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 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

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

4.76

1,642 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1337

239

Amazing
Q2242CZmt,May 13, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00
A fantastic day out, amazing seeing the animals and was so close to them. The only little issue was the wait to Get back on the boat as we had a close encounter with a brown snake but it’s Austrailia so you expect things like that. The boat ride was very slow and relaxing.
Divine experience!
Tourist41658730382,May 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The cruise was amazing, staff are super helpfull. The sanctuary was divine! The only thing that could have made it better was being greeted by the german shepherd and Koala, but that would of been the cherry intop of an amazing cake. Thanks for the awesome experience!
Take this cruise!
Christy E,May 12, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Lovely river cruise with lots of history and details and Brisbane. And Koalas…. Incredible day, thank you.
Great Experience!
Timothy A,May 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Boat ride to and from the sanctuary is very comfortable. The boat is clean and well maintained and the crew is very friendly and helpful. They have snack and drinks onboard that you can purchase. The scenery is beautiful. The sanctuary is really cool! If you have been looking forward to seeing Koalas, your wait is over - they have quite a few. The sanctuary has a zoo vibe with lots of other animals. The grounds are well maintained and we enjoyed the experience. The only thing that just OK was the food available from the sanctuary cafe (this is not the tour operator's fault at all). We saw people bringing their own food in for lunch, and that seemed like a brilliant idea! There is a seating area near the cafe that is covered and next to several koalas.
Koala sanctuary recommended
Patrick L,May 6, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Incredibly welcoming Captain and crew on Mirimar II set you up for a great day with an informed and relaxed cruise up the Brisbane river to the Koala sanctuary. Once there, all the animals are completely visible (no searching required!) and the sanctuary staff are open and willing to share their knowledge. Really enjoyable experience.
A great Experience!
716sherij,May 5, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had a wonderful time on our River Cruise. The staff took great care of us. The whole trip down the river was packed with great info about the area. Delicious snacks and lunch items are available for purchase. We enjoyed everything we ate, the coffee being a highlight. We had more then enough time to see everything at the Sanctuary, which was amazing! We highly recommend this tour!!
Day well spent!
Linda B,May 5, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Great day! Highly recommend! The boat was nice with very service minded personnell. The information provided during the boat trip was highly entertaining.
Good value trip
Q7266KUheatherf,May 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Excellent trip down river, good timing and commentary en route. Koala sanctuary was busy but not crowded and plenty of time to see the animals and birds. We decided not to take the Koala encounter but did feed the kangaroos. Good value snack on board the boat on the return trip
Excellent for close ups with many animals.
Rex S,May 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Excellent. River tour. The guide did a very good job . When we got there the steps/walk way was difficult a needs to be redesigned for safety. Animals and displays were fantastic. Over one hundred koalas.
Excellent tour
Anonymous,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Good 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.

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