Unforgettable Frankland Islands Day Trip – The Great Barrier Reef

Heard about the Frankland Islands and want to go on a Frankland Islands day trip? Or maybe, you haven’t heard about the Frankland Islands at all, but are wanting to find a great trip on the Great Barrier Reef? Either way, you have come to the right place. This post will be talking about an amazing Frankland Islands day trip from Cairns, including where the Frankland Islands are, a Frankland Island Reef Cruises, and what a day on a Frankland Island tour includes.

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This post is all about a Frankland Islands day trip.

Everybody has heard of the Great Barrier Reef, and many people have heard about some of the most popular islands on the Great Barrier Reef such as Green Island or Fitzroy Island. However, not so many people have heard about the Frankland Islands. This is both good and bad. Some of the islands which are very popular have been damaged due to overtourism, and the coral has suffered. However, at the same time, the Frankland Islands are a slice of paradise and natural beauty. Let’s first find out what and where the Frankland Islands are!

What are the Frankland Islands?

The Frankland Islands consist of 5 islands: High Island, Russell Island, Round Island, Normanby Island and Mabel Island. These islands are uninhabited allowing them to be rich in nature and wildlife and lie only 10 kilometres offshore. These islands have the shortest ocean crossing for all the Great Barrier Reef islands. They are around 45km south-east of Cairns.

How To Get To The Frankland Islands:

To get to the Frankland Islands you have two options: if you have your own boat, go there by yourself or go on a Frankland Islands reef cruise. This company are the only company who are permitted to visit the islands, making it a very unique choice.

If you take the Frankland Islands reef cruise, you have the choice of meeting directly by the Mulgrave River at Deeral (southeast of Cairns). Or the company can pick you up by bus in Cairns CBD and bring you to the river edge. From there, you will take a boat along the river before crossing the ocean to the islands.

[Doing a Queensland roadtrip: Don’t miss Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays!]

Frankland Islands Day Trip:

So let me tell you exactly what a day with Frankland Island reef cruises looks like. I will tell you about my personal experience when we went, and whether I would recommend it.

Who are the Frankland Island Reef Cruises?

The Frankland Island Reef Cruises are the only company who are allowed to do boat trips to the Frankland Islands making it a very exclusive and unforgettable trip. They take you to Normanby Island. Normanby Island has beautiful fringing reefs that you can snorkel on and with the boat limited to 100 passengers a day, you know that, that will be the maximum number of people who you will be sharing the island with! The day we went, there were around 50 people!

Here is the exact trip I went on!

A Day On the Frankland Island Reef Cruise:

The Morning:

We were picked up at our hotel by bus. This bus went around all the hotels, camp sites and hostels to collect everyone who was staying in Cairns. We then had a 45-minute drive down to Deeral to the Mulgrave River.

When we arrived at the river, we got off the bus and straight onto the boat where we were greeted by the staff who would be taking us on the island for the day. The boat was fairly big with both an upstairs and downstairs to it.

After some safety briefings and tea and coffee, we started our river cruise down the Mulgrave River. We kept an eye out for wildlife in the mangroves as we went down. During this time, we signed up for all the activities which we wanted to do on the island. Also, the staff also kitted us out with a stinger suit, snorkelling equipment and flippers.

Then there was a very short ocean crossing (10 minutes) to Normanby Island (which was great for me, as I get very seasick!).

Note, the day we went, the weather was not good, there were heavy showers, meaning the water also wasn’t very calm! Hence the pictures also do not look as good as how the island looks like on a glorious day.

The island:

Once we got off the boat and onto the island, we prepared for our activities. The Frankland Island Reef Cruises offer many different activities which makes your time fly on the island. Obviously if you do not want to do these activities, it is completely fine; you can opt in and out. However, I felt that they really helped us get the most out of our day on the island.

Here were some of the activities they offered:

• A guided snorkel or snorkel safari
• A glass-bottom boat trip
• Kayaking
• Paddleboarding
• A guided walk of the island

First Activity: Snorkel Safari

Despite the weather being bad, and the waves being quite rough, it was still fantastic. This makes me only imagine what it would have been like if the sea was a lot calmer. We were taken on a guided snorkel trip with 2 guides to see some of the corals that are around the island. We saw different coloured corals, different coloured fish and some jellyfish. The sea was quite rough, so it made it hard to see everything as we were getting thrown around quite a bit, but I enjoyed it all the same.

The Second Activity: Glass-Bottom Boat Trip:

This was the next activity available on offer. I did not decide to do this activity as I get very seasick and the sea was so rough, I really didn’t stand a chance! However, others said they enjoyed it. Instead, I went back in the water and did some more snorkelling and saw some beautiful blue corals which were home to some beautiful ‘Nemo’ clownfish – which was very exciting to see.

The Next Activities: Snorkelling/ Relaxing/ Kayaking/ Paddleboarding:

Then it was up to us, we could choose exactly what we wanted to do for some time. We manly decided to do more snorkelling, but we also relaxed on the beach and looked at all the beautiful coral which had washed up on shore.

Lunch:

Then the rain set in just in time for lunch! As the Frankland Islands are uninhabited, there are no facilities on the island. Meaning what you bring on the island is what you have. However, there is a shelter, so we were able to eat lunch without getting drenched! It also means that there are no toilets on the island. However, if you need the toilet, the crew will bring you back to the boat.

Lunch was delicious! The crew set up under a shelter (luckily as by that point it was pouring with rain) a wonderful buffet with fresh meats, salads, prawns, fruit and bread rolls. There was a lot of food, meaning no one went hungry. It was also possible to buy a soda or beer from their esky to go with your lunch for a small charge.

The Last Activity: The Guided Walk:

Lastly, it was time for our guided walk around the island. The girl who showed us around was very knowledgeable about marine life (being a marine biologist) and showed us lots of interesting fauna, flora and corals. She even showed us these tiny little stars that you could find in the sand! They were amazing!!

The Journey Back:

Sadly, then it was the end of our time on the Frankland Islands and our Frankland Island day tour was coming to an end. We jumped back on the boat and went back to where we had boarded earlier that morning. On the boat back, the crew offered us hot drinks, cheese, crackers and cakes as a snack while we were making our way down the river.

After some goodbyes to the crew, it was then time to jump back on the bus for our 45 minute drive back to Cairns.

Would I Recommend the Frankland Islands Reef Cruise?

Yes! I loved this trip even in poor weather, so I can only imagine what it would be like on a nice day! The short boat trip makes a fantastic option for someone who gets seasick easily and having the island as a base allows you to go and do your own thing.

The company give you the option of doing many different activities, and the sheer amount of activities makes it more appealing. I also love the fact that they are the only company who can go to these islands, meaning there are not going to be thousands of people, all trying to snorkel in the same spot. You can escape, relax and spend a pleasant day out on the island.

Here is the link to the actual experience:

So that is it for today! I hope this has helped you decide if you are wanting to go on a Frankland Island Day trip and if you are wanting to go with the Frankland Island Reef Cruise. Whatever you end up doing up in Cairns, I hope you have an amazing time and remember:

Relax, explore and indulge!

Love,

This post was all about a Frankland Islands day trip.