Fitzroy Island Day Tour From Cairns

A lovely day on Fitzroy Island. Crew friendly and attentive. Island is beautiful and there were so many fish near the shore when snorkelling. Walks around Island are great and well signposted. The only thing that could have been better was the snorkel equipment, it is obviously well used and leaked quite a bit. I would recommend the trip but suggest you use your own snorkel equipment.

Fitzroy island is a dream. If you are a beginner in snorkeling this is the best place. So much too see and great ocean to explore. We saw fishes, rays and turtles! However you are not able to visit the turtle sanctuary as this is only for guests at the fitzroy hotel.

A beautiful way to spend the day. We walked to the lighthouse and my husband continued to the summit. We enjoyed the trek to Nudey Beach and relaxed and swam and ended the day with a cocktail overlooking the ocean. I think half day would not have been enough for us and we didn't even do any excursions.

The team at Reef Unlimited is knowledgeable, friendly and flexible. A special thank you to Aly for accepting me on the snorkelling tour just 5 minutes before departure! What a great experience! It was breathtakingly beautiful. Even from the beach, the underwater scenery is fabulous. And thank you, Matilda, for your always friendly and smiley way of handling every situation. Thank you, team, for a wonderful day! If you’re visiting Fitzroy Island, go with Reef Unlimited!

So our trip was a ferry ride to the island and back. Great service from the boat crew. Takes about 45min each way , a bit bumpy, also beautiful views of the coastline. The island itself is gorgeous!

Everyone was confused about pier 10 as it wasn’t numbered. There is no seating on the wharf for elderly or impaired persons. The boat was 45 mins or so LATE. On the half day tour this meant we could not explore the island past welcome bay and bistro to purchase lunch. Very disappointed that we didn’t have enough time to see Nudey beach. The general store had stuff all compared to what I’d read. You need footwear for the beach as it is all coral. The water was beautiful shades of green and blues, and clear.the water temp was quite coolish. The meals available were great, and there was a bar. The experience that myself and friends were hoping to have did not eventuate. Operator really needs to pull their socks up especially for the half day tours

The tour company wasn't as informative as green island company we went with. Also no one told us that Fitzroy is all coral no sand you need reef shoes, no where to really sit or sunbake. The food place there will not let you sit there unless you buy form them. Sadly we had a horrible weather so not a nice beach day for our group. Nuddy beach, was not a easy walk over, lots of rocks to climb on and over to get there, was pretty and the water was blue. We probably would not recommend going to Fitzroy, there is 1000 reef island.

We did the transfer only option and hired a snorkel and wet suits from the dive shop when we arrived on Fitzroy island. We swam about 20ms off the beach and saw so many fish I've never seen before and swam with 3 turtles right off the beach. Make sure you check the tides! But amazing!! Nice to see the GBR so alive. Bring your go pro if you have one!

Short ferry ride of around 45 minutes to the island from Cairns Marina, the island is beautiful with nice coral beaches, if going to Nudey beach this is quite strenuous if you are elderly or not fit as you need to go up and down some hills and over some boulders, take food and water with you as there are no facilities once at Nudey beach.

The boat ride over is short and not too rough. The island is lovely, especially Nudey beach. Our disappointment was with the guided snorkelling tour with a marine biologist. There was absolutely nothing to see on the trip as the water was murky and there was not much coral. Spent nearly $300 on the guided experience but it was very underwhelming. Guided tours on the outer reef are cheaper and so much better. Wish the operators are more honest about what the guided experience offers

We did the full day. Weather was not the best, rain in the morning and it cleared in the afternoon. Nudey beach has a lot of shells, you will need some type of shoes on the beach. With the weather, snorkeling was not possible, to cloudy. There are public restrooms on the island and good options. Best snorkeling was to the left of the docks when walking to the shore.

The boat to Fitzroy Island was very full. As we approached a crew member said - snorkelling is best on the left. We didn’t know if this meant our left as we approached or left when you were standing on the beach looking at the pier. We went to our left from when we were on the boat - wrong choice. Also the tide was out - which they could’ve told us that it would be best to wait a few hours. So we - 2 people in our 60s stumbled over rocks with our flippers on - scraping our knees when we got in the water and struggled even more to get out. Lucky - we weren’t injured!

It was an amazing excperience, the island was beautiful even with a little hour of rain it looked stunning

Excellent service. From initial booking, we were kept informed of trip details & itinerary. All ran to time. We didn't snorkel but lots did. We did the walk to the Lighthouse & it was as described difficult, some very steep parts. A very enjoyable day out.

A short 45 minute prompt ferry ride from Cairns to the fabulous, postcard perfect Fitzroy Island We snorkled all day in the crystal clear water, swimming with thousands of fish and turtles. Was an absolute dream come true. We loved it so much, we returned 2 days later... This time we took the short but beautiful hike to Nudey Beach which was beyond perfect, had lunch at Foxys Bar (very big portions and well priced) then swam/snorklelled off lunch! Highly recommend the full day (8am until 4pm) trip as time flies in paradise!

We chose Fitzroy Island Adventures to get to Fitzroy Island as they were one of the only boats offering a full day on the Island. We left Cairns at 8.30am and arrived back at 5pm. The ferry was smooth and crew friendly. We included snorkel gear hire in our booking and collected it on the boat. The only small criticism was when the marine biologist talked about the tours she spoke so quickly that I doubt overseas tourists would have understood. But I'd still highly recommend this tour.

Really enjoyed our time on Fitzroy Island. The tour group were really helpful and polite. Because of the rain, visibly wasn't the best, but we were still able to see plenty of life when snorkeling. Would recommend this trip for kids and elderly parents.

The actual island itself is lovely to spend the day at - some good hikes with amazing panoramic views, and a good spot for seeing sea turtles whilst snorkelling (depending on conditions/visibility). Even if you didn’t have snorkelling equipment included, they offered stinger suits for free for anyone that wanted one. So I have no fault with the overall experience! I just think that over $100 for just the transfer is very overpriced.

Had such a fabulous experience on this island, don’t think it matters which travel company you go with. We had incredible weather, destination is spectacular, amazing visibility. We saw a huge variety of fish, turtles, manta ray. Dive shop super helpful, knowledgeable. Not a huge selection of food but part of the charm is its lack of development etc. Don’t both with secret garden walk, the walk to nudey beach might not be your thing if you don’t like lizards etc

We arrived at the boat 6 minutes late. Due to morning traffic in cairns No warning that it’s bad ! In email ? The company more or less said you are going on different trip to green island or lose you money £400 ! We got on a boat at 9am Got to green island 45 minutes late later Had 1 hr on a beach with very poor snorkelling experience and then 20 minutes on a glass bottom boat Then back to cairns 45 minutes later Biggest rip off I have known £30 each maximum would be realistic Do not go on this exsperance if you want to see any of the barrier reef

Did not receive boarding pass and boarding instructions till after boarding departed. Hopeless customer service.

Boarding pass not issued the prior day 5pm. Then office close at 6pm so uncontactable. Poorly organised. Should have sent instructions on where to meet with boarding pass more than an hour before your office become uncontactable since activity was for early 8am next day.

It was just oki, they just did transport to Fitzory Island 🏝 and you could hire snorkelling equipment. Then you need to carry by yourself and I couldn't see anything in Island. Just good for someone like hicking or relaxing, not for snorkelling

Very disappointed as most activities were cancelled.. The accommodation was okay, but very tired looking. Foxy's bar was great but the Resorts restaurant was extremely poor and service was horrendous.

Fitzroy is beautiful island, has couple places you can order food, drinks and icecream. You can hire gear or bring your own snorkel and flippers. Beach is small and has coral sand, good idea to bring water shoes to prevent from hurting. Secret garden it's a lovely walk in the rain forest. Highly recommend to visit Fitzroy Island.

Only did this tour today but couldn’t wait to write this review,so impressed was I with everything.I did the half day as we had a flight to catch later that afternoon,Fitzroy is about 45 minutes by boat.Its a beautiful pristine island.Had a swim on Nudie beach(it’s not a nudist beach)and the water was so clear and perfect temperature.The glass bottom boat trip we had signed up to do was canceled due to unsafe conditions but they took us for a trip around the island instead which was nice.Theres lots of little hikes you can do and a turtle conservation centre but we had limited time,lots of people were snorkeling.I just want to really thank the amazing staff who were so helpful and kind to my Mum who is nearly 90.You made her day.A very enjoyable day.Thank you

This is regarding the snorkelling. I had high expectations from Fitzroy Island Adventures but I had one disappointment after another. I had called in before booking and was told the tour would be guided. IT WAS NOT. Also, there is no proper place to take a shower and change after you are done. It is basically just paying for the ferry ticket to the island. Nothing is included in the snorkelling price and everything has an add on cost.

I felt that the snorkel trip was very underwhelming. I appreciated the level of knowledge the tour leader had but there was not much marine life at all, we stayed in the same spot for an hour and I felt 90 dollars was an extreme rate for that activity. I was very disappointed at the end as I was hoping for a better snorkelling experience of the Great Barrier Reef. The island itself is beautiful and I would encourage people to go but not to participate in the snorkelling tour and just free snorkel as you will likely see the same things but without paying so much extra, as the ferry trip is expensive itself in the first place. Only reason this is rated at a 2 and not 1 is due to the company and the island itself.

Spent the day on the island. Glass bottom boat poor only saw little bit of bleached coral few fish. Boat doesn’t go out far. Hiked to summit- a very hard walk on a hot day. Limited opportunity to get water unless you buy it of course. Beach is beautiful but you can’t actually swim without a stinger suit due to jellyfish and stingers. Overall a pleasant day out if you manage your expectations. Remember to check in before you board

We chose this island for our day trip from social media reviews. The 1 hour boat trip is well organised. The snorkelling is terrific. You can see a wide variety of fish plus beautiful coral. It was easy to find your own shady spot on the beach. Recommend bringing your own food for a picnic on the beach. The pub counter had a strong disinfectant smell, which was unpleasant. The bread bun from the chicken burger also got moist very quickly from the burger ingredients. The pub entertainment was a duo singing depressing ‘90’s grunge songs – really inappropriate for the island environment.

The island is beautiful and I enjoyed my time but it was pretty expensive. I booked the guided snorkel safari and the marine biologist was great but the ocean was soo rough and my snorkel kept filling with water so I spent most of the time trying to clear my snorkel. The water was not as clear as other areas I snorkeled the day prior so that was also disappointing. If you plan to go to Fitzroy, I would find a cheaper option and just go snorkel on your own and bring your own gear.

A beautiful island! I snorkeled for the first time & found the staff, especially Daneka, so supportive! I let her know I was feeling a bit anxious & she went above and beyond, checking on me & ensuring I felt comfortable! We saw lots of beautiful fish & on the way back, spotted a gorgeous turtle. How blessed are we to live in this beautiful country 🌺🐢

Great trip over to Fitzroy Island, lots of fun snorkelling and eating at Foxy’s Bar. Highlight was our snorkelling Guide Danika who was incredibly accommodating and helpful, full of knowledge and made the whole trip an amazing memory!

A little bit underwhelming on things to do on the island but ok if you want a day of relaxation. Not upto the literature read about the island.

This is a disappointing experience and a waste of time. First, it takes 45 minutes to get to the Island. I had a lot of expectation for the Great Barrier Reef. Fitzroy Island did not fulfill it. The glass bottom boat ride was a let down. Seeing some blurry brown corals and barely any fish. Beach is not walkable with many corals that would just puncture your foot. Fish is a rare sight. Saw some brown corals. Only 1 restaurant that takes 1 hour to fulfill an order. Overall, I don't recommend this activity.

It was the most amazing experience we have ever had. Amazing staff, great service and everything was very punctual. Highly recommended

Beautiful day on the island. Boat trip over was easy. The water on the island was amazing. Pebble beaches were a bit tricky to navigate but worth it

Great experience snorkeling and the beautiful beaches. Beautiful view of mountains to and fro cairns. The scenery is amazing

The staff were definitely not friendly. The boat, timing and gear were OK but staff were acting like the guests are a burden that they are tolerating.

We loved our trip out to Fitzroy. The snorkeling was amazing, lots of coral and fish to see. We ate at Foxys restaurant, which was really nice, but you take your own food over which is great for big families.

Crew were friendly and gave clear instruction on times and locations. The boat was very comfortable not a full crowd of people so plenty of room available.

Nice snorlking off the beach. Waters at Nudey Beach were too rough for clear visibility, but the othe spot was very nice.

Amazing is one way to describe it!! Just wish the boat left later than 4 as it would have been great to have longer on the island! Its absolutely beautiful.

Amazing experience. My Daughter and I were sea sick on the trip there, however, the staff were soo helpful and understanding. Highly recommend this trip to Fitzroy with this company. Shout out to the two curly haired guys for assisting us - Josh and the cultural guy. Thank you, can’t wait to come back again - with sea sick tablets of course!

Fun filled with great adventures, everyone of us enjoyed the boat ride, glass bottom boat, snorkeling and swimming in Fitzroy island

We are locals and have been going to the resort for many years. On our return this year, we stayed at the Butterfly Bungalows. What a disaster. First check in is at 3pm and the room was not completely ready by then. Once checked in, the standard of the accommodation was terrible. The kitchen drawer could not close and kept sliding open. The curtains were two feet too long and filthy. In the bathroom the soap scum on the shower door was caked on and the soap dish fell off. Also in the bathroom as well as the kitchen, the plastic bits of the bench peeled off and the wood was exposed. The shower had mould through the nathroom The towels had stains on them and the paint started to peel in the main room. The bunk bed planks was damaged and not up to standard for a child to sleep on the top bunk. The walls had dirt marks all over. Our main door was extremely hard to open and close and had ro use alot of force and was very noisy. Also Foxy's bar closes at 8pm!! Very frustrating when you want to have a few drinks with your friends and family but are forced to leave the area. Overall the resort has gone down the drain and paying $400 plus for a night is not worth it. The island is absolutely stunning and definitely worth visiting. Rather save your money and avoid staying at the resort, unfortunately.

The check in process was not laid out well at all. I spent 30 minutes trying to find the boat as I thought this was where we checked in only to find a person 10 mins before final boarding who told me I needed to go to the main terminal to check in. Some of the sent information about check in is conflicting and made it seem as though you check in at the boat. The boat for this tour company is out of use and so their designated docking area is empty with no indication of where else to go. I am an English speaker and this was all very confusing. I can’t imagine how confusing this would be for non English speakers. Ideally the information for check in should be updated across all the communication pages as they often said different things. It’s a different boat that is used to ferry you to the island but same company while the other boat is out of use. Unfortunately this boat also became out of use and we were all stranded for an additional hour or so on Fitzroy Island with little to no detail from the tour company about what was going on. The boat pulled up to dock but couldn’t dock and continually attempted to dock before leaving when it couldn’t. No information was given to the massive queue of people waiting in the hot sun other than they weren’t sure what was going on but we should sit down. I felt really sorry for the tourists that had flights later that evening but really that’s the risk you take! Overall as a passenger who only booked for transfers I was disappointed with the lack of communication and clarity from the company. Fitzroy island itself is an amazing place and only a few meters from the beach you’ll find amazing marine life. The island was 10/10. The trip to and from not so much.

Another terrific day on Fitzroy Island with a huge shout out to the very friendly and helpful Lachy who guided us to the departure point as he observed we looked a little lost. A very personable guy and great representative of the company. Many thanks Lacy.

Fitzroy is a must see for sure. The beaches were just beautiful and the snorkelling was great (saw 2 turtle and lots of fish). One of the prettiest places i have ever been to. Great place, 10/10 recommend