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‘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.
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.
Options
Option 1
Reviews
1,448 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Superb
William L,
Nov 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Enjoyable boat trip with commentary and koala sanctuary well worth it Would go again when I'm in brisbane William from Scotland
Let the river take you
Bernadette B,
Nov 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Relaxing and informative. The crew are friendly and they make excellent egg and bacon muffins! The information about the things we were passing on either side of the river was really interesting. Who doesn't love koalas! Lone Pine is just great for seeing them up close.
Excuse me
Laetitia P,
Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Impeccable organization very kind staff and park to do absolutely we see the koalas less than 2 meters on the contrary pity we caress the kangaroos but for the other animals since it was hot we did not see them at all
A Peaceful Day
Anthony E,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00A nice peaceful cruise up the river set the scene for a leisurely walk through the park. Plenty of kangaroos to feed and lots of koalas to see. There’s an upcharge though to have an up close look at the koalas.
Absolutely lovely...
Phillip G,
Oct 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Absolutely lovely experience. The cruise down the river has a ton of cool views and seeing the Koala sanctuary was magnificent. Friendly crew.
Brilliant Excursion
Daveandbetsyzim,
Oct 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This trip was so well organized. Difficult to explain, other than to say we've done serveral similar things around the world before and always felt as though the organisers were going through a set of mundane actions. The staff on our boat seemed to be as excited as we were. The sanctuary was definitely well worth the visit. We loved every minute of it.
River cruise to Lone Pine
Caryn S,
Oct 25, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Lovely and easy way to travel from Brisbane to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. River cruise is informative and crew helpful. Koalas and other animals plentiful at the Sanctuary. Great way to spend a day.
Fantastic
J7589AQstephenp,
Oct 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The river cruise was fantastic. The captain was friendly and welcoming and very knowledgeable. The cruise was very informative and extremely scenic. There was a cafe and bar on board and the staff are wonderful. The Koala Sanctuary is amazing, I have never seen so many Koalas up close and active. You can also feed the roos. This trip is highly recommended
Thoroughly recommended
keithrussell98,
Oct 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Brilliant day out. Friendly crew, informative commentary, useful cafe on board. The Sanctuary is great. The cruise allowed us about three hours there, which was enough, including a raptor demonstration.
Go!
Christopher S,
Oct 20, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Very good boat & trip through centre of Brisbane with excellent commentary. Sanctuary was well run with ~100 koalas. Interaction with content koalas, kangaroos, emus, wallaby’s was unstressed ( as animals had own space to retreat to whenever they wanted to). Crocs, dingos, snakes etc didn’t mingle! But had decent compounds. Interesting talks & demos. Staff all enthused. A really great experience.
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Operated by Koala and River Cruises