Cairns Koalas & Creatures At The Pier

Yes this is in a strip mall. Yes the koala holding experience is seconds. But go! Pony up for the photo they take of you, which you receive in both printed and digital form. This is a unique experience and helps koala conservation.

What a fabulous experience! Learned a lot about the rainforest, the mangroves, and the reef. Our guide was very knowledgeable.

The staff were amazing! They took the time to make my son’s experience truly memorable. Everyone was super friendly, welcoming, and informative, and they were absolutely fantastic with children. We had such a great experience and would highly recommend it to other families!

We visited Cairns Koalas & Creatures for our son’s birthday and had a wonderful experience! It’s become a special birthday tradition for our family to have a photo taken holding a koala each year, and it’s something we always look forward to. Such a beautiful way to capture memories and see how much our little boy has grown from one birthday to the next! A lovely experience and a special keepsake that we’ll treasure for years to come. We look forward to coming back again next year!

Planned to spend some time here… spent MAYBE twenty minutes total. It’s inside a strip mall so don’t expect a zoo type establishment. It’s definitely a tourist trap place. Paid $$$ to go in and hold a koala. We did hold a koala for 5 seconds IF THAT. Literally just enough time for the handler to get out of frame. They have you stand a certain way and then place the koala in your arms to take the photo and then pick the koala back up. Picture was good quality but we weren’t able to see it before printing, personally didn’t like how I looked but that’s on me for sure!😂 it felt like a stage room, not a habitat. honestly just not worth the money. Maybe if it were half the price but it was such a big disappointment in our trip.

Cairns Koalas&Creatures 👍🐨

We had a wonderful experience at Cairns Kialas and Creatures at the Pier. We got yo hold Milly the beautiful koala and took a once in a lifetime photo holding her. We had a brilliant host Daphne who was very attentive and she had great customer service and made the whole experience fantastic. Thank you for a brilliant time!

The Professionalism of these staff workers at Cairns Koalas & Creatures at the pier were excellent. MAINLY Daphne, Lauren and Makayla. They really made me feel comfortable, and I would recommend them to anyone . Could you please pass this message on to them, and tell them to keep up their fabulous work..10 out of 10 from Mick..

The staff were exceptional! From booking our experience to the handlers. Charmaine and Makayla went above and beyond to make my son's experience wonderful. Incredibly helpful and thoughtful. Thank you again for all you did for us.

Holding a Koala and a Blue Tounged Lizzard were definitely highlights of my first visit to Australia. The staff were super friendly and informative. I highly recommend this experience and visiting the location. If I did it again, I’d bring my swim trunks and go for a dip in the lagoon next door.

Lovely staff. We spent a good 2 hours there with our 2 and 4 year olds. Staff treated us very well. Thank you. Animals were great.

We were given a warm welcome by Daphne on the front desk, who got us familiar with the Koala sanctuary very quickly. Reuben gave us a great guided tour and even got to see him feed the Forest Dragons. The highlight was of course holding Vera the Koala which was simply amazing. Thanks Team for giving us a wonderful experience

We visited with our family of three. Daphne at the reception was very kind and helpful. We visited with our 8-year-old child, and she explained clearly and patiently how to hold a koala, so our child was able to enjoy the experience safely. The koala was absolutely adorable, and we were very happy with our visit. We had a wonderful time!

The Koalas were so cute but the time to carry them is too short due to the 30mins limit for each Koala. Would love to touch them more next time if there is another chance!

10/10 recommend! The staff is friendly and inviting. They show care for their animals and while there were tons of people there for photos, it was smooth quick and successful process. Daphne made my kids feel welcome

We had an amazing time at the Cairns Kaplan and creatures we were so lucky Daphne helped us with a last minute booking and we loved holding the Koala bear it was the highlight of our stay

Great experience to hold the koala

Excellent help from staff, especially Daphne, she was very welcoming and helpful. My family had a great time.

While the place is small, the guide was terrific and super knowledgeable. The time in the koala enclosure was amazing. The entire staff super friendly. Should go for a couple of hours if you are in Cairns.

Admission fee A$21 With koala pic A$64 Koala is cute as hell

Awesome friendly staff who were so welcoming and especially great with my daughter. Getting to hold a Koala, Bearded Dragon and Python were trip highlights for us.

Anyone expecting a comprehensive and extensive animal presentation here will be sorely disappointed, just like we were. I even read in the reviews that you should plan on spending about an hour there. I really wonder if the people who commented or recommended it that way perhaps had a mobility impairment and that's why it took them so long. Even if you read every text slowly and take your time, you can see the estimated 10 small aquariums and animal enclosures in far less time (10-15 min.). It's incomprehensible that they charge admission for this. But in fairness, I should also mention that you're buying a ticket that you can use over several days (free entry). The organizer should clearly state that this is primarily intended for families with small children.

Super knowledgeable staff expertly explained the procedures for holding the Koala and allowed us ample time to get photographed. Definetly recommend doing while in Cairns, Aus. Price was reasonable and affordable.

Thanks to Daphne’s prompt and attentive support, I was able to use the service with complete peace of mind. I had accidentally made a mistake with my reservation and even cancelled it by error, which left me very anxious. However, when I contacted them, I received a quick response, and they continued to kindly support me right up until the day of the visit. I am truly grateful. Although I was in an unfamiliar place and felt quite uneasy, their support allowed me to fully relax and enjoy the experience. I was able to meet adorable koalas, hold one, and take photos together, which made me extremely happy. There was a bit of waiting time before the koala photo session, but I didn’t get bored at all since I could explore the reptiles inside the facility and enjoy the theater. Simply watching the sleeping koalas was also very soothing. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Cairns. Thank you for giving me such wonderful memories.

There was an issue with my ticket purchase, but Daphne handled it quickly and professionally, allowing me to enjoy the experience without any problems. I really appreciated her excellent customer service. Since I visited on a weekday afternoon, the sanctuary was quiet and not crowded, so I was able to take my time exploring. Although the information boards were in English, I could easily access a Japanese audio guide on my smartphone, which made the visit much more enjoyable. Seeing koalas from such a close distance was an unforgettable experience—something you would never be able to do at most zoos in Japan. It was truly a unique and memorable visit that I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Cairns.

Amazing experience, I would love to do it again when visiting. Daphne was super friendly and helpful as well. Will highly recommend

The experience was wonderful, the Koala could only work for 30 minutes so each of us could only hold it for 30 seconds around according to law. But u. Could not find a better place to go hold a koala than here! Daphoe had wonderful service as well, highly recommend.

Dont bother, unless you want to hold a koala. A few fish, birds and lizards, frogs and 2 snakes. Not worth the money. Kids get a water play at the end which was the highlight of the whole experience.

Wonderful time. Staff was amazing and the Koala team were exceptional. Our family had an amazing time together getting our photos with the Koalas 🐨.

Such a wonderful experience holding a koala! The staff were friendly and helped make the already wonderful experience amazing!

We really enjoyed the attraction. We got to hold a koala and have our photo taken with it. The place is very welcoming and extremely child-friendly. There are also other animals to see. It offers fun and engaging activities for children, and the staff are excellent, friendly, and attentive.

Whilst apprehensive about the welfare side of things, on attending our worries were quickly dispelled. The place gives the opportunity to see some of our special animals for those not planning on leaving the city. We were lucky enough to visit when one of the baby koalas was returned after an escape whilst at their other site. To see the staff crying with happiness at the return of the baby was heart warming and really showed their attachment and care for the welfare of the animals on view

It was the most amazing experience! We wanted to experience holding and take photos with the Koala we've been searching around Cairns since we movedlast August2025. Amazingly, there's Cairns Koalas & Creatures at the Pier. The amazing, kind, and professional staffs made our experience more enjoyable. Very informative and engaging briefing from the handlers Makayla, Leah, and lovely Daphne. Thank you for bringing happiness in our hearts that we will cherish. We'll see you soon!

Great Experience. Our guide Lauren did a wonderful job explaining all the animals and reptiles. She is very friendly, knowledgeable and made the whole experience fun. The pictures of us holding the koala’s are perfect and a memory to last a lifetime. Highly recommend this experience!!

Charmaine and Lauren were fantastic. Knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Was a fun and interesting experience.

I held a Koala (Birra, 4 months old) and had my photo taken. Really brilliant experience. Would highly recommend having your photo taken. The greatest care and respect is given to the Koalas. The session is fully explained beforehand and a short video shown on how the session will run and how to hold the Koala. its a 30 minute window, as the Koalas cant be taken out of their habitat for any longer in a day. The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable and any questions from the group were clearly and kindly answered. Photographer is brilliant and captures the moment really well. I love my photo and its a great memory of such an amazing and unforgetable experience.

Staff is very attentive and professional.

The ticket support 5 days review. The location is convenient to come and it provides koala photo program. Therefore, I think here is really a good must-visit place if you want to take a photo with koala in city. Beside it, the employees here are very friendly and enthusiastic. They can speak many languages like Japanese, Chinese and so on. Parrots are also very active here and I guess these parrots are cared very well.

People are super nice here! They took the time and effort to introduce their 3 adorable koalas and answers all my questions about the Koala they have. The photo shooting instruction is clear and the session is well organized. The photo came out amazing!

Wonderful experience throughout the entire visit. Staff were very professional, timely and we could tell that they truly enjoy their jobs!

Incredible- entire staff was very friendly and accommodating. Kelley at the check in counter was very helpful and made my entire visit a pleasure. Highly recommend the experience if you want to hold a Koala.

Not worth the amount they charge. 10 mins to walk through very small. Only thing the kids enjoy was the water play at the front but can’t say I got my $40 worth. 1 snake, 1 bearded dragon, some fish and birds. Koalas there but have to pay extra if you want to hold them for a photo

Staff were very welcoming and attentive to their Koalas, the 3 girls and baby koala are in very good hands, and a shout out to the team for keeping my photo for the day as I couldn't take at the time. An experience to remember

This tour was good with a couple Fish, Snakes, Lizards, Birds and Koalas. The Koalas are so cute. We had a short briefing and went into the encloser. The staff where really nice with us but once the stuff put the koala in our hands they moved to the side only when they where taking the photo, and then they took the koala again. You get overall less then 20 seconds to hold them and pat them before they take the Koala again. It wasn't a nice feeling as we where rushed threw the process and there was no time to spend with the Koala. (It was very quite as we where only 5 people, meaning five photos, so there was no reason for us to be rushed). We paid $69 AU for 1 Adult and 1 Child just to get in and to have one photo, which we think was pretty unfair.

Awesome and it was worth to hold a Koala for short time. Our dream came true!. A Minnesotan couple

Four from Massachusetts, USA, could not pass up the chance to hold a Koala. We felt the conditions and treatment of these wonderful showed much care and love is given to the 3 ladies (1 we were able to hold). We then were allowed to take pictures of them in there trees, they were separated from us at that point, which actually meant they moved around so we got some additional nice pictures. The staff were great, Daphne was wonderful and set us up to view a very interesting short film about Australia and the evolution of the land and animals. We all felt it was time well spent and we have the option to return for a visit (no holding or picture with one) for the next 5 days!

The staff are lovely the koalas are very well looked after. Very informative, and emotional experience to hold a koala. Go!

Do yourself a favour and visit Cairns Koalas and Creatures. Staff are amazing and so caring to the koalas and all of the animals. This is a must see and beautiful experience. ❤️

Incredibly friendly and helpful staff. We were rushing to get in a koala photo before catching a plane and the staff did everything they could to help us. Milly the koala was lovely and the photo is a treasure and highlight of our trip. The handler seemed extremely careful with the koalas. Highly recommend.