The most common mismatch
Both are sold as the Great Barrier Reef and they are two different days. The outer reef is forty kilometres offshore, takes nine hours and costs from $186. Green Island and Fitzroy are inshore, forty-five minutes out, and cost a fraction of that. Neither is a scam; buying the wrong one is the single most common disappointment in Cairns.
Quick answer
The short answer. If the reef is why you came to Australia, take a full day to the outer reef from $186. If you have half a day, small children or a tight budget, the inshore islands are a good beach day with some coral. The words on the ticket are the same; the water is not.
Why the water is different
Sediment, and how far you get from it.
The coast between Cairns and Port Douglas has rivers running off a very wet mountain range. That fresh water carries sediment, and sediment reduces visibility and smothers coral.
Twenty-five kilometres out, at Green Island and Fitzroy, you are still within the influence of that. The water is pleasant, there is coral, and after heavy rain it can be noticeably cloudy.
Forty kilometres out, on the ribbon reefs at the edge of the shelf, you are in oceanic water. Visibility is fifteen to twenty-five metres on an ordinary day, the coral is dense and the fish are everywhere.
The extra forty-five minutes of boat each way buys exactly that difference, and it is the reason the outer reef trips cost what they do.
Book direct
Everything on this site goes to the outer reef. These are the three we would pick from.
★ 4.8 · 3821 reviews
★ 4.8 · 1611 reviews
★ 4.6 · 1140 reviews
How to tell which you are buying
Moore, Norman, Saxon, Hastings, Agincourt, Flynn, Milln. These are outer reef sites.
Inshore. Good beach day, less coral.
Nine hours means outer reef. Four or five means inshore.
Ninety minutes each way is the outer reef. Forty-five is not.
Almost certainly inshore.
A permanently moored platform, and always on the outer reef.
When the islands are the right choice
Small children. A ninety-minute crossing each way in open water is a long time for a five-year-old, and Green Island has a beach.
Half a day. If your flight leaves at four, an outer reef trip is not possible and an island one is.
Seasickness. The shorter crossing is a genuinely different experience for anybody who struggles on water.
What we would not do is book an island trip expecting the reef in the photographs, and then be disappointed. They are honestly described; people just skim.
Every trip on this site goes to the outer reef. That is the whole selection rule.
Outer reef cruises→Every trip, current fare
Twelve trips, ten of them to the outer reef.
| Trip | Time out | Price | In the water | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Catamaran Reef CruiseA full day on the outer reef, best value | 9 h | $186 | Yes, most of the day | $20.67 | 4.8 · 3,821 |
| Reef Cruise + Scenic HeliThe reef from the water and from the air | 8.5 h | $297 | Yes, most of the day | $34.94 | 4.6 · 1,140 |
| Reef Pontoon by HelicopterHelicopter out, a day on the pontoon | 6–7 h | $456 | Yes, on the pontoon | $70.15 | 5.0 · 6 |
| Outer Reef & Coral Cay CruiseTwo reef sites, dives available | 8.5 h | $195 | Yes, two sites | $22.94 | 4.8 · 1,611 |
| Reef Cruise + 10-Min HeliPontoon day with a ten-minute flight | 7 h | $317 | Yes, on the pontoon | $45.29 | 4.6 · 32 |
| Rainforest & Barron Falls FlightTwenty minutes over gorge, falls and rainforest | 20 min | $233 | No | $699.00 | 4.4 · 2 |
| 30-Minute Reef FlightHalf an hour over the ribbon reefs | 30 min | $329 | No | $658.00 | 4.6 · 37 |
| Port Douglas Reef FlightHalf an hour over the reef, from Port Douglas | 30 min | $329 | No | $658.00 | 4.7 · 10 |
| 40-Minute Reef FlightA wider loop over the outer reef | 40 min | $395 | No | $592.50 | 4.7 · 7 |
| 45-Min Reef & RainforestReef and rainforest in one flight | 45 min | $457 | No | $609.33 | 4.8 · 24 |
| 60-Minute Reef & RainforestThe longest scenic flight from Cairns | 1 h | $652 | No | $652.00 | 5.0 · 2 |
| Port Douglas Outer ReefFrom Port Douglas to the Agincourt reefs | 7.5 h | $216 | Yes, most of the day | $28.80 | 4.8 · 506 |
Common questions
Yes, it is a coral cay within the marine park. It is inshore, about twenty-five kilometres out, with less coral and lower visibility than the outer reef.
If the reef is why you came, yes. Visibility, coral density and fish life are all noticeably better forty kilometres out.
Look for a named outer reef — Moore, Norman, Saxon, Hastings, Agincourt — and a nine-hour day. Four-hour trips at low prices are inshore.
The islands, or an outer reef pontoon. Both have shallow protected water; the islands also have a beach and a much shorter crossing.
No, but it is sparser and the water is more affected by river outflow, particularly after rain.
Easily, and plenty of people do — an island half-day and one full outer reef day.
Go deeper
Every scenic flight from Cairns, by duration and by what you actually see.
By airWhat the Great Barrier Reef looks like from five hundred feet, and what it costs.
PricesTwelve trips priced per person and per hour, plus the reef tax nobody mentions.
VerdictTwelve trips ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
CruisesEvery full-day trip to the outer reef, and how to tell them apart.
SnorkellingWhat you see, what is provided, and whether you need to be a strong swimmer.
Reef Cruise + Scenic Heli
★ 4.9 · 646 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h