A full day on the Great Barrier Reef with a snorkelling and sailing cruise to Mackay Coral Cay. Sailaway is the only operator from Port Douglas with daily access to the cay.
Days
- 9 hours, full day
Group size
- Small group
Start / finish
- Port Douglas / Port Douglas
Return
- See itinerary for details
Transport
- Luxury sailing catamaran, with coach transfers from Port Douglas hotels
Meals
- Morning and afternoon tea, tropical buffet lunch
Route
Included experiences
- Mackay Coral Cay — visit the cay
- Great Barrier Reef — guided snorkel tour of the coral gardens
- E-Tender — glass bottom boat viewing and reef interpretation
- Coral Sea — sailing on a luxury catamaran
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
5.0
Based on 18 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 18 reviews
Travellers consistently praise the knowledgeable and friendly crew, the quality and comfort of the boat, and the exceptional snorkelling opportunities over pristine coral with abundant marine life including fish, turtles, rays and manta rays. What stands out most often is the personal feel of the small-group experience, combined with well-organised meals and reef talks that enhance understanding of the marine ecosystem. The most common caveat mentioned is that the return journey can be choppy, though travellers generally view this as an acceptable aspect of an outer reef expedition rather than a significant drawback.
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.
Our outer reef day trip was incredible, and the small group made it feel personal. The snorkelling was phenomenal and the crew explained the marine life and how the reef fits into the wider ecosystem; special thanks to Mickey, Erin and Pippa.
Our Mackay Coral Cay day trip couldn't have been better. An excellent crew, a reef talk then plenty of snorkelling time, and very good food on board.
I'd recommend the outer reef trip to Mackay Coral Cay, especially if rain on the coast might cloud the water closer in. Expect about two hours each way on a luxury catamaran and choppy returns, but it's a lovely small-group trip with beautiful snorkelling.
We did the outer reef day trip and had a super day. The crew were friendly, attentive, helpful and well organised, and you can even buy seasickness tablets on board.
We loved the Mackay Coral Cay snorkel trip, with only 21 guests that day. Courtney and her team ran it smoothly, the reef presentation was fascinating, and we snorkelled two beautiful spots and went ashore on the cay; on the way home we slowed the sailing boat for a group of manta rays.
A fantastic outer reef trip with a friendly, professional, safety-conscious crew. Beautiful snorkelling, a personal feel in a small group and a lovely fresh lunch.
