Most pages answering this question are written by one of the boats, and there are only four boats, owned by three companies. So this one starts from what each island physically is, according to Queensland Parks, and from every fare read on the four operators' own price pages on 24 September 2026.
The short version. The ferries are priced within A$4 of each other (A$108 to A$112 return per adult), both crossings take about 45 minutes, and neither island charges a fuel levy. So the choice is not about money. Green Island is a 12 hectare coral cay with a sand beach, a boardwalk, a resort pool, a glass bottom boat and a semi-submarine: the easier day, and the better one for non-swimmers and small children. Fitzroy Island is a high granite continental island and a rainforest national park, with a summit walk of about three hours return and beaches made of coral rubble: the better day for anyone who wants to walk as well as swim. Neither is the outer reef.
Two different kinds of island, 45 minutes from the same marina
Queensland Parks describes Green Island as a 12 hectare true coral cay, built over thousands of years from sand and coral rubble on a platform reef and covered in tropical vine forest, 27 km offshore. It has been a national park since 1937 and Queensland Parks calls it one of the most popular destinations on the Great Barrier Reef. The beach is sand, and both Green Island operators send you snorkelling straight off it.
Fitzroy Island, 25 km east of Cairns, is the opposite kind of island. Queensland Parks calls it a high continental island that was joined to the mainland before sea levels rose: granite outcrops, open woodland, rainforest, mangroves and coral beaches. Sunlover's own page is blunt about what that means underfoot: the beaches are white coral rubble and granite boulders rather than soft sand, and water shoes make getting in and out far more comfortable. What Fitzroy has that Green Island cannot is height. The Summit Track climbs to a lookout over the Coral Sea, about three hours return, and Nudey Beach is a 15 to 20 minute rainforest walk from the jetty.
One warning appears on the Queensland Parks page for Fitzroy and not for Green Island: beware crocodiles. Both carry the marine stinger warning.
What every option costs, all in, per adult
Read from the operators' own price pages on 24 September 2026, all valid to 31 March 2027. Green Island is served by Big Cat and Great Adventures; Fitzroy Island by Fitzroy Island Adventures and Sunlover. Every Green Island fare includes the A$8.50 Environmental Management Charge. None of the four adds a fuel surcharge to an island day: Great Adventures states its outer reef surcharge does not apply to Green Island only cruises, Big Cat and Fitzroy Island Adventures both say they absorb fuel costs, and Sunlover says its Fitzroy tours carry no fuel levy.
- Ferry only: Fitzroy Island Adventures A$108 (this includes a A$5 levy it says recovers the island's facilities licence fees), Sunlover A$109, Big Cat A$110, Great Adventures A$112
- Ferry plus snorkel gear or a glass bottom boat ride: Big Cat A$122, Great Adventures A$127, Sunlover A$134, Fitzroy Island Adventures A$142 (the A$108 ferry plus A$34 pre-booked snorkel hire, or A$34 for the glass bottom boat instead)
- Ferry plus snorkel gear and the glass bottom boat: Great Adventures A$156; Fitzroy Island Adventures A$176; Sunlover's Best of Island, which also includes a lunch box, A$166 on the operator's own site until 31 March 2027 (normally A$202)
- Lunch: Big Cat's buffet A$40 pre-booked; a Fitzroy picnic box A$24; Great Adventures sends you to the Green Island Resort restaurant, and publishes no set price for it
- Hotel coach, return from Cairns city: Big Cat A$35, Great Adventures A$36, Sunlover A$37; the northern beaches cost A$45 to A$52. We could not find a transfer price on Fitzroy Island Adventures' site
Green Island is the easier day
Almost everything on Green Island is designed so that you do not have to swim to see coral. Big Cat runs a 30 minute semi-submarine (A$45 pre-booked, A$50 on the day) and a glass bottom boat; Great Adventures runs its own glass bottom boat and includes use of a swimming pool it describes as exclusive to its passengers. Marineland Melanesia, the island's crocodile attraction, is A$32 adult. Big Cat says its half day tour is ideal for small children and infants, and the snorkelling is straight off a sand beach.
The trade-off is the one Queensland Parks puts in its first sentence: this is one of the most popular islands on the reef, it is small, and you share it with everyone both ferries brought that day. Big Cat also publishes a list of dates when extreme low tides affect snorkelling (in 2026, a few days a month from May to September), so if snorkelling is the point, ask about the tide before you pick a date.
Fitzroy Island is the better day if you want to walk
Fitzroy's case is the land, not the water. A continental island covered in national park rainforest gives you a real walk, a summit lookout and a beach you have to earn, and the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on the island runs a Turtle Talk at A$23, which Sunlover says is donated in full to the centre. The fringing reef off Welcome Bay starts metres from the shore, so the snorkelling is still from the beach.
Two practical things to plan for. The beaches are coral rubble, so bring water shoes. And from November to May Fitzroy Island Adventures recommends a lycra stinger suit, which costs A$10 adult if you have not also hired snorkel gear. Neither Fitzroy operator lists a semi-submarine.
Four boats, three owners
On Green Island you are choosing between the Quicksilver Group and Experience Co. The Australian Business Register lists both the Great Adventures and Green Island Resort business names on ABN 26 010 434 269, Quicksilver Connections Limited, the same company behind four of the six Port Douglas reef boats on this site. Big Cat's own footer says it is a Reef Unlimited experience, part of the Experience Co family, though the ABR record behind it is a separate company, J & J Wallace (Projects) Pty Ltd, which has held the Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises name since 1999.
On Fitzroy Island you are choosing between Experience Co again and Sunlover. Fitzroy Island Adventures carries the same Reef Unlimited, part of Experience Co footer as Big Cat, over its own company, Fitzroy Island Ferries Pty Ltd. Sunlover, trading from Sunlover Operations Pty Limited, describes itself as locally owned and a Cairns operator since 1991, and it is the only one of the four whose own site names no parent group. The resort and the island facilities are a third business again: Fitzroy Island Investments Pty Ltd, which says it is part of the family-owned Gamble Group.
The practical point is the combination ticket. Because Experience Co runs a boat to each island, it sells a Two Island Explorer: 2.5 hours on Fitzroy, a transfer, then 3.5 hours on Green Island, with snorkel gear or a glass bottom boat included, for A$196 adult. None of the other operators we checked sells both islands in one day.
So which one?
Choose Green Island if anyone in your group does not swim, if you have small children, if you want sand rather than coral rubble, or if you only have half a day. It is also the cheaper island once you add snorkel gear (A$122 against A$134), and the semi-submarine is the one way to see coral without getting wet that Fitzroy does not offer.
Choose Fitzroy Island if you want a walk as much as a swim, if the idea of a small busy cay does not appeal, or if you would rather spend the day in a national park than beside a resort. Take the early boat on either operator and you get about six hours on the island.
And choose neither if the reef itself is the point. Both islands sit on the inshore end of the reef, with fringing and platform coral reached from the beach. The outer reef pontoons and snorkel boats cost A$275 to A$325 all in from Cairns and are a different day entirely; the worth-it guide and the Cairns ranking linked below cover who should pay the extra.
Details change. We verify every price, duration, departure point and inclusion against the operator's own website, and we date every check, but operators can change them at any time without notice. Always confirm the details that matter to you with the operator before you book.
Good to know
Which is cheaper, Green Island or Fitzroy Island?
The ferries are almost identical: A$108 (Fitzroy Island Adventures) and A$109 (Sunlover) to Fitzroy, A$110 (Big Cat) and A$112 (Great Adventures) to Green Island, return per adult, read on the operators' sites on 24 September 2026. Once you add snorkel gear Green Island is cheaper: Big Cat A$122 against A$134 for the cheapest Fitzroy package. For the full set of snorkel gear, glass bottom boat and lunch, Sunlover's Best of Island at A$166 is the best value on either island, until 31 March 2027.
Is Green Island or Fitzroy Island better for snorkelling?
Both are snorkelled from the beach, over inshore fringing or platform reef rather than the outer reef. Green Island is the easier entry, over sand, and it adds a semi-submarine and glass bottom boats for anyone who stays dry. Fitzroy's entry is over coral rubble, so water shoes help. Big Cat publishes dates when extreme low tides affect Green Island snorkelling, a few days a month from May to September in 2026, so check the tide before you book. Both operators on each island sell a marine biologist guided snorkel tour, from A$65 (Sunlover) to A$89 (Great Adventures).
Which island is better for families with small children?
Green Island, on the operators' own evidence. It has a sand beach, pram-friendly vessels and boardwalks and pathways Big Cat describes as suitable for prams, day visitor facilities including showers, a semi-submarine and glass bottom boat so nobody has to swim, and Big Cat recommends its half day tour for small children, infants and babies. Fitzroy's walks, including the one to Nudey Beach, are described by Fitzroy Island Adventures as steep in places and not suitable for prams, and the beaches are coral rubble.
Can I do both islands in one day?
Yes, and only one company sells it. Experience Co, which runs Big Cat to Green Island and Fitzroy Island Adventures to Fitzroy, sells a Two Island Explorer for A$196 adult: an 8:30am departure to Fitzroy for 2.5 hours, a transfer at 11:45am, then 3.5 hours on Green Island, with snorkel gear or a glass bottom boat included. It is the same A$196 on Viator. Sunlover's alternative pairs Fitzroy with its Moore Reef pontoon on the outer reef for A$347, fuel levy included.
Where do the boats leave from?
All four leave from the Cairns marina, but not from the same place, and it matters at 8am. Great Adventures and Sunlover check you in at their counters inside the Reef Fleet Terminal, 1 Spence Street. Big Cat and Fitzroy Island Adventures no longer check in inside the terminal: Big Cat boards directly at berth 4, Marlin Wharf, and Fitzroy Island Adventures at Finger A, Marlin Wharf, and both send a marina map by email and SMS the afternoon before. Big Cat's Viator listing still tells passengers to meet at the Reef Fleet Terminal; the operator's own page is the one to follow.
How long do you actually get on the island?
It depends on the boat more than the island. Great Adventures offers up to seven hours on Green Island (8:30am out, 4:30pm back from the island). Big Cat's full day is up to 5.5 hours and its half day 2 hours 15 minutes. On Fitzroy, Fitzroy Island Adventures gives up to six hours (8:30am out, 4:00pm back) and Sunlover about six on its 8:45am departure, leaving the island at 3:30pm. The later departures on every operator cut your island time by one to two hours for the same fare.
Is Cassius the crocodile still at Marineland on Green Island?
No. Great Adventures' own page says Cassius, the 5.48 metre crocodile that lived at Marineland Melanesia from 1987, died in October 2024 at an estimated 110 years old. Older guides may still list him. Marineland is still open, at A$32 adult and A$16 child.
Are there hidden costs on an island day?
Fewer than on an outer reef day, but they add up. The ferry-only fares include nothing to do: snorkel hire is A$32 on Green Island through Great Adventures and A$34 on Fitzroy pre-booked, and the Fitzroy price is A$5 more on the day. Lunch is A$24 to A$40 if you pre-book it, hotel coaches A$35 to A$52 return, and in stinger season (November to May) a lycra suit is A$10 on Fitzroy if it is not bundled with your gear. The good news is that there are no fuel surcharges on either island, and the Environmental Management Charge is already inside the Green Island fares.
Is it cheaper to book direct or through Viator?
For most of these fares it makes no difference: Big Cat's A$122, Great Adventures' A$127 and A$156, Fitzroy Island Adventures' A$108 and Sunlover's A$109 ferry are the same at both. Three exceptions. Big Cat's A$110 ferry-only fare and Sunlover's A$134 Island Essentials are sold only on their own sites. And Sunlover's own site currently sells its Best of Island package (snorkel gear, glass bottom boat and lunch) for A$166, while the A$166 packages on Viator include only two of those three. We earn nothing when you book direct, and we would still book that one direct.