Moreton Island Attractions

Moreton Island is one of Brisbane’s best-kept secrets. Beautiful beaches, fishing, and 4WD tracks make for an amazing weekend getaway. Once you’ve visited Moreton Island you’ll be hooked for life.

How To Get To Moreton Island

Just 40km from the Port of Brisbane, the island can easily be reached by boat, ferry or barge. If you plan to travel across with a vehicle, there are barges and ferries to the island which run daily. For those planning on heading across as walk on, you can choose your island destination point and book a ferry or barge from their corresponding departure points. During the offseason, ferries run as normal, however during the school holidays and long weekend, extra services run to provide more spots to get to the island.

There are 3 different badges & ferries in which you can choose from to make the voyage over to the island. These include:

Micat

Running from Whyte Island, the mouth of Brisbane River southside to the Tangalooma Wrecks. This Ferry accommodates for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Tangalooma Launch

From the Brisbane northside at Pinkenba, you can catch the ferry to Tangalooma Resort. This ferry accommodates for Tangalooma guests and day-trippers only.

Amity Trader

This third ferry runs from Stradbroke Island. Just off Amity Point, this ferry travels across to Kooringal at Moreton Island. Available for both Pedestrian Vehicles, you will first have to make your way across to Stradbroke Island first.

If you plan to take your own boat across to Moreton Island, it is important to know that there is no public mooring available on the Island. In exposed waters, boaters can experience large seas between the mainland and the island. Before making your way out on your chosen vessel, take note of the sea conditions, winds and predicted weather before you make the trip there.

Transport around Moreton Island

Made up entirely of sand, all vehicle access is along the beaches and a few sandy tracks across the island. Heaven for any off-roader, the island has 0 sealed roads and sand driving around the whole island. If you are planning on taking a car over to Moreton Island, a 4WD is a MUST!

If you don’t own a 4WD, you can hire a 4WD from Tangalooma Island resort, or hire a 4WD from Brisbane and take it across the water on the Micat. If you do plan to hire, a 4WD with high clearance is highly recommended. All-wheel drives and those with low clearance can cause some difficulty when driving in soft sand or inland tracks that have been worn away.

Unfortunately, the Tangalooma Island Resort 4WD hire is only available to guests of the resort, so hiring a 4WD to take over to the island might be your best option. Otherwise, if you’re not too confident about taking a 4WD on to the island, the 4WD taxi service can transport parties from 1 to 150 people, their equipment, luggage and more, anywhere on the island. Another great alternative for day-trippers as they can be dropped off at their ideal location and picked up in the afternoon.

Popular attractions around Moreton

This magical island offers a wide range of attractions and natural wonders in which you can enjoy and visit around the island. Whether you’re planning your next holiday or a simple day trip, you’ll find lots to do here!

1. Moreton Island Wrecks

In 1963, fifteen vessels were deliberately sunk to provide a break wall for small boats stopping by the island. Now, these rusty ships provide a home for tropical fish, turtles and other marine wildlife.

Whether you’re on the island for one day, or 2 weeks, snorkelling at the Tangalooma Wrecks is a must! You can choose to snorkel the wrecks with your own equipment or with a guide. Australian Sunset Safaris, TangaTours, Sunrover and See Moreton all run day snorkelling activities for you to join.

2. Cape Moreton Lighthouse

Home to the first lighthouse built in Queensland, the Cape Moreton Lighthouse still stands to this day. The beautiful sandstone lighthouse was built by tradesmen and convicts in 1857 on a rare rocky outcrop and offers a strikingly red-striped pattern on its facade. The lighthouse area offers an amazing view for visitors to spot dolphins, manta rays, turtles, sharks, dugongs and migrating whales.

3. Blue lagoon

Swim in the fresh waters of Blue Lagoon. Located in the middle of the Island, this sand-bottomed lake formed from the natural catchment of rainwater over thousands of years. This freshwater infused with tea tree offers a non-salty alternative which offers shallow waters to float around in.

4. Champagne Pools

Near the Cape of Moreton, you can find the Campagne Pools on the north-east tip of the island. The sparkling effect created as the ocean waves crashing over the volcanic rock break wall is how the Champagne pools got their name.

5. Flinders Reef

Just off the shore of the Cape, Flinders Reef is a well-known location for scuba diving. Visit the reef to find over 175 species of fish, along with turtles, stingrays, turtles, migrating whales and other majestic marine life.

6. Castaways Glamping Resort

Love the beach but not the biggest fan of the whole camping scene, then try Castaways glamping resort. With king-sized beds, hot showers flushing toilets and a lovely little patio, you can enjoy all the best things about camping without worrying about packing the equipment.

7. The Gutter Bar

Grab a drink, an icecream and feast on the freshest seafood at the Gutter Bar. Located on the Southern end of the Island, you won’t find fresher seafood than here as it comes straight off the trawler.

8. Sunset Dolphin Feeding

Every evening at dusk, the Tangalooma Island Resort offers an opportunity for guests to feed 10 wild bottlenose dolphins. A free experience for all guests of the resort, or you can purchase a dolphin feeding package for day-trippers where you can still catch the Tangalooma Flyer back to the port of Brisbane.

Click here to book your next Moreton Island escape. If you’re planning to take the 4WD over, make sure you know how to get off the Micat.