great barrier reef tours:Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive - Islands of the Great Barrier Reef, Tropical North Queensland, Australia
Call Cairns Holiday Specialists for any Special Offers on this Cairns Great Barrier Reef Day Tour on 07 4059 59 59Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive offers visitors to Cairns Queensland Australia an unforgettably exclusive Great BarrierReef experience. Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive set themselves apart from other reef tour operators in that they are the only reef boat company able to visit this spectacular group of five breathtaking continental islands surrounded by fringing coral reef.
Normanby Island is the largest of the Frankland Islands, and is the destination for guests aboard the Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive full day Great Barrier Reef trip. The island boasts an abundance of plant and wildlife species, vibrant and colourful rainforest which is met by beautiful, unspoilt beaches and brilliant coral gardens which are home to tropical fish, giant clams and, most notably, green sea turtles; a popular calling card for Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive and one which takes pride of place in adorning their logo.
With maximum daily passenger numbers of 100, and a high crew to passenger ratio, a Cairns Great Barrier Reef day trip to the Frankland Islands ensures you an intimate, personal and unforgettable tropical Island experience from Cairns and the northern beaches.
The Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive Great Barrier Reef adventure begins with guests being picked up from their holiday accommodation via air-conditioned coach (Northern Beaches, Trinity Beach, Palm Cove departs 7 a.m. while Cairns City departs 7.30 a.m.) and transferred to the Frankland Islands departure point in Deeral, south of Cairns (an approximate 40 minute drive). Upon boarding, guests are offered complimentary morning tea including freshly brewed tea or coffee and biscuits, as the day's adventure really begins. A gentle and peaceful cruise along the Mulgrave River starts the day on a pleasing note. Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive being the only reef tour to include a river cruise in your day out so you can see the bio diversity of the rivers and maybe spot salt water crocodiles in their natural habitat.
Mangroves shroud the calm waters teeming with wildlife while spectacular views of rainforest-clad hills loom in the distance. The Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive river cruise offers a tranquil and scenic start to the day, whilst also providing guests with the opportunity to enjoy the diverse range of Far North Queensland's scenery; an advantage which not all visitors to the Cairns region are lucky enough to experience.
When approaching the estuary head of the Mulgrave-Russell River, the islands of the Great Barrier Reef emerge spectacularly and almost instantaneously. This is truly a sight to behold. The five islands which make up the Frankland Islands rest atop the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, appearing as havens of emerald rainforest and foliage, golden beaches swimming amongst a sea of sparkling sapphire. The ocean cruise takes about 35 minutes only, yet provides guests with spectacularly endless views of the Coral Sea, Islands and Australian mainland.
The open water cruise from the mouth of the Mulgrave estuary to Normanby Island is the shortest offered in Cairns Tropical North Queensland, which is also ideal for travelers who suffer from sea sickness. Once the Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive vessel reaches Normanby Island, the boat is securely anchored and guests can begin to explore this tropical paradise at their own leisure.
Guests with Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive day tour can choose, if they so wish, to separate themselves from the group, enjoying a peaceful and tranquil retreat. All visitors are offered beach tents as sun shelters to use as their own for the day, and are able to leave their belongings in these for easy access. There are also many packages available catering to individual tastes and budgets.
Frankland Islands Day Tour Packages
The 'All-Day Inclusive' package includes a guided snorkeling tour, tuition and snorkel equipment, a semi-submersible tour or glass bottom boat tour and a guided island walk with a qualified marine biologist or Marine Naturalist. Lunch is set up in the canopy of the rainforest and morning and afternoon tea are served during the day.
The 'Full Day Cruise and Lunch Package' includes use of snorkelling equipment and tuition, morning and afternoon tea and a big buffet lunch. On both the Full Day and All Day Inclusive packages Introductory and Certified Diving are available at additional cost but must be pre-booked.
The cluster of Frankland Islands in itself is protected national parks, the native habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Sea birds are prolific on the islands, and the Frankland Islands are a well known nesting ground for both common and endangered varieties of birdlife. The Normanby Island nature trail is the ideal way for visitors to gain insight into the immensely astounding natural beauty of the Cairns Great Barrier Reef island, and the easy 20 minute circuit offers guests the opportunity to enjoy rocky outcrops, dense tropical rainforest, coastal vegetation and mangrove communities. There are a range of rockpools that are home to a variety of wildlife, and many forest and marine creatures can be sighted on the easy nature walk throughout Normanby Island with the marine biologist.
The guided island walk and informative environmental commentary is truly an opportunity not to be missed. Delivered by a Marine Biologist or Marine Naturalist, these guided walks are informative, descriptive and interactive. You will see and hear about things you probably would have walked straight past or not even seen. Guides entertain their visitors whilst educating them, once again providing an Australian Great Barrier Reef experience paralleled by no other.
The coral gardens of Australia's Great Barrier Reef which surround the Frankland Islands are those of the most untouched in the entire world. Experienced snorkellers and certified divers will appreciate the pristine patch of coral reef surrounding Normanby Island, and with guidance can experience the deepest depths of the Coral Ocean. Travellers who prefer sun and sand will find delight in the sun-burnt shores of the island – soft sand, tall coconut palms fringing dense rainforest, combined with an abundance of wildlife, create an idyllic Cairns tropical island environment.
Nervous swimmers and first time snorkellers and scuba divers will also appreciate the calm, shallow waters lapping the shores of Normanby Island. This is the perfect sanctuary to gain confidence and experience the Cairns Great Barrier Reef.
However, for those wanting to experience the wonders of the reef without getting wet, or if you are afraid of the water and its sea creatures then a semi-submersible tour of the reef is available. The semi-submersible runs periodically throughout the day, ensuring those that don't swim still enjoy an up-close-and-personal encounter with the Cairns Great Barrier Reef. The semi-submersible boat seats 30 passengers in comfort, and the unique vantage point under the surface of the water offers spectacular views – just as if you were snorkeling!
After a full day experiencing the rainforest, reef and beaches of the exotic Normanby Island, guests embark on the return journey to Cairns. A 3 p.m. departure from the island allows guests to appreciate the tropical Australian scenery bathed in the late afternoon light as they reminisce about their Frankland Islands Great Barrier Reef Island experiences. By 4.30 - 5 p.m., travellers holidaying in Cairns will arrive at their accommodation, and by 5.30 – 6 p.m. for those staying on the Cairns Northern Beaches. The perfect way to spend the day – book your Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive Great Barrier Reef experience today!
Reef, Rainforest and River – Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive – Great Barrier Reef Day Tours
Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive Day Tour:
- Take a maximum of 100 people to the stunning part coral cay/part continental Normanby Island
- Is the only commercial operator licensed to visit this Great Barrier Reef Island
- Is the only Reef Day Tour that includes a River Cruise, Reef and Island experience
- Morning and afternoon tea
- Tropical buffet lunch served under the canopy of the trees
- Snorkel equipment and tuition
- Semi-submersible tour (Optional extra)
- Guided Island walk (including an opportunity to interact with the large variety of marine life found in our rock pools – they're like naturally occurring touch tanks!) (Optional extra)
- Guided snorkel tour (Optional extra)
- Introductory and certified diving available at an additional cost, and must be pre-booked
- Shortest open water crossing to the Cairns Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland
- Guests board the boat at Deeral landing; Mulgrave River (approx. 40 minutes drive south of Cairns), River Cruise (approx 35 minutes), Open Water Crossing to Frankland Islands (approx 25 minutes)
- Staff to customer ratio is a maximum of 9:1
- All purchases on the island are made on an honesty system throughout the day so passengers do not have to exchange money for drinks
Frankland Islands Day Tour:
- The Frankland Islands comprise of five islands – High, Normanby, Mabel, Round and Russell
- Normanby is the largest of all the Frankland Islands
- Normanby Island is National Park and totally uninhabited and undeveloped
- Normanby Island a fantastic Great Barrier Reef experience – a great diversity of Marine life including regular sightings of giant
- Green Sea Turtles, Octopus as well as a large variety of soft and hard corals and giant clams. If you are lucky you may even get to see the family of Dugongs that sometimes make an appearance for the snorkellers
- Frankland Islands lie 10 km offshore from the mouth of the Russell-Mulgrave River and 50 km south of Cairns
What to Bring
- Hat
- 15 + Sunscreen
- Swimmers
- Towel
- Comfortable shoes for beachcombing
- Shoes may get wet on boat transfers to and from the island
| DAILY PROGRAM | |
|---|---|
| 0715 | First Northern Beaches departure. Met by air-conditioned coach |
| 0730 | Cairns departures start by air-conditioned coach |
| 0800 | Coaches leave Cairns after completing all hotel pick-ups and commence the journey to Deeral, 45 kilometres south on the Bruce Highway |
| 0845 | Passengers alight from coaches and board vessel moored at a jetty on the Mulgrave River, adjacent to Deeral. Tea and coffee is served while boarding and a safety demonstration takes place before departure. Passengers also select their snorkelling equipment at this point from the rear of the vessel |
| 0850 | Frankland Islander III departs for a calm water cruise down the Mulgrave River. Vessel leaves the river system and crosses Russell Heads into the open sea for a quick 25 minute crossing to Normanby Island |
| 0945 | After arrival, passengers are ferried to the island by tender. Clients are recommended to take off their footwear prior, as their feet WILL get wet |
| 1000 | Guided snorkelling tour begins (duration of 45 minutes) where the staff escort interested clients to all the best coral features. |
| 1030 | First dive briefings commence for those participating in optional diving. |
| 1130 | First glass bottom boat ride commences (duration of 30 minutes). After this initial run other tours will run depending on demand. |
| 1230 | Basils Catering-catered Tropical Buffet Lunch is served under main marquee set up on the island. General after lunch, clients are encouraged to stop for a quick toilet break to the main vessel but ‘toilet runs’ are made throughout the day |
| 1300 | Naturalist-led island walk explaining the marine and geological features of the island |
| 1430 | Time to evacuate the island and first boats begin to ferry clients back to main vessel |
| 1500 | Main vessel departs island after head count |
| 1520 | Afternoon tea of cake and tropical fruit is served on board |
| 1550 | Return to jetty and passengers transfer to waiting coaches |
| 1600 | Depart for Cairns |
| 1715 | All Cairns clients are returned to their respective hotels (Northern Beaches allow another 20 minutes). Back to your hotel just in time for some relaxing sundowner drinks. |
The Tour Specialists Tip: This is one of our most favourite island day tours on the Cairns Great Barrier Reef its just so pretty and you have a super high chance of seeing turtles here. Just fantastic for the whole family and crew to enjoy.
Florence The Tour Specialists Consultant
| Current Prices | |||||||||
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| Sun, 05 Feb | Mon, 06 Feb | Tue, 07 Feb | Wed, 08 Feb | Thu, 09 Feb | Fri, 10 Feb | Sat, 11 Feb | Sun, 12 Feb | ||
| Frankland Islands Cruises Full Day Tour | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | $139.00 | |
