A 2-hour eco tour in Airlie Beach that goes behind the scenes with sea turtle care, conservation and the recycling of marine debris, right in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.
Days
- 2 hours, morning
Group size
- Shared tour by passenger van
Start / finish
- Airlie Beach / Airlie Beach
Return
- See itinerary for details
Transport
- Passenger van pick-up and drop-off between Cannonvale and Shute Harbour
Meals
- No meals are listed as included
Route
Included experiences
- Eco Barge Clean Seas — marine debris recycling
- Whitsunday Turtle Rescue Centre — sea turtles in care
- Great Barrier Reef — ecosystem and conservation talk
- Airlie Beach — guided van transport
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
5.0
Based on 24 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 24 reviews
Travellers consistently praise the tour for its educational value, particularly the comprehensive overview of how marine debris is collected, sorted and recycled into jewellery and art, combined with the opportunity to see sea turtles undergoing rehabilitation. The most striking aspect for visitors is the hands-on experience, which often includes participating in sorting or shredding plastic, as well as the evident passion and dedication of the team and guides who run the operation. Guides are noted for their knowledge and friendly approach, and the overall experience is frequently described as inspiring and worthwhile. The tour's duration of approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, combined with convenient pick-up and drop-off, is viewed as appropriately paced. A minor caveat mentioned in one review concerns a mismatch between meeting point addresses, though this was resolved by staff waiting for the traveller.
How we collect and publish reviews
Where they come from. Our reviews are gathered from independent review sites and from guests who share feedback with us directly after their trip. They come from people who have actually travelled on the tour. Some longer trips are made up of shorter tours we also sell, run back to back — where a review was written about one of those legs, the review says so.
Why some are edited. Many of our guests travel in their second or third language. Where a review is hard to read, we lightly edit spelling, grammar and punctuation, or paraphrase a sentence for clarity. We never change the rating, the meaning or the sentiment, and we never write a review on a guest's behalf.
Reading the originals. Reviews sourced from public review sites appear there in their original form, and can be read in full at their original source at any time.
“BEST EXPERIENCE 🩷”
A beautiful, insightful morning with lovely people, and a little pup joined our walk. The meeting point addresses didn't match, but the ladies kindly waited for me.
“Eco tour”
Great to see and hear about the clean-up work in the Whitsundays, and seeing the turtles was a bonus.
“A really awesome tour”
Very worthwhile. Volunteers collect rubbish washed up around the Whitsundays, then clean and turn it into new items. Kelly was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the rehabilitating turtles are lovely. Check out the gift shop and the bottle-top wave mural at the airport.
“Eco experience with Kelly”
I've volunteered a couple of times, so it was great to see what happens to the plastic. Kelly was informative and great with the kids, and seeing the injured turtles up close at the hospital was really interesting.
“A Great Tour”
A must in Airlie Beach. Jane picked us up from our accommodation and guided us, and we learnt so much about protecting the marine environment, the recycling work and the green sea turtles in rehab. No pressure in the shop, but we couldn't resist something made from marine debris.
“Turtle Rescue”
The turtles, the recycling process and learning about the damage to our oceans were all very interesting.
