefings, state-of-the-art equipment, and certified dive guides ensure a memorable dive experience.

MARINELAND MELANESIA (OPTIONAL EXTRA)

• Visit Marineland Melanesia on Green Island to see Cassius, the largest crocodile in captivity. Witness crocodile feedings at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm daily. Explore aquariums with stonefish, epaulette sharks, clownfish, mantis shrimp, and lionfish. The Maritime Treasures exhibition displays an extensive collection of tribal art from the Melanesian region. Make your own way to the attraction and pay at the entrance.

GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (OPTIONAL EXTRA)

• View the colourful, diverse marine life of the Great Barrier Reef without getting wet on a glass bottom boat tour. Ideal for non-swimmers, sit comfortably and peer at the life unfolding beneath your feet as the boat skims over coral formations and marine life. Please note if you are interested in participating in this optional extra, please let the skipper know on boarding in the morning - payment for optional extras is direct to the island operators.

SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE SUBMARINE (OPTIONAL EXTRA)

• Enjoy a fully immersive reef experience without getting wet in a semi-submersible submarine. Cruise a few meters under the water around scenic coral heads and learn from your captain’s ongoing informative and educational commentary. Please note if you are interested in participating in this optional extra, please let the skipper know on boarding in the morning - payment for optional extras is direct to the island operators.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

• Certified & Introductory Scuba Diving: Join us to explore the deeper sections of the Great Barrier Reef off Green Island to see the magnificent giant corals beneath the surface and the colourful marine life.

Additional Information

• Check-In: 8:00 am at Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal.
• Departure: 8:30 am.
• Return: 4:30 pm.
• Group Size: Maximum of 25 guests.
• Children: Minimum age for diving is 12 years. Parental consent required for participants under 18.
• Booking: Pre-book optional activities to avoid disappointment.

Experience the best of the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island with a day full of adventure, relaxation, and underwater exploration. Book your tour today for an unforgettable journey to one of the world’s most stunning natural wonders.

Read our blog Green Island or Fitzroy Island, which is better?

Learn more about the Great Barrier Reef.

See all Great Barrier Reef Tours from Cairns and Port Douglas.

Sailing to the Great Barrier Reef

Hop aboard your motorised sailing yacht and travel direct from Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal to Pinnacle Reef – an exclusive, pristine reef off Green Island. With a maximum of only 25 guests per tour, you'll have plenty of room to spread out. Tea, coffee, fresh fruit and Danish pastries are served when you board. You'll receive an introductory safety brief before you set sail and can even assist with the hoisting of the sails.

Snorkelling at Pinnacle Reef

Your yacht will moor at beautiful Pinnacle Reef, an exclusive mooring just off Green Island offering excellent coral coverage and vibrant marine life.  

After being fitted with top quality equipment, you'll spend the morning at this idyllic location snorkelling or diving (optional activity) the clear waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Discover colourful coral gardens, amazing fish including schools of spangled emperors, yellow tailed fusiliers, parrot fish and giant trevally, and maybe even swim with a cruising turtle. You'll also have the option to snorkel or dive in the afternoon.

Explore Green Island

Spend an hour or two – or the whole afternoon – exploring stunning Green Island. A motorised boat (tender) will take you the short distance from Pinnacle Reef to Green Island, and picks up passengers at regular intervals throughout the day.

Located like an emerald jewel on the Great Barrier Reef, with a circumference of just 1.4km, this unique tropical island is the only one of 300 on the Reef that has its own rainforest and a unique ecosystem. A mixture of coastal scrubby vegetation meets rainforest plants so a wide range of flora and fauna abound.

• Wander along the island's beautiful beaches and look for turtles, blue spotted stingrays and schools of fish.
• Walk around the island and discover unique plant and bird life – with over 120 species of plants and migrating birds regularly resting and roosting here, there's plenty to spot.
• Relax and soak up the beautiful tropical vibes. 

Self-Guided Green Island Eco Walk

Enjoy a fully immersive and educational experience on a self-guided eco walk around Green Island. A series of boardwalks allow you to walk across the island with informative signs displayed along the way.  

A large variety of bird and plant life call this natural paradise home. Rare birdlife you may spot include:

• Silvereye,
• Ruddy Turnstone,
• Torres Strait Pigeon,
• Osprey (see them catching fish or circling above),
• Reef Heron.

Interestingly-named plant life you will discover include:

• the Beauty Leaf,
• the carnivorous Octopus Plant,
• Cheesefruit,
• Cardwell Cabbage.

Tasty treats and lunch

To keep you well hydrated during the trip, bottled water and soft drinks are available from the fully licensed bar onboard, as well as beer and wine (though alcohol consumption is only permitted when all water activities are completed). There are also plenty of delicious food options to keep your energy levels up throughout the day. 

When boarding, you’re greeted with Danish pastries and fruit along with freshly made tea and coffee.

Lunch is a large smorgasbord offering a variety of delicious choices including prawns, smoked salmon, chicken drumsticks and mixed meat platters plus vegetarian and green salads accompanied by assorted breads.

Later in the day, you’ll be offered fresh fruit, cheese, crackers and cake with a complimentary glass of wine.

Introduction to scuba diving (optional activity – not included in tour price)

The Great Barrier Reef offers some of the best dive sites in the world. The calm, warm tropical waters of Green Island are perfect for first-time divers and offer a wealth of vibrant coral and marine life, including giant clams, marine turtles, reef sharks and a multitude of reef fish.

No experience is necessary, you’ll be briefed by highly trained and qualified dive instructors before your dive. After completing a medical questionnaire (to ensure that you have no medical problems that are contradictory to diving) and executing some basic underwater skills, you will descend over a beautiful coral garden 3-5 metres beneath the surface for a 30-minute hand-held, fully guided scuba dive. With a 1:2 instructor to diver ratio (or even 1:1 if you’re very nervous) for first-time divers (most boats offer 1:4) you’re assured of absolute personal attention. 

Certified scuba diving (optional activity – not included in tour price)

Pinnacle Reef is considered one of the Great Barrier Reef’s best-kept secrets and a diver’s paradise. The site offers an array of colourful corals with bommies (coral outcrops) and walls to explore, as well as plentiful marine life including:

• sea cucumbers,
• feather stars,
• coral trout,
• Maori wrasse,
• giant clams,
• turtles and harmless black tipped reef sharks.

You’ll receive a detailed dive brief on location and procedures, and state of the art diving equipment and a certified dive guide is included in your dive tour price. If you forget or misplace your certification card don’t worry as your PADI certificate can be checked online.

Marineland Melanesia (optional activity – not included in tour price)

Green Island houses the largest crocodile in captivity in the world! Cassius resides with 50 of his mates, is an astounding 5.48 metres long (almost 18 feet) and weighs over one ton at the wise old age of 110 years.

Witness the crocodiles being fed at 10.30am and 1.30pm each day.

Other exhibits at Marineland include:

• Aquariums, where you can see stonefish and epaulette sharks and watch Nemo (clownfish) in their anemone homes as well as mantis shrimp and lionfish.
• The Maritime Treasures exhibition, which displays an extensive collection of tribal art from the Melanesian region. 

Glass bottom boat (optional activity – not included in tour price)

If you prefer to view the colourful, diverse marine life on the Great Barrier Reef without getting wet, this is an ideal trip. Sit in comfort and peer at the life unfolding beneath your feet as the boat skims over the top of intricate coral formations and sea life, including Spangled Emperor and Batfish as well as sea cucumbers and giant clams. 

Please note if you are interested in participating in this optional extra please let the skipper know on boarding in the morning - payment for optional extras is direct to the island operators.

Semi-submersible submarine (optional activity – not included in tour price)

Another wonderful fully immersive Reef experience whilst staying dry, the semi-submersible submarine takes you on a cruise a few metres under the surface of the water around scenic coral heads. As well as the amazing marine life to be seen all around, adding to the experience is your captain’s ongoing informative and educational commentary. 

Please note if you are interested in participating in this optional extra please let the skipper know on boarding in the morning - payment for optional extras is direct to the island operators.

See all Cairns reef tours and read more about the best things to see and do on the Great Barrier Reef on our blog.

Departs From

Cairns

Departure Time

• Check in 7.15am at the Reef Fleet Terminal
• Board boat at A Finger Berth 4 at 7.30am
• Boat departs 8.00am
• Boats return to Cairns at 5.00pm

Departure Instructions

Please checkin at the Reef Fleet Terminal in Cairns from 7:15am to 7:30am

Pickup Locations

• Cairns
• Cairns Northern Beaches
• Palm Cove

Destinations

• Great Barrier Reef
• Green Island
• Pinnacle Reef & Green Island

Months of Operation

January - December

Days of Operation

Daily

This tour does not operate on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day

Duration

9 hours (approx.) including sailing time
4.5 hours (approx) at Pinnacle Reef & Green Island

Available for Purchase / Hire

• Certified & Intro Dives - must be pre-booked
• Return Transfers from Cairns or Northern Beaches - must be pre-booked

Fitness Level Required

Low

IN-WATER RESTRICTIONS

Scuba Diving Restrictions

• Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving.
• Participation is subject to a medical questionnaire completed on board with the tour operator
• Minimum age for scuba diving is 12 years.
• Flying after scuba diving: a wait of 12 hours is recommended after one dive, 18 hour after 2 dives and at least 24 hours after multiple dives, before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater.

Read more about Diving Safety on the Great Barrier Reef.

Eco Certifications

Hat, sunglasses, towel, swimwear and sunscreen

Child price is applicable to children 4 to 14