Brisbane River Cruise with entry to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Overview
Available languages
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 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.
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.
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
Options
Option 1
Reviews
1,634 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Excellent tour
Anonymous,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Good boat ride to and from. Sanctuary was awesome!! I was worried there would not be enough time to see everything but worked out perfectly. Saw the raptor show, the sheepdog roundup show, got to see all the exhibits, added the koala moment to pet a koala, and fed the kangaroos. Highly recommend.
Highly Recommend
610janinem,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Highly recommend this day trip. The ferry ride was fun with excellent commentary on the way there with a fully stocked bar and food options. The staff were friendly and professional. Please note that when boarding everyone rushes to the top to get the "good" seats - but these could be vey hot in the areas with no shade. We sat inside and it was so much better. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was very good - so many animals to look at and much bigger than I expected. Great talks from the keepers and it was fun feeding the kangaroos. Food options could be slightly better, as fairly basic, but overall a great day out!
River Cruise and Koala Sanctuary tour
Bobbie M,Apr 23, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00It was a lovely ride on the river. It was exciting to be able to see and get close to the animals of Australia at the koala sanctuary. We had a very nice day.
Great trip
Roving18556554821,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great trip on Brisbane River to koala sanctuary. Staff were excellent and commentary very informative. Lovely walk around sanctuary seeing koalas, kangaroo, reptiles, dingos and more. Would highly recommend
Fantastic experience,...
Julie M,Apr 20, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Fantastic experience, boat journey was excellent, guide was humorous, informative & really engaging. Sanctuary was such an amazing experience, Koalas in particular were so cute. Everything was very well organised & laid out. Would highly recommend this trip
Fun outing
Heidi G,Apr 19, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Great trip up the river with commentary. Loved the koala sanctuary. It is extra to get up close and do pictures with koalas.
Relaxing river cruise.
Donna Z,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00It is a very relaxing ride down the river to the sanctuary. Crew explained the trip well. Very enjoyable.
A beautiful moment 😁
audreyaG9691KO,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We were very well received on board the boat by Captain Paul and his team 🤩. The food on board and the service were good. The Lone pine sanctuary koala allowed us to see Australian animals up close. The park staff was as friendly as the Australians can be 👍 A nice memory!
Make sure you can be on...
Kathleen S,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00Make sure you can be on time! Missed the boat ride to the sanctuary because our ship didn’t let us off on time. We got to the sanctuary and resumed our tour there
Cruise & Koalas
Beatrice S,Apr 17, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Great experience on river cruise and visiting the koalas. April on the water was warm! Crew was exceptional and friendly.
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