Airlie Beach Private Tours

Hello, can anyone tell me for sure if there will be local tour operators waiting at the Airlie Beach cruise terminal for passengers looking for a day trip/half day tour? I emailed with the tourist office but they said they only offered sight seeing flights and if I didn't want that would have to book through my cruise line. From what little I have found by searching this doesn't seem right.....Thanks!!

I think I would be guided by what the local tourist office says. They after all would be working on behalf of the tour operators.

Many of the operators would be booked by the cruiseship for that day & so not available for 'outside' tours. Also, those who run 'regular' itinereries each day for visitors not on cruise ships, may have trouble fitting in their 'regular' tours with the timing of the ship visit, which limits the hours available. The time is further restricted by Airlie being a tender port.

On our visit there, we booked thru the ship a trip out to the reef, which was a good 2 1/2 hours out & back, and went directly from the ship itself - the tour boat picked us up from right on board & we didn't have to tender in to Airlie - only way it would work for the time available.

The ship tours are not cheap, but our view is we may only be there once & want to maximise our time seeing what there is to see.

Happy cruising

Thanks DebsUK and mr walker - the GBR is all we want to do and you've just confirmed the best, if costly way to tick this off the bucket list

Airlie Beach is a fairly small place and the tourist industry took a hit after the 2008 financial strife. It is busy again but the influx of big cruise ships would be a challenge. Same situation as we are finding in planning for Norway.

I think I would be guided by what the local tourist office says. They after all would be working on behalf of the tour operators.

 

Many of the operators would be booked by the cruiseship for that day & so not available for 'outside' tours. Also, those who run 'regular' itinereries each day for visitors not on cruise ships, may have trouble fitting in their 'regular' tours with the timing of the ship visit, which limits the hours available. The time is further restricted by Airlie being a tender port.

 

On our visit there, we booked thru the ship a trip out to the reef, which was a good 2 1/2 hours out & back, and went directly from the ship itself - the tour boat picked us up from right on board & we didn't have to tender in to Airlie - only way it would work for the time available.

 

The ship tours are not cheap, but our view is we may only be there once & want to maximise our time seeing what there is to see.

 

Happy cruising

I'm curious what ship you were traveling on and what this excursion was called. Where did you go on the GBR and did you snorkel?

I'm curious what ship you were traveling on and what this excursion was called. Where did you go on the GBR and did you snorkel?

We were on RC Rhapsody OTS in Mar/Apr 2011. The excursion was called something like Gt Barrier Reef. It was an all day trip, maybe 7 hours all up. We were picked up directly from the ship by a large catamaran that took us out to the reef and berthed at a platform, situated right on the edge of the reef. Snorkelling gear was provided, and each of us was allocated a seat in the small sub that passed underwater showing the reef and fish-life. Their was also a viewing area on the platform, from where you could view underwater. Lunch was served onboard, and as I recall also morning & afternoon tea. We arrived back at the ship just in time to sail :D

Oh just to clarify, yes pretty well everyone snorkelled, they even had those noodle things to assist those that weren't strong swimmers. There were staff around and about to assist those who needed some help. You had to swim maybe 10 metres in deep water to get over the reef itself, the catamaran berthed on the outside of the reef where the water was deep - guess it can't travel in just a few feet of water, which was the depth over the coral itself.

We were on RC Rhapsody OTS in Mar/Apr 2011. The excursion was called something like Gt Barrier Reef. It was an all day trip, maybe 7 hours all up. We were picked up directly from the ship by a large catamaran that took us out to the reef and berthed at a platform, situated right on the edge of the reef. Snorkelling gear was provided, and each of us was allocated a seat in the small sub that passed underwater showing the reef and fish-life. Their was also a viewing area on the platform, from where you could view underwater. Lunch was served onboard, and as I recall also morning & afternoon tea. We arrived back at the ship just in time to sail :D

 

Oh just to clarify, yes pretty well everyone snorkelled, they even had those noodle things to assist those that weren't strong swimmers. There were staff around and about to assist those who needed some help. You had to swim maybe 10 metres in deep water to get over the reef itself, the catamaran berthed on the outside of the reef where the water was deep - guess it can't travel in just a few feet of water, which was the depth over the coral itself.

Sounds fantastic mr walker, I'll be doing exactly that next year. Cruising on Radiance of the Seas from Syd to Qld return on 10th April 2017. You should look into it cricketts.

We were on RC Rhapsody OTS in Mar/Apr 2011. The excursion was called something like Gt Barrier Reef. It was an all day trip, maybe 7 hours all up. We were picked up directly from the ship by a large catamaran that took us out to the reef and berthed at a platform, situated right on the edge of the reef. Snorkelling gear was provided, and each of us was allocated a seat in the small sub that passed underwater showing the reef and fish-life. Their was also a viewing area on the platform, from where you could view underwater. Lunch was served onboard, and as I recall also morning & afternoon tea. We arrived back at the ship just in time to sail :D

 

Oh just to clarify, yes pretty well everyone snorkelled, they even had those noodle things to assist those that weren't strong swimmers. There were staff around and about to assist those who needed some help. You had to swim maybe 10 metres in deep water to get over the reef itself, the catamaran berthed on the outside of the reef where the water was deep - guess it can't travel in just a few feet of water, which was the depth over the coral itself.

Thanks very much! We are deciding between an excursion to a pontoon and one to an island where there is snorkeling. We're not fans of large crowds!

Which island are they offering? Could be more crowded than going to the platform.

Which island are they offering? Could be more crowded than going to the platform.

Good question! It's hard to find detailed information about the ship excursions.

With airlie beach, as it's a tendered stop, it's safer to stick to the excurions offered on board as this will guarantee the ship will wait for you if your excursion is delayed returning.

These are the excursions offered at airlie beach from the RCCL website

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do?LocationCode=WSY

With airlie beach, as it's a tendered stop, it's safer to stick to the excurions offered on board as this will guarantee the ship will wait for you if your excursion is delayed returning.

 

These are the excursions offered at airlie beach from the RCCL website

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do?LocationCode=WSY

Thank you! It looks like there are 3 excursions that do snorkeling. I wish they said what the capacity of the boats are... that would be helpful in making a decision!

I did see somewhere it had max amount of people for the excursion - I'm pretty sure the reef excursion is 250 as we're doing that one

I would say that the long excursion which is the most expensive goes to the platform on the outer reef. The sailing one would go to some places on the islands and it varies according to the tide and water clarity where they take you. Daydream Island is a very small three star resort island which is really only for having a swim or a drink.

One thing to consider is whether you are a good enough swimmer to snorkel in shallow water without standing up, which can be tricky. It is against the National Park rules to stand on the coral. The platform offers deep water but plenty of help and other ways to see the coral.

There's also a shorter high speed "inflatable raft" excursion. Do y'all know anything about that one?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

You might be best off calling the cruise line directly to get your answers. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know and which excursions are for small groups

You might be best off calling the cruise line directly to get your answers. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know and which excursions are for small groups

Thanks for your input!