A full day on Normanby Island in the Frankland Islands National Park, south of Cairns, with up to 5.5 hours ashore. A crocodile-spotting cruise down the Mulgrave River gets you there, and the guided snorkels, semi-sub, island walk and buffet lunch are all in the price.
Days
- Full day, about 10 hours from Cairns
Age
- All ages
Group size
- Shared boat tour
Start / finish
- Cairns / Deeral / Normanby Island / Cairns
- Cairns, about 5pm
Return
- Cairns, about 5pm
Transport
- Coach from Cairns, then river and reef boat from Deeral
Meals
- Beachside buffet lunch, morning and afternoon tea
Route
Included experiences
- Mulgrave River — crocodile spotting on the cruise to the sea
- Snorkel safari — snorkel from the boat back to the beach with a marine biologist
- Guided beach snorkel — reef straight off the sand
- Semi-sub — fish, turtles and corals without getting wet
- Island walk — rainforest, beach and rock pools with a Master Reef Guide
- Kayaks and paddleboards — free to use through the day
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
4.9
Based on 50 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 50 reviews
Travellers consistently praise the tour's comprehensive inclusions, friendly and knowledgeable staff, excellent snorkelling experiences with sightings of marine life including turtles, sharks and rays, and the high quality of the buffet lunch. The most striking aspects are the island walk's educational value and the short travel time compared with other reef tours, with visitors particularly noting the calm river cruise through crocodile country and the relatively uncrowded experience. The main caveat is that the snorkel safari conditions can be variable, with a few visitors finding strong currents or poor visibility challenging, and one reviewer noted the lunch was served cold on a particularly wet day.
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.
A great crew, informative talks, a delicious lunch and a beautiful island. Highly recommended.
I'd dreamed of snorkelling the reef since I was eight, and this lived up to it. The pick-up was early, the gear was clean and good quality, and the slow river cruise came with tea and cake. The guided snorkel was stunning, lunch had great prawns and plenty of choice, and I saw a sea turtle. A perfect 27th birthday.
A wonderful day at the Frankland Islands, perfect for our family with toddlers. Clear water, loads of reef life, an excellent lunch, and both the semi-submersible and the snorkelling were excellent.
Snorkelling with sea turtles, with only our tour group on the islands for the day, in crystal clear water. Ivan helped my daughter on the snorkel safari, the river cruise was calm, the crossing only took ten minutes with no seasickness, and we spotted two crocs on the way back.
A fantastic day, only about 90 minutes from door to snorkel compared with three hours each way on our other reef trip. We saw lots of fish, starfish, turtles and a reef shark, and my son saw an octopus. The island walk showed us clams, sea cucumbers and starfish with plenty of interesting facts.
This was our third day of snorkelling on holiday and one of the highlights of the trip. So much was included: the glass bottom boat, reef safari, kayaks, paddleboards, a fresh lunch and a treasure hunt for the kids. We saw coral, clams, clownfish, turtles and a reef shark, and it worked for adults and young kids alike.
