BRISBANE · QUEENSLAND
Three coasts, one river, a city built on day trips.
Wild dolphins at Tangalooma, koalas at Lone Pine, the climb up Story Bridge and a river that runs through the middle of all of it. The Gold Coast sits 75 minutes south, the Sunshine Coast 90 minutes north, the Hinterland an hour west.
Only in Brisbane
Three experiences you can’t have anywhere else.
Cruises, day trips and city walks exist in every Australian capital. These three don’t. The wild dolphins, the world’s first koala sanctuary, and a glow-worm cave hidden in rainforest older than the dinosaurs. Each one is specific to this corner of Queensland. Plan the rest of the trip around them.
Out on the bay
Sand Dunes & Wild Dolphins
Moreton is the third-largest sand island on earth, with desert dunes you can sandboard down at 50 km/h. By night the Tangalooma resort lures wild bottlenose dolphins to the beach and the guests hand-feed them in the shallows. The dolphins are wild, the routine is theirs, and it happens nowhere else.
- 1 From Brisbane: Moreton Island Full-Day Trip
- 2 Brisbane: Moreton Island Return Ferry & Adventure Day Pass
- 3 Moreton Island Day Trip (Kayak, Snorkel & Sandboard) frm Brisbane or Gold Coast
Up close
The World’s First Koala Sanctuary
Lone Pine opened on the Brisbane River in 1927 - the original koala sanctuary, and still the largest with over 100 koalas in residence. Hold a koala, hand-feed kangaroos, watch the sheep-dog demonstrations, all reachable by river cruise from the city.
- 1 Brisbane River Cruise with entry to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
- 2 Brisbane River Cruise and Koala Sanctuary Visit
- 3 Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Day Pass
After dark
Glow Worms In The Rainforest
Springbrook’s Natural Bridge holds one of the largest glow-worm populations on earth. After dusk the basalt arch turns into a low Milky Way of bioluminescent larvae. Forty-five minutes south of the city in subtropical Gondwana rainforest that’s older than the dinosaurs.
- 1 Brisbane: Rainforests, Waterfalls and Glow Worm Cave Tour
- 2 Springbrook andTamborine Rainforest Tour Incl Natural Bridge and Glow Worm Cave
- 3 Brisbane: Daytime Glow Worm Caves Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
The day everyone books
Start where Brisbane starts.
One booking pulls ahead of the rest by a clear margin. If you've only got a single day in the city, this is the one most travellers pick first.
The Brisbane shortlist
Brisbane’s Most Popular Day Tours
Moreton, Stradbroke, Lone Pine, the river. The reasons most travellers come to Brisbane.
By region
Pick a coast.
Brisbane sits at the top of southeast Queensland’s day-trip triangle. Moreton Bay for the sand islands. The Gold Coast for the surf and theme parks. The Sunshine Coast for the headland. The Hinterland for the wineries and waterfalls. The river runs through the middle of all of it.
By experience
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
River cruise if you want the postcard shot of the city. 4WD across the dunes if you want the Moreton story. Whale watching from June to November. Wineries on Tamborine, glow worms at Springbrook, koalas at Lone Pine and the rest.
Brisbane’s superpower
Three coasts in arm’s reach.
No other Australian capital has three world-class day-trip regions inside 90 minutes. The Gold Coast for theme parks and surf, the Sunshine Coast for Noosa and the Glass House Mountains, the Hinterland for waterfalls and rainforest wineries. Brisbane sits at the centre of all three.
From the water
The river always wins.
The Brisbane River is the city’s main street: South Bank, Story Bridge, the Kangaroo Point cliffs and Lone Pine all line up along it. Three cruises that show the city the way locals first met it.
Out on Moreton Bay
Wild dolphins, humpback whales, white-sand islands.
Brisbane sits on Moreton Bay - one of the largest sub-tropical bays on the east coast, with wild bottlenose dolphins year-round and humpbacks passing through from June to November. Our shortlist of the days that get you out on the water.
Up into the hinterland
Tamborine, wineries and waterfalls.
An hour west of the city the country lifts into Mount Tamborine: rainforest walks, a gallery strip along Long Road, cellar doors and craft distilleries spaced along the ridge. Three hinterland days we’d keep a Saturday free for.
When the city changes shift
Brisbane after dark.
The convict ghost trails through the Old Windmill, an evening river cruise as Story Bridge lights up, dinner sailing past South Bank. Three picks for when the city slows down and the river starts to mirror.
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