Brisbane River Cruise with entry to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Overview

Available languages

English

5 hours 30 minutes

Mobile ticket

See Australia’s amazing animals on a day trip to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary from Brisbane. Your river cruise takes you from the bustling waterfront of Southbank to the lush parklands of Lone Pine, with the chance to see iconic sights as you glide along the water. At the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, you can get up close to koalas, kangaroos and watch platypus, sheepdogs, and birds of prey in action. Animal lovers will not want to miss this experience!

Check-in is required by 8.45 am, departs at 9am sharp, arriving at Lone Pine Sanctuary 10:15- departing Lone Pine at 1:30pm and arriving back in the city at 2:45pm

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Public transportation options are available nearby

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Wheelchair: Cruise is accessible however Lone Pine has a set of 28 steps to climb from the jetty to the entrance

No health restrictions apply to this tour

Cancellation Policy

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

What‘s Included

General Admission into Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Round-trip cruise

Food and drinks (available to purchase)

Hotel pick-up and drop-off

Koala Moments (Touch a Koala)bookings online

What To Expect

The Brisbane River

You’ll board your boat in Brisbane’s Southbank district and leave the city behind on a relaxing cruise to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Enjoy informative commentary from your captain as you glide along Brisbane’s waterfront, passing from the bustle of the city’s skyscrapers to leafy suburbs with waterside mansions.

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Included

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

At 10:15am you’ll arrive at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where you’ll be free to explore for 3 hours. Lone Pine opened in 1927 as a safe refuge for sick, injured, and orphaned koalas, at a time when the species was being culled for the fur trade. Today, Lone Pine remains as a destination not only see native Australian animals, but to also connect and learn, and to leave feeling inspired to make small, positive changes in your daily lives to help protect native wildlife and habitats. Along with koalas and kangaroos, Lone Pine hosts a sheepdog show where you see the dogs round up a herd of sheep, responding to their master’s whistles, calls and signals. You can see owls, kites and sea eagles soar above you at the Birds of Prey show, or marvel at the colorful feathers of the wild lorikeets that fly in twice daily for feedings. Other bird species and a population of Eastern Water Dragons, a lizard that grows up to 3 feet (90cm) long also like to visit Lone Pine’s natural parkland.

3 hours • Admission Included

Options

Option 1

Reviews

4.74

1,465 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1180

221

Wonderful tour!!! ...
Dawna g,
Nov 27, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Wonderful tour!!! Excellent commentary about the area on the ride to the Sanctuary. Great staff and food/drink options. Ample time to explore before the return journey. Highly recommend!!
Nice cruise along the...
Madyson G,
Nov 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Nice cruise along the river and lots of cool wildlife to see. Food/drink options on boat and in the sanctuary.
Would recommend 100%
Nigel S,
Nov 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
What an amazing experience from start to finish...great crew, great boat and the animal interaction was brilliant.
Very interesting...
Rene C,
Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Very interesting continuous commentary on the way up to the koala sanctuary. It was a special experience to pet a koala and feed kangaroos.
Enjoyable tour
X1100VCjoanneb,
Nov 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Great commentary along the river cruise, giving us lots of interesting information. We enjoyed the koala sanctuary and the birds and animals there.
Great trip
O6072FMfrancesg,
Nov 21, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had a great river cruise and visit to the sanctuary. The narration on the boat was very informative -- it was good to learn a bit about Brisbane and the surrounding area. We enjoyed the sanctuary. We booked the Koala Moment experience -- we got to pet the koalas--in advance (done directly with the Lone Pine Sanctuary), but I don't think the advance booking was necessary (we were there in early November). It seemed like they had sign ups available on the spot.
Great day trip
Daniel S,
Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00
Beautiful river cruise. Get a lot of information during the outbound journey. The park itself was beautifully landscaped and you learned a lot about the animals.
Amazing cruise and Sanctuary!
Coloradobumpskier,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
My husband and I went to Lone Pine Sanctuary on the MiramarIi with Robbie at the helm and a delightful crew assisting! We loved every minute of his informative and witty commentary as we cruised down the river to the best Sanctuary ever! There were loads of Koalas and Kanagroos! We also loved seeing the reptiles, birds, crocs and the best surprise of all… a giant Cassowary! It was fabulous! We highly recommend this tour!
Excellent
lsW4587FU,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Brilliant day out, expert crew very friendly and knowledgeable Definitely recommended Comfortable boat ride with drink and snacks aboard
Recommended
bonhomieUk,
Nov 18, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Great commentary during outward journey, very informative and great views. Positives- Sanctuary well laid out and great to be able to get close to many of the animals although would be useful to have more staff around to ensure those tourists with little regard for the ‘ personal space’ of e.g the kangaroo’s, behaved in a way not to cause any distress. We saw 2 idiotic visitors chasing after 1 kangaroo! Croc enclosure was very small. Overall, very enjoyable trip and recommended.