We returned to Queensland, our favourite state in Australia, for a visit to the beautiful Green Island. This island near Cairns is located in the Great Barrier Reef and is a popular tourist spot for snorkelling and diving. After a previous visit to the stunning Fitzroy Island, where we stayed overnight, we thought it would be fun to just do a day tour to Green Island and enjoy the underwater life. Read about my experiences and tips now!
About Green Island
Green Island is about a 45-minute boat ride from Cairns harbor. Various tours go to this unique island in the Great Barrier Reef, allowing you to decide how long you want to stay on the island. We found a few hours of snorkeling to be enough and left around 10:30 in the morning, returning to Cairns in the late afternoon (around 4:30).
Green Island is not a large island. On the island, you’ll find the Green Island Resort, a public swimming pool, a few restaurants/bars, an information center where you can rent diving/snorkeling gear, and Marineland Melanesia, a small zoo where you can see crocodiles, among other things.
Boat to Green Island
Right from the start, we noticed that we were definitely not the only ones going to Green Island. Several boats were already ready to head that way, and our boat was quite full of tourists. But that didn’t spoil the fun, because the Great Barrier Reef is a place that people want to visit in their lifetime. After 45 minutes, we arrived at the island and immediately saw how beautifully blue the water is and how clear it is in some areas.
Low tide
When booking the tour, we were immediately advised to start snorkelling as soon as possible upon arrival because the water level drops quickly, making it harder to snorkel. So, as soon as we arrived on the island, we picked up our snorkelling gear and went straight into the water. I noticed right away how shallow the water already was. For the first several meters, it was actually too shallow to snorkel properly, so I quickly moved to deeper water to see more.
Stunning fish and coral
Although the low tide conditions weren’t ideal, it was definitely worth it. While snorkelling, I saw an incredible number of fish in all kinds of sizes and colors. I even came face-to-face with a stingray and spotted a brightly coloured blue sea star on the seabed, something I had never seen before in my life. Swimming among thousands of fish was truly amazing. It almost felt surreal to witness so much beauty.
Conditions of coral reefs
While I was super happy to see all the beautiful fish, I also felt a bit sad seeing the bleached coral. It’s no wonder that the Great Barrier Reef is threatened and severely affected by climate change. Hopefully, we can turn the tide together and help places like this recover as quickly as possible, because it’s truly heartbreaking and tragic to see it deteriorating so rapidly worldwide.
Is Green Island worth it?
As I mentioned earlier, last time I went to Fitzroy Island, where I stayed for one night and enjoyed the tranquility, the beach, and the Great Barrier Reef. Fitzroy is truly an island where you want to stay longer, whereas Green Island has that feeling a bit less. I found the snorkelling at Green Island amazing because you can spot so many beautiful fish (despite the fact that it was a bit more challenging due to the low tide). At Fitzroy Island, it felt different, and we didn’t see as many fish as we did at Green Island.
A visit to Green Island is very touristy, but should that stop you from going? I say no! Once you get off the boat and pick up your snorkelling gear, you can snorkel at your own pace. When you’re done snorkelling, you can also enjoy the island itself. There are plenty of nice spots to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and water. The most touristy parts are the boat ride and the areas around the restaurants and the resort. If snorkelling isn’t your thing, you can also take a glass-bottom boat ride and view the Great Barrier Reef from the bottom of the boat
I thought it was a really fun experience to go to this beautiful island in Queensland and definitely worth a visit if you are in Cairns.
Visiting Green Island?
Feel like snorkelling at Green Island too? Click here for all tours going to Green Island
