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Cairns Combo: An Exciting River Cruise Experience and Exclusive Small Group City Sightseeing
4.9
14 Ratings
Cairns City
Experience the highlights of Cairns in just one day with a 1.25-hour morning cruise on the tranquil waters of Trinity Inlet. Delight in a waterfront lunch at Dundee’s Restaurant, followed by an afternoon of exploring the city’s sights on a Cairns city sightseeing tour.
Experience the highlights of Cairns in just one day with a 1.25-hour morning cruise on the tranquil waters of Trinity Inlet. Delight in a waterfront lunch at Dundee’s Restaurant, followed by an afternoon of exploring the city’s sights on a Cairns city sightseeing tour.
Duration:
7 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Cairns River Cruises - Embark on a 75-minute guided cruise through the serene waters of Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront. This expansive and picturesque inlet, bordered by mountains and mangroves, serves as a haven for diverse wildlife. The tour navigates through untouched creeks, home to saltwater crocodiles, and showcases some of the…
- Cairns River Cruises - Embark on a 75-minute guided cruise through the serene waters of Trinity Inlet and the Cairns waterfront. This expansive and picturesque inlet, bordered by mountains and mangroves, serves as a haven for diverse wildlife. The tour navigates through untouched creeks, home to saltwater crocodiles, and showcases some of the unique sights in Cairns’ backwaters. The Cairns River Cruises vessel is roomy, accommodating up to 14 guests, ensuring a personalized experience with unobstructed views of Cairns.
- Dundees on the Waterfront - Unwind and enjoy the waterfront scenery at Dundee’s Restaurant, just a 2-minute stroll from the river cruise’s endpoint, before joining the Cairns Discovery Tours City Sights afternoon tour.
- St Monica’s Cathedral - Explore one of Australia’s most stunning cathedrals, renowned for having the world’s largest themed stained-glass windows.
- Cairns Museum - Explore the Cairns Museum located in the School of Arts Building in the city center. A dedicated guide will welcome you for an exclusive tour of the museum, with free re-entry valid for three days.
- Ozmosis Café Trattoria Bar - Delight in a traditional Devonshire Afternoon Tea, perfectly complemented by your choice of tea or coffee.
- Cairns Botanical Gardens - Experience the vibrant beauty of tropical plants with a guided tour through the Cairns Flecker Botanic Gardens.
- Lake Morris Road - Prepare your camera for a visit to a breathtaking lookout offering views over Cairns city and the Coral Sea.
- Palm Cove Beach - Proceed to Palm Cove, one of Cairns’ most scenic northern beaches. Stroll along the jetty or enjoy the sand beneath your feet on Palm Cove Beach.
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Lunch
- Afternoon tea
- Carbonated beverages
- Cairns and Northern Beaches Hotel drop-off
- Driver/guide
- Lunch
- Afternoon tea
- Carbonated beverages
- Cairns and Northern Beaches Hotel drop-off
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
- Children under the age of 4 are not permitted to travel
- Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of cruise ship
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- No wheelie walkers permitted
- Meeting point is the Cairns Marlin Marina, Berth A1 at 10.30am
- Cairns Hotel drop off is included…
- Children under the age of 4 are not permitted to travel
- Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of cruise ship
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- No wheelie walkers permitted
- Meeting point is the Cairns Marlin Marina, Berth A1 at 10.30am
- Cairns Hotel drop off is included
- Motor scooters not permitted
- Cairns River Cruise Vessel is non-smoking
Location
Cairns River Cruises
10.30am meet at the Cairns River Cruise which is located at Wharf A, The Cairns Marlin Marina, 1 Spence St
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(14 Ratings)
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Kate_d
Jul 17, 2025
Best day trip ever! - What a fabulous way to explore the mangrove forest and sail round Admiralty Island. Joe, our skipper, was knowledgeable and entertaining. Small boat with total of 8 people, so nice to be off the tourist traps.
Delicious lunch at Dundees, although had to eat quickly!
The afternoon bus trip with Chris was fantastic. Explored the cathedral, just stunning. Then museum, where we could easily have spent hours (your tour ticket allows you to go back another day) then a small part of the botanic gardens. Chris explained about numerous trees and plants, all beautiful. Then scones and tea, before a drive into the hills and a panoramic view over the city. Baron Gorge not accessible currently due to landslides so unable to visit Lake Placid. But it meant we could spend longer on the beautiful beach at Palm Cove. A wonderful end to a brilliant day. So nice to be taken back to our hotel. Thank you Joe and Chris, you made our Cairns trip so memorable.
Review provided by Viator
Kalita_s
Nov 4, 2024
Great trip with Joe & Chris - I must say our cruise guide Joe was amazing he was too good and made us comfortable and gave us very nice details
He was just awesome - thanks Joe
And so was Chris who took good care of us on the bus and gave us great service and information right thru - thanks Chris
Review provided by Viator
Mladen
Oct 15, 2024
Great day with great food and guides - Informative relaxing with very knowledgeable guides (Pat for the boat and Graeme city tour). Lunch and tea were great!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tricia1653
Sep 26, 2024
Great trip - This is a really varied tour with highlights of the city stopping to see a magnificent stain glass window in Saint Monica’s Cathedral, having a personal tour around Cairns museum and then out to have a superb afternoon tea, all the places are visited on the tour where extremely interesting and would definitely recommend this again,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Denniscl5660ir
Jul 30, 2024
A totally enjoyable day - We started with the small group Cairns River Cruise which was very informative and relaxing, a great way to start the day. This was followed by a delicious lunch at Dundee’s on the wharf and the small group Cairns City Sights which was a really good way to have an overview of Cairns. A totally enjoyable day. Maryanne at Cairns Discovery Tours was very helpful with suggestion for our holiday in Cairns.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabethcb9657ws
Jun 7, 2024
Wonderful experience. - The sights were amazing. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and had fabulous personalities. The lunch at Dundee's on the waterfront was perfect.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Davidcy811zl
May 17, 2024
Cairns in a Day - We were the only visitors on our morning river cruise. The weather was cloudy with occasional heavy showers. This didn't dampen our experience. The skipper was Jacob, and he was very knowledgeable about the Trinity Inlet and its surrounding countryside. As we were the only passengers, he was able to give us his full attention and answer any questions. We were unable to spot any crocodiles even though the extensive mangrove forests make a great hiding spot. We did see an Australian Jabiru, or Black-Necked Stork with a 2.3 metre wingspan.
Lunch was at Dundee's Restaurant, a short stroll along the boardwalk from where the river cruise boat moors. We both had fried salmon with salad and Cajun spicy sauce. The salmon was mouth-watering and superbly cooked, and the staff were friendly, attentive and efficient.
After lunch we had sufficient time to walk back to our nearby hotel, avoid the passing showers, and freshen up for our afternoon City Highlights bus tour with Chris the driver and commentator. His commentary was almost continuous, as well as being informative and amusing. While we'd visited most of the highlights on previous visits to Cairns, it was well worthwhile seeing them again. Highlights were the magnificent stained glass "Creation" windows at St Monica's Catholic Cathedral, the Cairns Museum, and the delicious freshly made scones at Ozmosis Cafe in Edge Hill and, Cairns Botanic Gardens. From Campbell's Lookout there was a great view out over the growing city of Cairns, towards Trinity Inlet and Mt Gorton in the distance. Finally, we drove further north to Palm Cove on the Coral Sea. There was a strong wind and a rough sea, so not the more common scene of golden sand and coconut palms. We did see one person braving the crocodiles and rough sea and zooming up and down on a Hydrofoil Board.
Unfortunately, we were unable to drive up Barron Gorge to see the waterfalls as the road had been badly damaged from heavy rainfalls since last December.
We had an enjoyable day, the combined tour was good value, and provided a good tasting of things to see and do in Cairns.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ceried
May 12, 2024
Perfect for first time visitors to Cairns - This tour was perfect for getting to know and understand Cairns.
The river tour was excellent and Joe was a marvellous guide, very passionate about the river system and a wealth of knowledge.
The coach tour gives a taste of Cairns highlights which covers the history (the museum is excellent) and the botanical gardens are lovely. Chris was a great guide and made the tour very enjoyable.
Highly recommend if this is your first time in Cairns.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brenda_w
Nov 9, 2025
Recommend - It was a lovely experience, great guide, very interesting information. If you’re short on time perfect tour to do.
Review provided by Viator
Jennys1709
Jul 14, 2022
Excellent - Enjoyable day, lots to see and well organised. Excellent firm to deal with. River Cruise was very informative.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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