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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Green Island?

Green Island is situated 27km offshore from Cairns, a 45 minute fast catamaran trip. We are located on one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef. As a national park located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Green Island has been a popular day visitor destination for generations with guests from around the world experiencing this unique World Heritage area every year. By night, experience the pure serenity of your own tropical island retreat.

What room types are available at the resort?

We have just 46 rooms and two room types; Island Suites and Reef Suites. Island Suites consist of either two double beds or one King size bed. The Island Suite offers a view of the pool or the rainforest. The maximum amount of people in an Island Suite is two adults and two small children, or three adults. Some Island Suites are interconnecting and are ideal for families. Reef Suites have a King size bed. With just 10 Reef Suites, these rooms offer a limited view of the ocean as there is a strip of rainforest between the room and the beach. The maximum amount of people in a Reef Suite is two adults.

How do I get to the island?

Return fast catamaran transfers aboard Great Adventures from Cairns are included in your room rates. It is necessary for these transfers to be pre-booked to ensure seating availability and to confirm travel with you prior to arrival. You can choose from the following departure times.

From the Reef Fleet Terminal in Cairns: Current transfer schedule

Coach transfers to the terminal are available at additional cost from most hotels and resorts in Cairns and the Northern Beaches

Helicopter transfers from Cairns & Cairns Airport are available upon request at additional cost.

Luggage Restrictions: For the catamaran transfers and handling, luggage weight restrictions apply. Each piece of luggage can only be a maximum of 23kg.

How do I get from the Airport to the Reef Fleet Terminal?

Cairns Airport is about a 10 minute taxi ride to the CBD but will depend on traffic and time of day. It’s very important that you give yourself enough time to get from the Airport to the Terminal to check-in for your scheduled vessel departure as the boats will not be able to wait. Check-in time is at least 30 minutes prior to your vessel departure time. If you have any questions or concerns about getting to the Terminal on time please let our reservations team know.

Our reservations team can also arrange airport transfers to the Reef Fleet Terminal for you, including limousine transfers. Please advise at time of booking if airport transfers are required.

For approximate taxi costs and more information about getting from the Airport to the Reef Fleet Terminal, check out the Cairns Airports website

What's included in my room rate?

In addition to your luxury room accommodation & return catamaran transfers from Cairns, a host of complimentary inclusions and activities are available to Green Island Resort guests at no extra cost. These include sunset drinks, snorkelling, glass bottom boat tours, guided activities with the Activities Officer such as fish feeding, nature walks and star gazing sessions, in addition to all non-motorised beach activities such as kayaking and windsurfing and beach chairs with umbrellas. Eco-friendly toiletries and personal grooming items are also provided complimentary in your suite’s bathroom.

What are the options for lunch and dinner?

Emeralds Restaurant is our signature restaurant which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Chef’s menu is sure to tempt with seasonal and exotic local tropical produce. A la carte or set course menus are available for both lunch and dinner. Other lunch options include the Canopy Grill (great for a burger and casual lunch) and Green’s Buffet which are both open daily for lunch. For a truly unique dining option, there is romantic private beach dining (weather dependent). Or grab a hamper and find your own spot on the island for a beach or rainforest picnic.

Discover your dining options here

What activities are suitable for children at Green Island?

The island has a wide range of child and adult friendly activities:

Complimentary activities for house guests that the kids will enjoy include glass bottom boat coral viewing tours (you’ll find Nemo!), fish feeding presentation and guided island walks with the Activities Officer. An earlier night walk to explore the island can be scheduled with the Activities Officer to suit bed times!

Snorkelling is also included and ideal for families to enjoy together. The kids can wade and snorkel in the shallow protected waters, and very safe with the lifeguard patrolled beach. From the Beach Hire Hut located on the beach, there’s also kayaking and for the older kids there’s beach volleyball and windsurfing to try too. This is all complimentary for Green Island Resort’s guests.

Marineland Melanesia located on Green Island is home to a crocodile habitat and the world’s largest living crocodile in captivity – Cassius! The kids will love the daily croc shows and you can even have your photo taken holding a baby croc. Additional costs apply for this activity.

Are there any private beaches on the island for resort guests?

No. As Green Island is a National Park, no private beaches are permitted.

What are the smoking restrictions on Green Island?

Resort Guest Rooms: No smoking is permitted in guest rooms, however there are designated smoking areas.

Green Island: As a National Park, restrictions apply to smoking while on Green Island. Smoking is confined to the designated outdoor smoking area located near the Information Desk. This includes electronic cigarettes. Please ensure cigarette butts are disposed of responsibly in the receptacles provided. Please note smoking is not allowed on the jetty, the patrolled beach or at picnic tables.

Vessels: Due to government regulations and comfort of all passengers, smoking is not permitted on board any of Great Adventures vessels during your transfer to and from Green Island. Please ask staff for further information if required.

What about day trippers to the island?

With its close proximity to Cairns, Green Island has been a popular day visitor island for many decades and is renowned as one of the jewels in the Great Barrier Reef. Day visitors are on the island from approximately 09:30 to 16:00 daily. Outside these hours, the island is exclusive to resort guests with the resort secluded from day visitor facilities.

As a popular day visitor island, this means many optional activities are available to resort guests which include Great Barrier Reef day tours, scuba diving, snorkel excursions, helmet diving, parasailing and scenic helicopter flights.

Is there parking located close by to the Reef Fleet Terminal?

The Reef Fleet Terminal for catamaran transfer check-in is located at 1 Spence Street Cairns, which is just next to the Shangri-La Hotel at the Pier Marketplace.If you are staying overnight at the Resort and have a vehicle that requires overnight secure parking, we would recommend either parking undercover at the Pier or at the nearby Casino or Hilton.

If travelling to Green Island as a “day tripper”, Council parking is available outside the Pier or you can park undercover at the Casino or the Pier. There is also all day parking at the outdoor carparks near Trinity Wharf on Wharf Street, about two blocks away.

Can I take a pram on the boat/ island?

The vessels and island are pram friendly. The island’s beach has quite soft sand and therefore not practical for prams to be taken onto the beach area. There are wooden boardwalks that do take you through the middle of the island through the rainforest, and these boardwalks are also suitable for prams.

Is it safe for babies and children?

Green Island Resort is suitable for people of all ages, including families with infants and children. However, we do recommend they are supervised and are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. For anyone wishing to take their children into the water, we recommend that a buoyancy device is used and they are available for resort guests.

Will I get seasick on the way over?

Hopefully not. Our Great Adventures transfer vessels are catamarans offering a wide stable platform for seakeeping in all weather conditions. Where there is motion whether a car, bus, plane or boat, some people will suffer from motion sickness. We offer ginger tablets as a natural alternative motion sickness medication on a complimentary basis. Specially packaged pharmaceutical tablets are available on board for purchase. To be effective, motion sickness medications should be taken immediately on boarding. Once you’re on the island though you should be fine.

Does your facility cater for the elderly with limited walking?

There is a bit of a walk down the jetty into the Resort area, and many pathways where you can walk through the rainforest. There are a few steps onto the Glass Bottom boats at the island.

Do you have any wheelchair facilities available?

Yes. Green Island Resort has an Island Suite configured for wheelchair access to the room and bathroom facilities, with the room located in easy access to central facilities and boardwalks.

The island’s day visitor area also has disabled toilet facilities, and paved or wooden boardwalk pathways that are easy for wheelchairs to access. There is a boardwalk that takes you directly through the rainforest into the centre of the Island which is easily accessible. To board the Glass Bottom Boats however, there are some steps into this vessel which may not be suitable.

Great Adventures catamarans for island transfers: The boarding ramp gangways are able to accommodate standard sized wheelchairs, however larger motorised wheelchairs may not be able to be accommodated. Depending on tides and weather conditions, gangways from the vessel to the jetty are sometimes too small for a wheelchair and will at times have a few steps from the end of the gangway to the jetty.

We recommend you contact us to discuss your special requirements at time of booking.

Additional Questions?

We would love to hear from you with any questions we haven’t covered above, please feel free to contact us. Alternatively, please give us a call. +617 4031 3300 or 1800 673 366.