Outer Reef Odyssey: 40-Minute Scenic Helicopter Flight to the Great Barrier Reef

Embark on a breathtaking 40-minute scenic helicopter flight to the Great Barrier Reef. Extend the flight to explore the outer edge of Arlington Reef and capture stunning images of the reef’s vibrant colors and marine life.

Duration: 40 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Great Barrier Reef - A fabulous scenic helicopter flight. In forty minutes, we’ll go beyond the inner reef, to the outer regions of the Great Barrier Reef where the frequency of coral structures is outstanding. The additional time allows us to explore more widely, watching out for the incredible reef wildlife flourishing in this World Heritage listed icon.
What's Included
  • 40 minute reef scenic flight
  • All fees and/or taxes included
  • Informative, in-flight commentary
What's Not Included
  • Unique, collectable ‘Zoomy’ Merchandise - optional
  • Personalised ‘in-flight’ video - optional
Additional Information

This magnificent 40-minute helicopter tour over the reef is a truly breathtaking experience. By adding an extra 10 minutes to the standard 30-minute flight, you’ll have the opportunity to see all the highlights of our regular tour, while extending the journey eastwards. This takes us past Green Island and to the outer boundaries of Arlington Reef – a…

Location
Zoom Helicopters
Turn off the Captain Cook Highway into the General Aviation entrance to Cairns Airport, turn right and you will find us opposite the Aviation Skills Centre on the left hand side of Bush Pilots Avenue.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(67 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Laura_m
Oct 12, 2025
Once in a Lifetime - Wonderful experience of a lifetime to see the aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef. The staff was very professional and experienced. Highly recommend this experience.
Review provided by Viator
Ksfujimoto
Oct 2, 2025
Family Flight in October - My family and I had a great flight! They were very polite & pleasant! Owner was very nice and let us relax. Smooth flight and fun, good items to shop
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tamara_p
Aug 9, 2025
Super recommended - Amazing, Haley was very attentive, friendly and a super quiet flight... She was explaining everything to us during the journey. I recommend the 40 min flight because the time there flies by. Spectacular views.
Review provided by Viator
Christina20160223
Jul 6, 2025
Spectacular!! - What a spectacular way to see the Great Barrier Reef!! The weather was perfect, the reef gorgeous, and our fabulous pictures captured it all!!! Hayley was the best helicopter pilot we’ve ever had (and we’ve taken many scenic helicopter tours during our travels!)!!!! Thank you, thank you, Hayley!!! Keep flying high!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Micor1
May 22, 2025
An Amazing Experience! - I dealt with Zoom directly on their website to book my flight about a year before. We e-mailed back and forth and Niels even called me on the phone to make my flight a go. Excellent customer service considering the time difference between Australia and Canada. He hooked me up with another couple so I did not have to pay for 2 people as it is a minimum 2 per booking. I did the 40-minute reef flight and it was well worth the money. Just amazing! It was a cloudy, drizzly day but the pictures were still beautiful. I also did not have the sun glare off the water so that was great. Our pilot talked and told us history and all about the reef. He even landed on a small atoll so we could take pictures...we couldn't get out but being right there on the water level was amazing. Worth every penny and a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeffrey_t
Apr 13, 2025
Great Experience! - The pilot was fantastic! From start to finish an all around great experience! I highly recommend this trip!!!
Review provided by Viator
Sharon_r
Apr 6, 2025
Awesome - Well worth the trip! It was awesome and let us see what we were going to be snorkeling yesterday.😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠
Review provided by Viator
Lesley_m
Mar 15, 2025
A great way to see the reef! - Niels was a great pilot and explained the whole process well and answered any questions we had in detail. Seeing the Great Barrier Reef from the air was a great and unique experience that we are very happy that we decided to do.
Review provided by Viator
Paulach6743mp
Apr 15, 2025
Very good - The captain was amazing. I told him I wanted to take professional photos, and he did what he could to avoid the glare and show me the best angles. I'm only giving four stars because, during the pre-flight, we were shown a helicopter whose windows could be opened. I asked the operator if that was going to be the case, and I was told it would, but it was not the case.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
796buram
Feb 28, 2025
Racist and Rude - We were 5 of us. Both my parents are with me. And my pregnant sister was also there. He told us that 3 ppl in the first ride and 3 in the next and offered 1 free for the second ride. And after the payment is done he changed his version and told us 4 in the first ride and 1 in the next ride. We told him before booking also that we don’t want to leave our parents alone and also my pregnant sister. He got 2 more passengers and then without informing us he changed his version. He spoke very rudely and in a racist way. Unacceptable and disrespectful. I wouldn’t suggest you guys to travel with them. It’s a proper scam. He threatened to call police on us and we also were willing to talk to the police about this scam and we waited for 20 mins and no police arrived. We asked for our refund and we didn’t get that too! Very rude!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $347
up to 4 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).